Big Take

Introducing: Elon, Inc.

12 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

At Bloomberg, we’re always talking about the biggest business stories, and no one is bigger than Elon Musk. In this new chat weekly show, host David...

Consumer Brands Keep Getting Pulled Into Politics

10 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What do Nike, Bud Light, Target and Disney have in common? They’re all brands that have been caught up in America’s political and culture wars. Co...

US Veterans Are Losing Their Homes As Covid Mortgage Relief Ends

09 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

During the pandemic, the US government granted millions of homeowners a temporary pause in their mortgage payments. Hundreds of thousands of military ...

Previewing the Republican Primary Debate With Governor Chris Sununu

08 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu is still playing the Republican presidential primary field. With a little more than two months until the first cau...

The Junk Food Industry Finds Its Next Sweet Spot: India

07 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Pratik Parija and Kai Schultz join this episode to discuss why the packaged food and beverage industry has its sights set on India—and...

The Company That Made Your Phone Wants To Make Your EV, Too

06 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Taiwan-based company Foxconn builds roughly two out of every three iPhones, along with the Google Pixel, Amazon Kindle, Nintendo Switch and a slew...

Growing Pressure On Israel Over The Humanitarian Crisis In Gaza

03 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Henry Meyer and Galit Altstein join this episode with an update on the Israel-Hamas war, including the growing humanitarian crisis in Ga...

The Man With $1.2 Trillion to Spend and an Infrastructure Plan to Sell

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In November 2021, President Joe Biden signed the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Act into law. That hasn’t translated into a clear political...

Three Guilty Pleas. Two Gag Orders. One Former President’s Legal Troubles

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Zoe Tillman and Sara Forden join this episode for an update on former president Donald Trump’s ongoing legal troubles—including gag ...

From Poland To India, Food Security Is A Key Election Issue

31 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Agnieszka de Sousa joins this episode to discuss why concerns about food security have become a top issue in elections around the world—...

How Washington Plays Matchmaker For The US Gun Industry

30 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Jessica Brice and Michael Smith join this episode to talk about how and why the US Commerce Department is helping the firearms industry ...

Taylor Swift Is A Pop Icon. And A Billionaire

27 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Taylor Swift’s monumental success is due to her talent as a performer — as well as her business acumen. Bloomberg’s Devon Pendleton and Claire B...

House Republicans Finally Pick A Speaker. Who Is Mike Johnson?

26 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On Wednesday, after a three-week battle in the US House of Representatives, Republicans voted in a new House speaker to replace ousted speaker Kevin M...

How Bogus Jet Engine Parts Were Sold To Airlines Around The World

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Julie Johnsson and Siddharth Vikram Philip join this episode to discuss Bloomberg’s investigation into sales of airplane components with falsified d...

Israel Debates When—And How—To Invade Gaza

24 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Israel Bureau Chief Ethan Bronner joins this episode to talk about the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas war.Read more: Hostages a...

18 Wheelers. Big Open Highways. And No Driver

23 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Thomas Black joins this episode to talk about the progress being made in developing autonomous trucks—including the 18-wheelers that d...

Putin And Xi Find The Limits Of Their ‘No Limits’ Friendship

20 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Rebecca Choong Wilkins joins this episode to talk about this week’s meeting of Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin in Beijing, and what it s...

A Fertility Startup Is Having Some Growing Pains

19 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg's Jackie Davalos joins this episode to talk about Kindbody, a startup that operates fertility clinics around the US—and the challenges the...

The K-Pop Mogul Behind BTS Brings His Winning Formula To The US

18 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw and Sohee Kim join this episode to talk about Bang Si-Hyuk, South Korea’s enormously successful music mogul. The billionair...

Israel Braces For A High Risk, High Cost Fight In Gaza

17 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Israel bureau chief Ethan Bronner joins this episode from Tel Aviv to talk about Israel’s expected ground invasion of Gaza, and the in...

That Pink Medicine Your Kid Loves Is In Short Supply

13 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Ike Swetlitz and Riley Griffin join this episode to discuss what’s driving the shortage of generic drugs in the US, including amoxicil...

Poland’s Divisive Election Has Europe’s Full Attention

12 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Piotr Skolimowski and Andrea Dudik join this episode to discuss why Poland’s parliamentary elections will determine the nation’s soc...

Can Bob Iger Save Disney, Again?

11 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bob Iger, The Walt Disney Company’s hugely successful CEO, came out of retirement last November and once again took the helm of the entertainment gi...

The US Government vs. Google and Amazon

10 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The US Justice Department’s case against Google and the case against Amazon brought by the Federal Trade Commission are considered two of the most c...

The Devastating Hamas Attack Unites A Divided Israel

09 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Rosalind Mathieson joins this episode to discuss the attack on Israel by Hamas, Israel’s swift military response—and concerns about ...

Public Schools Brace For The End Of Pandemic Aid

06 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Public schools across the US are getting ready for a financial blow next year, when $190 billion in federal pandemic aid runs out. Bloomberg’s Shrut...

Everyone's Hoping For A Soft Landing. A Recession Is More Likely

05 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Chief U.S. Economist Anna Wong joins this episode to make the case for why a recession is still more likely than not.  Read more: Why a...

Can AI Beat The Market? Do We Want It To?

04 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today on The Big Take, Bloomberg’s Justina Lee and Sam Potter take us inside how artificial intelligence is changing the way financial firms and oth...

One Reason Buying A House Can Be So Hard

04 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The US established Federal Home Loan Banks almost a century ago to make it easier for people to buy a home. Although these institutions have billions ...

A New Smartphone From China Has Washington On Edge

03 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Peter Elstrom and Mackenzie Hawkins join this episode to explain why the microchip inside Huawei’s new Mate 60 Pro phone is alarming t...

Despite Recession Fears, Small Businesses Keep Opening. Can They Survive?

02 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Even with a looming recession, high interest rates and a tight labor market, small businesses have been opening at record rates over the last few year...

Shutdown Averted, McCarthy In The Hot Seat

01 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The US narrowly averted a disruptive and costly shutdown of federal agencies as Congress passed compromise legislation to keep the government running ...

Police Are Tracking Down Suspects With Google User Data

29 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Google is able to collect a lot of information about the people who use its products on their phones, including where they are at any given time. A gr...

Megapaca Is Making Millions Off The Clothes You Toss Away

28 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Guatemala-based Megapaca is the number one importer of used clothing from the United States. The company has seen massive success in secondhand retail...

This Cryptocurrency Wants To Scan Your Eyeball

27 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Hannah Miller is back today to explain why Sam Altman’s Worldcoin is collecting iris scans in exchange for crypto tokens. Read more: W...

US Companies Pledged To Improve Workplace Diversity. And They Have

25 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After the murder of George Floyd and subsequent protests in 2020, corporate America made bold promises to address racial disparities in the workplace....

NYC Tries Supervised Release Instead Of Jail. Other Cities Are Watching

25 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hundreds of thousands of people charged with crimes in the US each year are incarcerated while they await trial. Often it’s because they can’t aff...

Big Take News Wrap: UN General Assembly. US-Iran Prisoner Swap. UAW Strike

22 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Catch up on some of the week’s biggest stories from the US and across the globe. Bloomberg’s Rosalind Mathieson, Mario Parker and Ben Sills join t...

Geopolitics Is Shaking Up Economic Alliances

21 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Shawn Donnan and Maeva Cousin join this episode to explain how rising political tensions around the world are leading to a re-ordering o...

Here's How Workers Describe Dollar General. Brace Yourself

20 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Dollar General retail chain has 19,000-plus locations, more than Walmart and Wendy’s combined. Its business model is to open in towns too small ...

It’s Tough Being A Blue City In A Red State

19 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg Businessweek national political correspondent Joshua Green joins this episode to describe a political phenomenon that’s emerging in parts ...

What Do Striking US Auto Workers Want?

18 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On Friday, US auto workers started an unprecedented strike against all three of the legacy Detroit carmakers. If the standoff isn’t resolved quickly...

India Flexes Its Growing Global Power

15 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There were many global issues on the table at the G-20 summit in New Delhi. But arguably the real center of attention at the India meeting was India i...

Low Pay, Long Hours, Rude Customers. Retail Workers Have Had It

14 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Retail work has always been hard – long hours and weekend shifts on your feet, a lower pay scale and dealing with disgruntled customers. But in our ...

Carbon Capture’s Make Or Break Moment

13 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Since the 1970s, carbon capture and storage (CSS) has been held up as one potential tool to help combat global warming. The idea is to capture carbon ...

‘Made In Mexico’ Is The New ‘Made In China’

12 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For decades, companies looking to lower costs have resorted to offshoring—moving their manufacturing to China and other nations in Asia. But US-Chin...

Companies Are Pressing Return-To-Office. Workers Want To Stay Remote.

11 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

By now, most people across the globe have returned to pre-pandemic routines like traveling and going to the movies. But when it comes to where they wo...

A Street Drug From Syria Is Alarming The US And Europe

08 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A cheap, illegal amphetamine called captagon is raising alarm around the globe after circulating for years in the Middle East. The US and its allies s...

Abandoned Electric Cars ‘As Far As The Eye Can See’

07 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Growing sales of electric vehicles around the world have also come with growing pains. In China, outdated models no one wants pile up in vast EV grave...

Want To Leave Apple For Android? Good Luck

06 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Apple “ecosystem” has tremendous appeal – sleek design, genius marketing and a myriad of products and services that are seamlessly compatibl...

The Women Astronauts Who Shattered The Highest Glass Ceiling

05 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 1978, NASA opened its astronaut training program to women. Bloomberg space reporter Loren Grush recounts their challenges and achievements in her n...

TEAM FAVORITE: Dust Off Your Dice–Dungeons & Dragons Is Back

04 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a break for the Labor Day Holiday in the US, so here's a favorite you might have missed. We'll be back at it tomorrow with a new episode....

TEAM FAVORITE: India Weighs An Historic Expansion of Marriage Rights

01 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a pause this week to recharge our batteries. Here's one we love that you might have missed. We'll be back with fresh episodes next week....

TEAM FAVORITE: A Gun That Knows Who’s Pulling The Trigger

31 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a pause this week, so here's a favorite episode you might have missed. We'll be back next week with some fresh episodes. For decades, inv...

TEAM FAVORITE: Summer Heat Is Straining The US Power Grid. Winter Cold Could Be Worse.

30 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a break this week, so here's a favorite you might have missed. We'll be back with fresh episodes next week. Record temperatures in Texas...

TEAM FAVORITE: Chatbots And Deepfakes Are Coming For Your Election Cycle

29 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a pause this week, so here's a favorite episode you might have missed. Thanks for listening. We'll be back with new episodes next week. A...

TEAM FAVORITE: How A Satellite Hack Became a Cybersecurity Wakeup Call

28 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a break this week, so here's a favorite episode you might have missed. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back with new episodes next...

Xi Jinping’s Economic Plan: Let China Struggle

25 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

China’s economic slowdown is catching the attention of countries around the world as they brace for a possible hit to their own economies. Bloomberg...

Why Is The US Dependent On Russian Uranium?

24 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

About half of the enriched uranium that nations around the world use for nuclear power comes from Russia. It supplies almost a quarter of America’s ...

Chris Christie's Anti-Trump Strategy: Act Like Trump

23 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump says he’ll be a no-show tonight at the first Republican debate of the 2024 US presidential campaign. Still, at least one of his rivals ...

The Latest AI Scams Look And Sound Just Like You

22 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

By now we’re familiar with the many ways hackers and scammers try to fool us into handing over our personal data–and our money. But the thieves ke...

Massive Wind Turbines Are Rising From The Atlantic Ocean

21 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

America’s first major offshore wind farm in the Atlantic Ocean is now under construction 15 miles south of Nantucket, off the coast of Massachusetts...

Are Tensions Easing Between The US And Iran?

18 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The US and Iran recently announced a surprise agreement: Both nations will release prisoners, and the US will unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian ...

What’s Behind Washington’s Sudden Fascination With UAPs?

17 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The recent congressional hearing on unidentified aerial phenomenon–also known as UAPs– gave a high-profile platform to what we used to call UFOs. ...

Trump Faces A Powerful Anti-Corruption Law In Georgia

16 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump was indicted on Monday for the fourth time since he left office. But this sweeping case, which zeroes in on Trump’s efforts to overturn...

Avoiding War With China Is The Top Issue In Taiwan's Election

14 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Taiwan’s current Vice President, ​​Lai Ching-te, leads the polls in the upcoming January presidential election. The winner will have a lot to co...

Worrying About Money Is A Great Equalizer In America

14 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

You might think America’s top 10 percent would consider themselves rich – but a new Bloomberg survey finds that many of them don’t feel that way...

Big Take News Wrap: 2024. Drones In The Black Sea. A Bumpy Global Economy

11 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Catch up on some of the week’s biggest stories from the US and across the globe. Bloomberg’s Marc Champion, Courtney McBride and Jordan Fabian joi...

A New Housing Development With A Firm Rule: No Cars Allowed

10 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Real estate planners often think about how to reduce a project’s carbon footprint. A new apartment complex under construction in Arizona is taking t...

Tesla Owners Love Their Cars. They're Not That Into Elon Musk

09 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When Tesla built the Model 3 — the first electric car for the masses — it was a breakthrough for the company and the start of a new chapter for th...

The US Lures Top Companies From Allies With 'Made In The USA' Push

08 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Inflation Reduction Act has given the US an edge in future manufacturing, with billions of dollars in incentives to lure battery plants and chip m...

In Hollywood, Fears of AI Scripts Performed By AI Actors

07 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Three months into the writers’ and actors’ strike, the role of artificial intelligence in Hollywood has emerged as a central issue in the dispute ...

New Technology Is Here To Fight Climate Change. Will We Use It?

04 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Despite global efforts to slow the effects of climate change, July was the hottest month on record in over 125,000 years. The good news is, powerful n...

Trump’s Back In Court On New Criminal Charges. Now What?

03 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump is expected to appear today in federal court in Washington, DC, where he faces criminal conspiracy charges that allege he interfered with...

Kevin McCarthy Gave Right Wing Members More Power. They're Using It

02 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In early January, after a grueling 15 rounds of voting, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy negotiated some concessions with members of the far-right Freedom...

A ‘Great Reset’ Is Shifting How The World Trades

01 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In what’s being hailed as a ‘Great Reset,' how the world does business looks very different now than it did before Covid. Bloomberg Markets magazi...

The EU Is Leading The Charge On AI Regulation

31 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The European Union became one of the first in the world to take wide-reaching action to regulate artificial intelligence when it passed a draft law in...

Biden Still Wants To Tackle Student Debt After The Supreme Court's Ruling

28 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Biden administration is preparing a new plan to cancel debt for some student loan borrowers, after the Supreme Court struck down its original atte...

Giorgia Meloni Faces Big Tests On China, Russia And The EU Economy

27 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni came to power with a string of superlatives. She’s the country’s first female prime minister, and she’s br...

There’s A Lot You Don’t Know About The US Space Force

26 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The US Space Force, established in 2019, is the first new branch of the military to be created since 1947, and its mission is vast: defend US interest...

US-Made Guns Are Fueling Global Shootings

25 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

American-made guns are pouring into countries all over the globe, even more so after the US made it easier to export guns in 2020. Even as America’s...

Rhino Horn Poachers Are Forcing Rangers To Innovate

24 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For years, park rangers in South Africa have tried to stop poachers who kill rhinos for their valuable horns. But it’s impossible to keep up–and r...

Big Take News Wrap: Biden. Trump. Ukraine. China

21 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’re trying something new today. Instead of bringing you just one important story, we’re rounding up some of the week’s biggest news from the U...

Have We Hit Peak Social Media?

20 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Meta’s new Twitter-like social media platform called Threads is signing up users at a record pace. But will it last–and will it be a “Twitter ki...

Millions Of Americans Still Don’t Have Broadband. That’s About To Change

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Seven percent of US households and businesses lack basic broadband internet. The Biden administration plans to remedy that with $42 billion in federal...

‘Battery Belt’ Factories Promise A Bright Future. Workers Need Convincing

18 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The US Battery Belt, which stretches from Michigan to Georgia, has emerged as a regional hub for building electric vehicle batteries and other compone...

You Never Think About Your Car’s Catalytic Converter—Until Thieves Saw It Off

17 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Catalytic converters are a vital part of emissions reduction in gas-powered vehicles. But that’s not why they’ve been making headlines. Thieves ac...

Everyone’s Making Money On The Women’s World Cup—Except The Women

14 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The world can’t wait for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, which starts later this month. Ticket sales are on track to smash records, and viewership has...

Washington Is Knocking On Crypto’s Door

13 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The epic crash and burn of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto empire in November was huge global news. Eight months later, the crypto world is still fee...

Chatbots And Deepfakes Are Coming For Your Election Cycle

12 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As the saying goes: a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put its pants on. As AI is increasing productivity across ind...

Kids Were Given Cough Syrup From India. Dozens Of Them Died

11 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For decades, India has been a top player in global pharmaceuticals. But its drug regulatory system came under scrutiny after toxic chemicals were foun...

The Bumpy Road From Reagan-Thatcher To Johnson-Trump

10 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What it means to be a conservative has changed dramatically in the decades since Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Bloomberg Opinion’s Global Bus...

Mattel Bets Big On Barbie's Pink Carpet Debut

07 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

She’s been an astronaut, a scientist and the president of the United States. Now Barbie is a movie star. Bloomberg’s Kelly Gilblom joins this epis...

An Expanding NATO Reinforces Itself Against Russia

06 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This year’s NATO summit begins next week in Vilnius, Lithuania—and once again, the alliance’s response to the war in Ukraine is top of mind. Blo...

A Frustrated Middle Class Wants More Than Promises In 2024

05 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The American middle class is feeling the squeeze: inflation, wages that haven’t kept up, higher interest rates and fluctuating markets are all addin...

TEAM FAVORITE: Women's Pro Tackle Football Takes The Field

04 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Big Take team is taking a break for the Fourth of July holiday in the US, so we wanted to share this episode you might have missed. Back tomorrow!...

Summer Heat Is Straining The US Power Grid. Winter Cold Could Be Worse

03 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Record temperatures in Texas and across the southern US are putting immense strain on the electric grid, as residents battle the heat by cranking up t...

The Supreme Court’s Power Is Growing. The Public’s Confidence Is Shrinking

30 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The US Supreme Court is wrapping up yet another eventful term, with decisions in major cases that will have a lasting impact on Americans’ lives. Bl...

It Started As A Huawei 5G Bid. It Became A Mole Hunt

29 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 2019, telecommunications companies were vying for a lucrative contract to upgrade Denmark’s cellular network to 5G. The competition came down to ...

Germany Is Europe’s Economic Engine. It’s Starting To Sputter

28 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For decades, Germany has been the driving force of Europe’s economy. But now, as it emerges from a winter recession, the nation’s resilience is sh...