Another Take: Imani Barbarin on disability rights, COVID and Gaza
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 748 Ratings
🗓️ 28 February 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Every Saturday, we revisit a story from the archives. This originally aired on xx, 20xx. None of the dates, titles, or other references from that time have been changed.
Why does the public understanding of disability lag so far behind reality? TikTok influencer and disability activist Imani Barbarin lays this out for her audiences on social media, where she has amassed nearly a million followers across platforms. In this episode, Barbarin shares her perspectives on disability at the intersection of issues, including COVID and the genocidal war on Gaza.
In this episode:
- Imani Barbarin (@Imani_Barbarin), Disability Advocate
Episode credits:
This episode was updated by Melanie Marich and Sarí el-Khalili. The original production team was Melanie Marich and Haleema Shah, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Tracie Hunte, Diana Ferrero, Fatima Shafiq, Farhan Rafid, and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Kylene Kiang and Noor Wazwaz.
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.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Hi, I'm Melanie Maritch, and this is another take, where we resurface stories from the archives. |
| 0:18.1 | Earlier this month, the National Institute of Health announced its largest clinical trials |
| 0:22.7 | for children with long COVID. It comes just a few months after long COVID was declared the most |
| 0:28.4 | common chronic health condition for kids, even more common than asthma. Despite that, many families in the |
| 0:35.5 | U.S. still struggle to find pediatric care. |
| 0:38.8 | These children are part of a growing number of disabled people in the United States since the |
| 0:43.6 | COVID-19 pandemic began. In this episode, we talked to Disability Justice Advocate and TikTok star |
| 0:49.6 | Imani Barbaran about the gap between how disability is perceived and the reality of living it. |
| 0:56.0 | This original episode aired December 18th, 2025. |
| 1:00.0 | All dates and references are from that time. |
| 1:09.0 | Today, rethinking what it means to be a disabled person. |
| 1:14.2 | I think a lot of people really don't realize how much of our policies, how much of our ideas, |
| 1:21.3 | how many of our stereotypes are impacted and influenced by simply how we see disabled people. |
| 1:27.6 | TikTok star and disability activist Ammani Barbaran talks ableism, COVID, and the war on Gaza. |
| 1:35.9 | I'm Kevin Horton, and this is the take. |
| 1:48.7 | Before we continue with today's show, remember to leave us a comment telling us what you think about this episode |
| 1:52.1 | and what stories you want us to do next. |
| 1:54.7 | Or if you're on a podcast app, leave us a review, |
| 1:57.9 | telling us where you're listening from |
| 1:59.2 | and maybe give us a five-star rating while you're there. |
| 2:02.2 | It really does help the show. |
... |
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