The Take

Last May, Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli forces. Since then, her family has pushed the United States government for one thing: an independent investigation into her killing that leads to real accountability. The Take looks into the push for justice in the US and why it has been so difficult to achieve.  

In this episode:

• Lina Abu Akleh (@LinaAbuAkleh), niece of Shireen Abu Akleh
• Katherine Gallagher (@katherga1), Human Rights Attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights (@theCCR)
• Said Arikat (@SMArikat), journalist

Episode credits:

Host: Halla Mohieddeen

This episode was produced by Negin Owliaei and Amy Walters with Ruby Zaman, Chloe K. Li, and Alexandra Locke. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our engagement producers are Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad. Ney Alvarez is our Head of Audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

Shireen Abu Akleh was killed close to over four months ago. More than seven separate investigations by media, human rights organizations, the Palestinian government, and the UN say it was Israeli forces who shot and killed her. The United States says she was ‘likely’ killed by Israeli forces. Israel does not. We hear from Palestinian journalists who were there when Shireen was killed and from people who know how Israel runs their investigations.

In this episode:

• Shatha Hanaysha, freelance journalist, Middle East Eye
• Mujahed AlSa’di, freelance journalist
• Dror Sadot (@Dror_Sadot), a spokeswoman for the Israeli rights group B'Tselem
• Dan Owen, researcher at Yesh Din and the author of the position paper “Investigating Themselves”

Episode credits:

Host: Halla Mohieddeen

This episode was produced by Amy Walters and Negin Owliaei with Ruby Zaman, Chloe K. Li, and Alexandra Locke. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our engagement producers are Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad. Ney Alvarez is our Head of Audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

We've been busy behind the scenes during August, working on a slate of exciting shows for the months ahead. Now, our summer hiatus is ending, and The Take will be back in your podcast feed with new episodes beginning Friday, September 2nd.

Until then, stay in touch with us @AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

We’ll be on hiatus for a few weeks, busy behind the scenes working on some really exciting episodes for the coming months, including our coverage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Stay tuned for new episodes in September!

Meanwhile, stay in touch with us @AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Note: The Take is on hiatus for August, so this is our last episode until September. We’ll send out an update ahead of our first episode back.

Peter Kalmus is a US climate scientist who’s fed up with inaction. Back in April, he chained himself to a bank in protest with a group called Scientist Rebellion. Now, during yet another hot summer, with Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ensuing global energy crisis, are growing protests like Peter’s the future? We hear from people demanding – and taking – radical action from around the globe.

In this episode: 

• Peter Kalmus (@ClimateHuman), climate scientist at NASA
• Anote Tong, former president of Kiribati
• Lucia Newman (@lucianewman), Latin America editor for Al Jazeera English  
• ​​Monica Villamizar (@monica_vv), journalist with Al Jazeera’s Fault Lines
• Karim Elgendy (@NomadandSettler), fellow at Chatham House
• Saleemul Huq (@SaleemulHuq), Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development
• Nisar Majid, research associate at the London School of Economics

To hear more from the people in this episode, check out our climate playlist on Spotify while we are on hiatus.

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Alexandra Locke with Chloe K. Li, Negin Owliaei, Amy Walters, Ruby Zaman, Ney Alvarez, and Malika Bilal. Alex Roldan is our sound designer. Tim St. Clair mixed this episode. Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

On July 16, US President Joe Biden and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed met in Saudi Arabia. The meeting was part of Biden’s much-publicized trip to the Middle East. And as it ended, reporters had a question for the two leaders that went unanswered: why was the UAE detaining an American lawyer who once represented the slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi? The Take looks into the case of the US civil rights lawyer Asim Ghafoor.  

In this episode: 

• Nihad Awad, Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Negin Owliaei with Amy Walters, Alexandra Locke, Ney Alvarez, Ruby Zaman, Chloe K. Li and Malika Bilal. Alex Roldan is our sound designer. Adam Abou-Gad and Aya Elmileik are our engagement producers.

During the Trump administration, large numbers of militia members and vigilantes flocked to the southern border of the United States. They pledged to stop undocumented border crossings and started patrols with that in mind. But the residents of the small border town of Arivaca, Arizona had seen these groups before and had no interest in handling them again. Author and journalist Patrick Strickland spent a year reporting there and tells us what he found.

In this episode:

• Patrick Strickland (@P_Strickland_) Author, The Marauders: Conspiracy Theories, Militias and Violence on the US Border

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Amy Walters with Alexandra Locke, Ruby Zaman, Chloe K. Li, Negin Owliaei, Ney Alvarez, and Malika Bilal. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our engagement producers are Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

Five months ago, Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, we have heard President Vladimir Putin’s claim on the country and his pledge to fight Nazis there but what do Russians think? We hear from some voices you may not have heard from before: one Russian "Super Putin" fan and creator and another who is wholly against the war.

In this episode: 

• Niko Vorobyov (@Narco_Polo420), freelance journalist covering Russia
• Sergey Kalenik (@SergeyKalenik), public relations specialist in Russia
• Ilya Matveev (@IlyaMatveev_), anti-war political scientist formerly based in St Petersburg, Russia

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Amy Walters, Chloe K Li, Alexandra Locke, Negin Owliaei, Ney Alvarez, and Malika Bilal. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our engagement producers are Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

One in seven people worldwide live with some form of disability and many of them face daily challenges that include just getting around. Al Jazeera’s innovation studio, AJ Contrast, tells the story of three women with different disabilities in Mumbai, Lagos, and New York City. In this episode, we speak with AJ Contrast Senior Producer Viktorija Mickute to learn more about these women and what can be done to make the world more accessible for all members of society.

In this episode: 

• Viktorija Moquette (@VikVicariously), senior producer, AJ Contrast
• Nidhi Goyal (@saysnidhigoyal), activist and comedian
• Rebecca Lamorte (@RebeccaLamorte), former New York City Council candidate
• Olajumuke Olajide, athlete

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Ruby Zaman with Amy Walters, Alexandra Locke, Ney Alvarez, Negin Owliaei, Chloe K Li and Malika Bilal. Alex Roldan is our sound designer. Adam Abou-Gad and Aya Elmileik are our engagement producers.

Click here for the episode transcript.

In Sri Lanka, it has been one shock to the system after another, and the latest was a victory for anti-government protesters: On July 13, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country. For the protesters, it is a moment of great victory. But it is what happens next that will determine if people’s lives will actually change.

In this episode:

• Indrajit Samarajiva (@indica), writer
• Minelle Fernandez, Al Jazeera English correspondent

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Alexandra Locke with Chloe K. Li, Ney Alvarez, Negin Owliaei, Amy Walters, and Malika Bilal. Alex Roldan is our sound designer. Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.

Previously on The Take: Protesters, power cuts and Sri Lanka’s persistent president 

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook