The Take

Another Olympics has come and gone. And as the athletes and sponsors leave town, Tokyo could be left to deal with the debt, gentrification, and displacement that can come from hosting the games. In this episode, we look at the social cost of hosting sporting events and the activists fighting to keep the Olympics out of their hometowns.

Since the American-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the US has trained thousands of Afghan security forces. Among them are militias that were backed by the US Central Intelligence Agency. For years, activists and journalists have documented civilian killings that took place by their hand. How will that legacy affect the current fight ahead for the country?

What’s left in Lebanon, after a year of almost indescribable crisis, is the fight to hold someone – anyone – accountable. There’s been a yearlong fight to do just that, but with the economic freefall only getting worse, the paralysis seems only to be deepening. Lebanon is no stranger to proxy conflicts, and now the investigation into the blast has become a proxy fight for the future of Lebanon itself.

Last week, one more name was added to the list of Donald Trump advisors indicted after serving the former president of the United States. Thomas Barrack is charged with facilitating illegal influence by the United Arab Emirates on the US. How much influence did the UAE have and what is the US doing about it?

Tunisia’s president is on a firing spree. Kais Saied sacked the prime minister, froze parliament, and dismissed several senior officials in the span of a week, all in the name of anti-corruption. The political turmoil has many Tunisians wondering — should they view these latest developments with hope? Or skepticism?

With the recent announcement of Bill and Melinda Gates’ divorce, many people are asking questions about the Foundation's future. But this is not the first time questions about the foundation have been asked. One development expert we spoke with claims AGRA, Bill Gates’ two decade old program to feed Africa through agriculture, failed in its goals. On this episode of The Take we look at the Gates Foundation, and at AGRA and what went wrong.

The biggest threat to China’s future prosperity may not come from the US, but from within as it wrestles with falling birthrates and rising inequality. How concerned is China about the widening gap between the country’s haves and have nots? Look no further than its billionaires, who’ve suddenly become very generous.

COVID-19, racism, anti-semitism, and a crackdown on protest — all dark clouds hanging over this year’s Olympic games in Tokyo. The International Olympic Committee made a huge gamble in postponing the event to 2021. Has it paid off?

As many as 75% of young South Africans are unemployed. In any other country that would be cause for a revolution according to one South African economist. Why did rioting and looting sweep the country last week? And could violence erupt again? This week The Take explores the vast inequality and economic hardships behind South Africa’s latest unrest.

The world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos, is heading to space on his own spaceship on July 20th – though he’s already been upstaged by another billionaire space tour. Where the global space race was once decided by the wealth of nations, now its future is increasingly determined by ultra-wealthy individuals worth more than many countries. Their pursuit of space could put new resources in reach, and it’s reshaping the laws of outer space – at least, the ones made by humans.

Samuel Luiz was beaten to death the first weekend of July in A Coruña, a city in northwest Spain. Witnesses say his aggressors reportedly used homophobic slurs while attacking him. But the police have not deemed it a hate crime yet. The killing has shocked the LGBTQ community, and many had started a conversation online about their own experiences with attacks. While others are questioning how progressive the European country is.

Jovenel Moise's assassination has thrown Haiti into a fog of political confusion. But with gangs running the streets, and extreme poverty across the country, Haiti was in a state of crisis long before his killing.

After 20 years the United States is ending its occupation of Afghanistan. A lot has changed but many Afghans like journalist Ali Latifi are concerned about how many things are still the same. Roads remain unpaved, the electricity is spotty and a newly energized Taliban is threatening to take back the Afghan state. Many Afghans are now left wondering what happened to the US promises and why the Afghan people have been left behind.

For the last few weeks, people around the world have been tuning in to Euro 2020, one of the biggest sporting events since the start of the pandemic. And like most international tournaments, there's a conversation to be had about nationalism, whether it's teams butting heads, or the ethnic and racial makeup of those teams. So what can Euro 2020, and this sport, tell us about the politics of Europe?

Since June, at least 27 people have been detained in the Central American country. Among them are presidential hopefuls, journalists, opposition leaders, farmer activists, student leaders, businessmen and even figureheads of the Sandinista revolution that once freed Daniel Ortega from jail.The crackdown has sparked international outrage, with the country’s opposition saying President Daniel Ortega is trying to eliminate any possible challengers ahead of the November presidential election.