The Take

Chances are you've never heard of the Coca Codo Sinclair Dam. It's a project that was designed to supercharge renewable energy in Ecuador. Instead, it brought oil spills, flash floods, corruption, and crippling debt.

In the second half of our two-part series on Ecuador's Amazon, we're examining how the ill-advised dam continues to plague indigenous communities years after it was inaugurated.

In this episode:

Sigrid Vasconez (@sigridvasconez), an environmental biologist working with Curbing Corruption (@CurbingCorruptn).

For more:

Part 1: Escaping coronavirus in Ecuador's Amazon

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In the first of this two-part series, we bring you a story of what happens when an environmental crisis and a health crisis are stacked on top of one another, affecting one of the most vulnerable populations in one of the world's most vulnerable regions.

When COVID-19 hit Ecuador, its indigenous communities fled to their ancestral homes in the Amazon. But more trouble awaited them in the rainforest.

In this episode:

Kim Brown (@KimberleyJBrown), a freelance journalist based in Ecuador.

For more:

Coronavirus pandemic exposes inequality in Ecuador's Guayaquil

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Lebanon’s financial collapse is accelerating — and the old normal is fading, even down to the traffic lights. In a country where people were once able to pay just as easily with dollars as with local currency, many now can find neither. The Lebanese are no strangers to handling crisis, but this one could be the biggest since the civil war.

In this episode:

Timour Azhari (@timourazhari), Beirut correspondent for Al Jazeera.

For more:

Dying of the light: Lebanon's crisis and failing traffic signals

'Plotting our escape': Lebanon braces for new emigration wave

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Hachalu Hundessa was the man many Ethiopians credit with composing the soundtrack of a movement. His uptempo pop songs filled with political references gave voice to the marginalized Oromo ethnic group. His recent death has prompted a political flashpoint that highlights the country's simmering ethnic tensions.

In this episode:

Ayantu Ayana, phD student from Ethiopia; Mohammed Adow, Al Jazeera journalist.

For more:

More than 160 killed in Ethiopia protests over singer's murder

How Hachalu Hundessa's murder reveals Ethiopia's political divide

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The annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca has been drastically downsized this year. Saudi Arabia announced that only pilgrims within the country can perform the Hajj, in order to limit the spread of the coronavirus. With a restricted Hajj comes frustration for Muslims who plan for years to fulfill a religious duty, and worry over how the loss in revenue will impact the local economy.

In this episode:

Jamal Elshayyal, Al Jazeera journalist; Sajjad Ahmad, founder of The Fifth Pillar.

For more:

Hajj 2020: What you need to know about this year's pilgrimage

Ramadan stories under quarantine

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A three-year undercover investigation into the world's most powerful gun lobby ended last year with an explosive report by Al Jazeera's investigative unit that revealed a link between the National Rifle Association and Australia's far right. Journalists from the unit walk us through how they got the story — which is the focus of a newly published book.

For more:

How to sell a massacre: NRA's playbook revealed

In this episode:

Peter Charley, executive producer for Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit; Al Jazeera senior producer Jeremy Young.

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Women are the fastest growing incarcerated population in the US, and Elaine Daly was one of them. Daly's story served as inspiration for Al Jazeera's virtual reality film, "Still Here." The immersive multimedia installation, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, explored life after incarceration and erasure upon returning to a gentrifying neighborhood. Daly talks to us about the film, and how the criminal "injustice" system impacts women.

In this episode:

Elaine Daly, social worker living in New York City; Zahra Rasool (@RXahra), the head of Al Jazeera's immersive storytelling studio AJ Contrast (@AJContrast).

For more:

Still Here by Al Jazeera Contrast

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The presumptive Democratic nominee for President of the United States, Joe Biden, has made a promise: He will pick a woman as his vice president. There have been calls for Biden’s pick to not only be a woman, but a Black woman. But will Black women pick Biden as the next president?

In this episode:

Imaeyen Ibanga (@iiwrites), presenter and reporter for AJ+; Glynda Carr (@glyndacarr) president and CEO of Higher Heights for America.

For more:

Can Black Voters Swing The 2020 Election?

US Veepstakes: Joe Biden narrows list of potential running mates

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Farhan Virk is a household name in Pakistan's Twittersphere. Considered by many to be a state-sponsored troll, he commands a Twitter army of more than 1,000 volunteers dedicated to spreading hyper-nationalist propaganda. In this episode, investigative filmmaker Hasham Cheema details the inner-workings of Virk's methods, and how Virk's command of the algorithm has impacted Pakistan's democracy.

In this episode:

Filmmaker Hasham Cheema (@HashamKabir)

For more:

War, Lies and Hashtags: Pakistan's Twitter Battles

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Syria’s inner circle of power has been dominated by the al-Assad family for 50 years, but nearly a decade of war is exposing its cracks. Journalist Sam Dagher was based in Damascus in the early years of the war, and after the government kicked him out, he used his access to write the inside story of the family that’s become synonymous with Syria.

As Bashar al-Assad marks 20 years in power this week, we pull the curtain back on the inner circle to hear the story of a leader who wasn’t meant for power, but was lifted up by the family name that consumed him.

In this episode:

Sam Dagher, journalist and author of “Assad or We Burn the Country.”

For more:

The unmaking of a billionaire: A case study in how and why the Assad regime eats its own by Sam Dagher

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