The Take

Over 100 world leaders are gathered in Glasgow, Scotland for COP26 to plan a better future for the planet and one of the first decisions they made is to reduce deforestation by 2030. Scientists say that two-thirds of the biggest rainforest in Mexico, the Lancandon Jungle, has been lost and environmental groups and indigenous people are fighting to curb deforestation, illegal logging, and trade with protected species. We talk to Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Mexico, Manuel Rapalo, about his excursion to the jungle, deforestation and the protected species he met there.

In this episode: 

Manuel Rapalo (@Manuel_Rapalo), Al Jazeera correspondent in Mexico

Connect with The Take: 

Twitter (@AJTheTake), Instagram (@ajthetake) and Facebook (@TheTakePod)

Thousands of employees across the US are on strikes demanding change, and they're hoping that a worker-friendly Congress and arguably the most pro-union president in decades will help them get it. 

In this episode:

• Marlena Pellegrino, nurse striking from St. Vincent Hospital (@SaintVincentMA) and Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Nurses Association (@MassNurses) Bargaining Unit
• Nafisah Ula, Organizing Director of Jobs With Justice National (@jwjnational)
• Thomas Kochan, Professor at MIT Sloan School of Management

Connect with The Take: 

Twitter (@AJTheTake), Instagram (@ajthetake) and Facebook (@TheTakePod)

In the early hours of October 25, reports started to emerge from Sudan that Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok had been arrested. As the hours passed, it became clear what had unfolded: a coup was taking place, two years after Sudan's revolution, and just weeks before a transitional government was to be handed over to civilians. We talk to people in Sudan and the diaspora about what the military takeover could mean for the country’s path to civilian governance. 

In this episode: 

• Isma’il Kushkush (@ikushkush), journalist
• Marine Alneel (@MarineAlneel), protester 
• Nisrin Elamin (@minlayla77), Assistant Professor of international studies at Bryn Mawr 

Connect with The Take: 

Twitter (@AJTheTake), Instagram (@ajthetake) and Facebook (@TheTakePod)

All around the world, supplies of energy cannot keep up with soaring demand. That means higher energy prices. But more expensive natural gas, oil and other fossil fuels means staying warm this winter will cost consumers a lot more money. Today we explain what triggered this energy crisis, who will it hurt the most, and how the fossil fuel crunch  could impact the climate crisis?

In this episode: 

• Henning Gloystein (@hgloystein), Director of Energy, Climate & Resources at Eurasia Group
• Justin Schott, Project Manager of Energy Equity Project, Urban Energy Justice Lab (@JustUrbanEnergy) at the University of Michigan School for Environment & Sustainability 

Connect with The Take: 

Twitter (@AJTheTake), Instagram (@ajthetake) and Facebook (@TheTakePod)

Many Afghans are still trying to escape their country after the Taliban took over in August but few are as threatened as women judges. In 2009 the Elimination of Violence Against women was signed by then President Hamid Karzai and in the years that followed, courts led by female judges opened in provinces around the country, enforcing laws protecting women from violence and abuse. Since the Taliban opened the prisons, many of those jailed are now free and threatening the lives of the women who locked them up. Now, the chaos that followed the Western exit from Afghanistan has made it that much more difficult for the women to escape.  Today on the Take we hear their stories and the plight of the international legal community trying to get them out.

As fighting erupts across an old frontline in Beirut, Al Jazeera’s senior correspondent Lebanon Zeina Khodr shares her experiences reporting on a country mired in multiple crisis.

In this episode: Zeina Khodr (@ZeinaKhodrAljaz), Al Jazeera’s senior correspondent in Lebanon

Connect with The Take: 

Twitter (@AJTheTake), Instagram (@ajthetake) and Facebook (@TheTakePod)

Muammar Gaddafi’s death shocked the world – and 10 years later, the instability the former leader’s death unleashed in Libya has yet to end. Many thought the family’s hold over Libya was done, but one of Gaddafi’s sons is trying to overcome his past – and his ICC charges – to maneuver for power. He could even be a contender in December’s upcoming elections. So what are the chances that Libya could see the rise of another Gaddafi?

In this episode: 

• Malik Traina (@libyanmind),  Al Jazeera producer in Libya 
• Tarek Megerisi (@tmegrisi), Senior Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations 

Connect with The Take: 

Twitter (@AJTheTake), Instagram (@ajthetake) and Facebook (@TheTakePod)

Increasingly, droughts, floods, and hurricanes are becoming a reason for people to leave their homes and even their countries. Last year, nearly half of the population in Honduras was affected by hurricanes. But the concept of climate refugees is not yet legally recognized by international law. So what’s left for migrants who are losing their jobs and homes to do in the face of climate change?

Connect with The Take: 

Twitter (@AJTheTake), Instagram (@ajthetake) and Facebook (@TheTakePod)

With close to half a million deaths from Malaria in 2019 --most in Sub-Saharan Africa-- scientists have spent decades working toward a vaccine, and last week, the World Health Organization approved the first. But, with only 30 to 40 percent efficacy some are also asking, is it worth it? And, there are other questions about how quickly it can be deployed.  We talk to one Kenyan scientist who grew up in one of the world’s most malaria ridden regions and hear about how he’s helping to stop this dogged and deadly disease.

For six hours on October 4, Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp, all owned by the same parent company, were inaccessible to the 3.5 billion people who use them. The outage exposed just how extensive Facebook’s communications empire is, and left people wondering if it’s a monopoly that needs to be broken up.