The Take

In the US election, seven battleground states could swing the contest toward Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. Voters in these states have faced a barrage of outreach and campaign visits. We hear from a panel of local journalists taking the pulse of their communities on the calculus of voters they’ve been talking to and the issues that matter most.

In this episode:

• Ruth Conniff (@rconniff), Editor-in-Chief, Wisconsin Examiner 

• George Chidi (@neonflag), Politics and Democracy Reporter, The Guardian

• Sophia Lo (@sophiamaylo), Producer, City Cast Pittsburgh

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Chloe K. Li, Sonia Bhagat, Ashish Malhotra, Khaled Soltan and Sarí el-Khalili with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Cole Van Miltenburg, Duha Mosaad, Hagir Saleh, and our host, Malika Bilal.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editor is Hisham Abu Salah. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube

Arab and Muslim Americans in the state of Michigan are grappling with a critical choice this election. Nearly 400,000 Arab Americans in the state were instrumental in delivering Michigan to elect Joe Biden in 2020. This time, however, many feel betrayed by his administration’s support for Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon. With candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris running neck and neck in Michigan, what stance will these voters take?

In this episode:

• Ali Harb (@Harbpeace), Al Jazeera Journalist

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Tamara Khandaker and Sarí el-Khalili, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Duha Mosaad, Hagir Saleh, Cole van Miltenburg, and our host, Malika Bilal. 

The Take production team is Marcos Bartolomé, Sonia Bhagat, Sarí el-Khalili, Tamara Khandaker, Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Chloe K. Li, Ashish Malhotra, Khaled Soltan, and Amy Walters. Our editorial interns are Duha Mosaad, Hagir Saleh, and Cole van Miltenburg. Our host is Malika Bilal. 

Our engagement producers are Munera Al Dosari, Adam Abou-Gad and Vienna Maglio. Aya Elmileik is lead of audience engagement.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editor is Hisham Abu Salah. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube

As Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon continues, we're coming to you on Sundays with a weekly roundup. This week: Israel's parliament voted to shut down UNRWA. Israel continued widespread attacks in Lebanon. U. S. presidential candidates wrapped up their campaigns. It is day 394 of the war in Gaza, where at least 43,259 Palestinians have been killed. There is one day until the US presidential election.

In this episode:

• Hind Al Khoudary, (@Hind_Gaza) Al Jazeera Correspondent
• Zeina Khodr, (@ZeinakhodrAljaz) Al Jazeera Correspondent
• Teresa Bo, (@TeresaBo) Al Jazeera Correspondent

This episode was produced and mixed by David Enders. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad is our engagement producer. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.

Every Saturday, we revisit a story from the archives. This originally aired on October 20, 2020. None of the dates, titles, or other references from that time have been changed.

From ballots and deadlines to envelopes and polling places, if it's part of the US election, there's probably a lawsuit about it. This is the most litigated election in US history, and decisions that could swing the result will come down to the nine unelected members of the Supreme Court. A newly appointed conservative justice has fueled fears about the court's power to decide whose votes count, and whose get thrown out.

What does that mean for people of color who have fought decades of voter suppression? And what will the election mean for the future of the Supreme Court?

In this episode:

• Franita Tolson (@ProfTolson), Vice Dean at The University of Southern California's Gould School of Law & Fellow with The Justice Collaborative Institute

• Ryan Doerfler (@rddoerfler), Professor at The University of Chicago Law School

Episode credits:

This episode was updated by Sarí el-Khalili. The original production team was Alexandra Locke, Negin Owliaei, Amy Walters, Dina Kesbeh, Ney Alvarez, Ony Nwaohuocha, Priyanka Tilve, and our host, Malika Bilal. 

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editor is Hisham Abu Salah. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is polling at 2% nationally, drawing attention from US voters as the ‘anti-genocide’ candidate for her opposition to US support for Israel. Her opponents in the Democratic Party label her a “spoiler” in key swing states. So what is she trying to achieve – and what does her candidacy say about the state of US democracy?

In this episode:

• Jill Stein (@DrJillStein), Green Party Presidential Candidate

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Ashish Malhotra, Sonia Bhagat and Chloe K. Li with Phillip Lanos, Duha Mosaad, Hagir Saleh, Cole van Miltenburg, and our host, Malika Bilal. 

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editor is Hisham Abu Salah. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio. 

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube

With 10,000 North Korean troops reportedly training in Russia, the stakes of the Ukraine war have reached new heights. As the war grinds on, what could this influx of reinforcements for Russia mean not only for the battlefield, but also for the delicate balance of power in the Indo-Pacific — and what does North Korea stand to gain from a strengthening alliance with Moscow? 

In this episode:

• Zoran Kusovac (@zkusovac), Security Analyst

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Marcos Bartolomé, Sarí el-Khalili, Khaled Soltan and Tamara Khandaker, with Duha Mosaad, Hagir Saleh, Cole van Miltenburg, and our host, Natasha Del Toro in for Malika Bilal. 

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editor is Hisham Abu Salah. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio. 

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube

A joke at a Donald Trump rally has brought Puerto Ricans in the swing state of Pennsylvania into the spotlight. While Puerto Ricans on the island, a US commonwealth, cannot vote, on the mainland, could they change the course of the US election?

In this episode:

• Victor Martinez (@victor_vj_martinez), Host, El Relajo de la Mañana

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Amy Walters, Tamara Khandaker, and Chloe K Li, with Duha Mosaad, Hagir Saleh, Cole van Miltenburg, and our host, Natasha Del Toro in for Malika Bilal. 

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editor is Hisham Abu Salah. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio. 

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube

Israel has accused six of Al Jazeera’s reporters in Gaza of being operatives for Hamas and Islamic Jihad - allegations the network condemned as fabricated. We look at Al Jazeera’s fight to report from Gaza, the dangers its journalists face, and the broader implications of Israel’s efforts to keep international media out of the Strip.

In this episode:

• Mohamed Moawad (@moawady), Managing Editor of Al Jazeera Arabic 

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Ashish Malhotra, Sonia Bhagat, Tamara Khandaker, and Sarí el-Khalili, with Duha Mosaad, Cole van Miltenburg and our host, Natasha Del Toro, in for Malika Bilal.

The Take production team is Marcos Bartolomé, Sonia Bhagat, Sarí el-Khalili, Tamara Khandaker, Phillip Lanos, Chloe K. Li, Ashish Malhotra, Khaled Soltan, and Amy Walters. Our editorial interns are Duha Mosaad, Hagir Saleh, and Cole van Miltenburg. Our host is Malika Bilal. Our engagement producers are Munera Al Dosari, Adam Abou-Gad, and Vienna Maglio. Aya Elmileik is lead of audience engagement.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editor is Hisham Abu Salah. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube

Israeli forces launched strikes on military targets across Iran early Saturday, claiming they were in response to ongoing regional attacks by “Iran and its proxies.” Hours later, Israel announced it had “achieved its objectives” and warned Tehran against retaliation. Will Iran answer back, and what could that mean for the region?

In this episode: 

• Alex Gatopolous (@AlexGatopoulos), Defence Editor, Al Jazeera English

Episode Credits:

This episode was produced by Khaled Soltan, David Enders and Sonia Baghat with Hagir Saleh, and our host, Kevin Hirten in for Malika Bilal. It was edited by Ney Alvarez. 

David Enders mixed this episode. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editor is Hisham Abu Salah. Our engagement producers are Munera AlDosari, Adam Abou-Gad and Vienna Maglio. Aya Elmileik is lead of audience engagement.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube

Every Saturday, we revisit a story from the archives. This originally aired on February 27, 2023. None of the dates, titles, or other references from that time have been changed.

Why haven’t the people of the Chagos Islands been allowed to go home? The archipelago in the Indian Ocean was home to Chagossians until the 1960s. As decolonization swept the globe, the UK created one last African colony. Slowly and then all at once, it forced people to leave their homes, then leased the land to the US for a military base. Chagossians have been fighting – and sometimes winning – in court to return to their home islands, and now, Human Rights Watch says that what the UK and US did amounts to crimes against humanity. 

In this episode:

• Clive Baldwin (@cliveabaldwin), Senior Legal Advisor, Human Rights Watch

Episode credits:

This episode was updated by Chloe K. Li and Sarí el-Khalili. The original production team was Negin Owliaei, Miranda Lin, and our host Malika Bilal. 

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Munera Al Dosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube