The Take

In 2017, the US dropped the “mother of all bombs” in a remote village in Afghanistan’s Achin district. Al Jazeera made the journey to see what’s left: homes destroyed, health problems mounting, and no accountability in sight.
This is a story from the archives. This originally aired on May 29, 2025. None of the dates, titles or other references from that time have been changed.
In this episode:
Osama Bin Javaid (@osamabinjavaid), Al Jazeera Correspondent
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Sarí el-Khalili, Sonia Bhagat, and Chloe K Li, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Mariana Navarrete, Remas Alhawari, Kisaa Zehra, Kingwell Ma, Khaled Soltan, and our guest host, Natasha del Toro. It was edited by Noor Wazwaz.
The Take production team is Marcos Bartolomé, Sonia Bhagat, Spencer Cline, Sarí el-Khalili, Diana Ferrero, Tracie Hunte, Tamara Khandaker, Kylene Kiang, Phillip Lanos, Chloe K. Li, Melanie Marich, Catherine Nouhan, Amy Walters, and Noor Wazwaz. Our editorial interns are Marya Khan and Kisaa Zehra. Our guest host is Manuel Rápalo.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad Al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is the Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio

This week: 137 days into a ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 601 Palestinians in Gaza.
A ban on Palestine Action has been ruled unlawful in the UK. Israel revokes residency rights of two Palestinians from Jerusalem. France, Germany and the Czech Republic call for the resignation of Francesca Albanese
Israel has killed more than 72,061 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7th, 2023.

In this episode:
Hind Khoudary, (Hind_Gaza), Al Jazeera Corresp
Osama Bin Javid, (@osamabinjavaid), Al Jazeera Correspondent
Sonia Gallego, (@SoniaRGallego), Al Jazeera journalist
Nour Odeh, (@nour_odeh) Al Jazeera Correspondent
Nida Ibrahim, (@nidaibrahim) Al Jazeera Correspondent

Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Marthe van der Wolf. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Andrew Greiner and Munera AlDosari is our engagement producer. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.
Connect with us:
@AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

Every Saturday, we revisit a story from the archives. This originally aired on June 12, 2024. None of the references have been changed.
Whenever India and Pakistan meet in cricket, it’s one of the world’s most-watched sporting events, and June 2024 was no different. We went to the stadium for a screening of the highly-anticipated T20 match, played on neutral ground in New York, to capture the sights and sounds, and explain the significance of one of the world’s biggest sporting rivalries.
In this episode:
Ashish Malhotra (@amalhotra2), producer at The Take
Tabish Talib (@tabish_talib), senior producer at AJ+
Episode credits:
This episode was updated by Chloe K. Li. The original production team was Ashish Malhotra, Tabish Talib and Tamara Khandaker, with Duha Mosaad, Chloe K Li, and our host, Malika Bilal..
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our engagement producers are Adam Abou-Gad and Vienna Maglio. Andrew Greiner is lead of audience engagement. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

The biggest cricket match of the Men’s T20 World Cup almost didn’t happen. Pakistan said it would not play India, sending shockwaves through the sport and triggering urgent talks between officials and governments. After days of tense negotiations, the standoff ended and the rivals are set to meet on Sunday. What changed, and what will it mean when they take the field?
In this episode:
Hafsa Adil (@hafsa_adil), Sports Journalist at Al Jazeera
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Noor Wazwaz and Sarí el-Khalili, with Spencer Cline, Melanie Marich, Chloe K. Li, Maya Hamadeh, Tuleen Barakat, and our host, Malika Bilal. It was edited by Tamara Khandaker.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhemm. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
Connect with us:
@AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

Ex-Prince Andrew was the tip of the iceberg. The latest trove of Epstein files reveals new details about former UK envoy Peter Mandelson's ‘best pal’ relationship with the convicted sex offender that have pushed Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour into a new crisis. Is this the scandal that defines Labour?
In this episode:
Kieran Andrieu (@kieran_andrieu) Political Economist and Novara Media contributor
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Melanie Marich, with Sarí el-Khalili, Chloe Li, Spencer Cline, Maya Hamadeh, Tuleen Barakat, Sonia Bhagat and our host, Malika Bilal. It was edited by Tamara Khandaker.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhemm. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
Connect with us:
@AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube