The Take

Anthropologist David Graeber wrote the book on “Bull**** Jobs,” and he joins The Take to talk about what makes work essential, and what makes it pointless. The pandemic has sparked conversations about undervaluing essential workers, especially as pressure grows to “get the economy going again”. In this episode, Graeber asks what we really mean when we talk about “the economy,” and who it benefits.

In this episode:

David Graeber (@davidgraeber), author and professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics.

For more:

On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs: A Work Rant by David Graeber

Connect with The Take: Twitter (@AJTheTake), Instagram (@ajthetake) and Facebook (@TheTakePod).

Defund, reform or abolish police departments — that's the growing call among US protesters. Already, the idea is taking hold, as the Minneapolis City Council pledged to dismantle its police department this week. Why is this movement gaining traction? We go to Minneapolis to find out.

In this episode:

A. Raphael Johnson (@ulitave), a novelist in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Kami Chavis (@ProfKamiChavis), director of the Criminal Justice Program at Wake Forest University; Simone Weichselbaum (@SimoneJWei), writer at The Marshall Project; Mohamed Shehk, communications director for Critical Resistance (@C_Resistance).

For more:

Mapping US police killings of Black Americans

US Democrats in Congress propose extensive police reforms

Police forces across US promise reform

Connect with The Take: Twitter (@AJTheTake), Instagram (@ajthetake) and Facebook (@TheTakePod).

Mexico is reopening its economy after it implemented measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But the numbers of bodies piling up in morgues and crematoriums in the capital don't seem to match the numbers that President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says are helping to flatten the curve.

In this episode:

Manuel Rapalo (@Manuel_Rapalo), Al Jazeera correspondent in Mexico City; Mercedes Vargas-Lugo, planning producer for Al Jazeera English.

For more:

Mexico to start reopening from lockdown amid rising infections

8,000 'excess deaths' in Mexico City as coronavirus rages: study

'No one's looking out for us': Mexico medical workers beg for PPE

Connect with The Take: Twitter (@AJTheTake), Instagram (@ajthetake) and Facebook (@TheTakePod).

Protesters across hundreds of US cities are defying curfews and risking arrest to protest against police brutality. We've seen demonstrations like this before, but this year's wave feels different. To understand why, we speak with author and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib. We also speak with a woman in Washington, DC who unexpectedly faced the police at her doorstep this week.

In this episode:

Poet and GEN magazine editor, Hanif Abdurraqib (@NifMuhammad). Madiha Nawaz (@madihasays), a graduate student and Washington, DC resident.

For more:

America Returns to Its Violent Normal by Hanif Abdurraqib

Will protests in the US lead to a political change?

What happened the day George Floyd died in police custody?

Floyd protests: Charting US racial inequality

Connect with The Take: Twitter (@AJTheTake), Instagram (@ajthetake) and Facebook (@TheTakePod).

As demonstrations continue in the US, The Take is revisiting protests that took place a year ago in Khartoum, Sudan. One hundred people were reported killed on Massacre Monday, and it is impossible for a lot of Sudanese to forget — including Hiba Morgan, Al Jazeera's correspondent there. As her friends feared for their lives, she, along with the rest of the Al Jazeera team, were barred from reporting.

In this episode:

Hiba Morgan, (@hiba_morgan) Al Jazeera journalist in Khartoum, Sudan; and Al Jazeera journalist, Imran Khan (@ajimran).

For more:

Sudan's revolution: One year since Omar Al Bashir

Sudan's government agrees to hand Omar al-Bashir over to ICC

Coronavirus in Sudan: Food and medical supplies in short supply

Connect with The Take: Twitter (@AJTheTake), Instagram (@ajthetake) and Facebook (@TheTakePod).

When coronavirus hit the cruise industry, many passengers were allowed to disembark and were repatriated to their home countries. But as of mid May, about 100,000 crew members were still at sea, trying to get home. We speak with one crew member who was able to go home, and with many who are still stuck on board.

In this episode:

Sterling Howell, musician and cruise line entertainer; Krista Thomas, former guest services director for Norwegian Cruises; Ghoseawon 'Albert' Luxmeeparsad, and other Mauritian crew members.

For more:

Cruise lines face legal storm over coronavirus outbreaks

Thousands of Indian seafarers stranded due to coronavirus curbs

Connect with The Take: Twitter (@AJTheTake), Instagram (@ajthetake) and Facebook (@TheTakePod).

If you are struggling with mental health issues, there are suicide crisis lines available in many countries. Here are some resources:

Open Counseling

International Association for Suicide Prevention

Global Suicide Hotline Resources — WhatsApp

Rural Chileans can barely wash their hands, but the avocados nearby are thriving. The country has been battling a mega drought for over a decade, and rivers and reservoirs in Chile have dried to dust. In this episode, we're asking who has access to water, who doesn't, and how hard that is to change during the coronavirus outbreak.

In this episode:

Lucia Newman (@lucianewman), Al Jazeera editor for Latin America.

For more:

Chile to postpone constitution referendum over COVID-19

How do communities fight coronavirus when they don't have water?

Chile drought enters critical phase

Connect with The Take: Twitter (@AJTheTake), Instagram (@ajthetake) and Facebook (@TheTakePod).

The pandemic has disrupted education for nearly 1.3 billion students worldwide. The dominant alternative model for education has been tethered to internet access and broadcast stations. But what happens to children who live in households without access to technology or an internet connection? We're going to Kenya to find out.

In this episode:

Catherine Soi (@C_SOI), Al Jazeera journalist in Nairobi, Kenya; Justin Sandefur (@JustinSandefur), a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development; and Evelyn Jepkemei (@Jepkemei), educational advisor at World University Service of Canada.

For more:

Education on hold: School closures disadvantaging Africa's poor

Stigma, fears of quarantine hinder Kenya's COVID-19 fight

Stamping out misinformation in Kenya's COVID-19 fight

Connect with The Take: Twitter (@AJTheTake), Instagram (@ajthetake) and Facebook (@TheTakePod).

In this episode, we're hearing passages read by Al Jazeera journalists and fellow bibliophiles from the books they're turning to during this pandemic. We often read to be transported, and at this time when we're very stuck in one place, we're looking to our bookshelves — and bookshops under threat — to travel to new worlds and return to old memories.

In this episode:

Al Jazeera senior correspondents Mohammed Jamjoom, Stefanie Dekker, and Imran Khan; Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath, Americas editor for aljazeera.com; Kyle Burk, co-owner of Capitol Hill Books (@capitolhillbooks) in Washington, DC; Tawney Bevilacqua, The Take listener in Melbourne, Australia; and Akinolo Davies, The Take listener in London, UK.

The reading list:

The Colossus of New York by Colson Whitehead

The Plague by Albert Camus

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Faces of Love: Hafez and the Poets of Shiraz by Hafez, Jahan Malek Khatun, Obayd-e Zakani, Dick Davis

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

Connect with The Take: Twitter (@AJTheTake), Instagram (@ajthetake) and Facebook (@TheTakePod).

The US Supreme Court will soon decide the future of DACA, the federal program that has granted a temporary reprieve from deportation for undocumented young people, known as DREAMers. That ruling will decide the fate of more than 700,000 people in the US. On this episode, we're bringing you a story about two young DREAMers who took fate into their own hands.

In this episode:

Tawheeda Wahabzada, a former DREAMer now working as a senior researcher in Toronto, Canada; Mauricio Lopez, a former DREAMer now working and living in Mexico City, Mexico; and Steve Yale-Loehr (@syaleloehr), a lawyer and professor of immigration law at Cornell University.

For more:

2020 look ahead: 'DREAMers' await decision on their futures

US Supreme Court to rule on Trump bid to end 'dreamers' programme

Opinion: No Need to Deport Me. This Dreamer’s Dream Is Dead.

Connect with The Take: Twitter (@AJTheTake), Instagram (@ajthetake) and Facebook (@TheTakePod).