Big Take
Episodes
This Robot Wants to Make Your Lunch
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Automation has crept into the way all kinds of products are manufactured, but machines have also been making inroads into a different type of industry...
Team Favorite: Your Pet Is Costing You A Fortune And You Don't Care
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Big Take team is taking a knee for the holiday, so we wanted to share one of our favorite episodes. Enjoy, we'll be back tomorrow!-------The globa...
The Beginning Of The End Of The US Oil Boom
26 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The shale revolution has powered the US economy, shaken up oil markets, and shaped America’s foreign policy. That may soon begin to change as the gr...
VPNs Promise Online Privacy. Do They Deliver?
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Virtual private networks, or VPNs, first emerged in the 1990s as a way for employees to securely log in to their office computer from home. Now, VPN p...
China Wants The Yuan To Rival The Almighty Dollar
24 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The US dollar is the world’s most-used currency for global transactions. Now China aims to elevate its currency as an alternative. Over the past yea...
A Loud Shakeup in the Quiet World of Golf
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The PGA Tour has long been the dominant force in US professional golf. But LIV Golf, an upstart backed with billions of dollars from Saudi Arabia, has...
The Details Of Your Online Life Are Up For Auction
22 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
By now we’re all aware advertisers and apps collect data about our online lives. But the kind of information they compile about us–and the sheer a...
BONUS: The Reality Of Student Loan Debt
21 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Who doesn't love a little Sunday extra? Our team here at The Big Take wants to introduce you to the 1A Podcast, hosted by Jenn White, from WAMU and NP...
Another Cost Of Wildfires: Breathing Toxic Smoke
19 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Black Summer bushfires devastated Australia in 2019 and 2020. As wildfires become more frequent in the US, Europe, and around the globe, Bloomberg...
A Multibillion Dollar Bet to Make Chips In The US
18 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Since the CHIPS and Science Act passed in 2022, the US Commerce Department has been working to create a network of research and development sites arou...
The G-7 Still Matters. Here's Why
17 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, world leaders will convene in Hiroshima, Japan for the annual Group of Seven summit. Bloomberg executive editor Flavia Krause-Jackson and n...
How Concerned Should We Be About Bird Flu?
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cases of avian flu in birds have hit record levels globally—but so far, there’s no evidence of human-to-human transmission. Bloomberg reporters Su...
Women's Pro Tackle Football Takes The Field
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bloomberg Businessweek contributor Mary Pilon joins this episode to talk about the promise–and challenges–of building a fanbase for the Women’s ...
Introducing - Spellcaster: The Fall of Sam Bankman-Fried
12 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Coming soon: When nerdy gamer Sam Bankman-Fried rocketed to fame as the world’s richest 29-year-old, he pledged to donate his billions to good cause...
A Coke Can. A Chemist. And The Chinese Government.
12 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bloomberg reporters Drake Bennett and Jordan Robertson join this episode to tell the wild, winding tale of Shannon You, a chemist once employed by Coc...
The US Braces For a Post-Covid Immigration Surge
11 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The emergency restrictions on immigration that the Trump administration invoked during the COVID-19 pandemic expire tonight. The White House is now pr...
Should The Supreme Court Be Allowed to Police Itself?
10 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s failure to disclose lavish vacations paid for by a Texas billionaire have cast a harsh light on the High ...
Washington Is Watching Turkey’s Election—So Is Moscow
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been in power for two decades. But he now faces a challenge in the country’s May 14 elections from a c...
Can Joe Biden Beat Donald Trump Again?
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
President Joe Biden surprised exactly no one when he announced he’s running for re-election. But with high inflation, an uncertain economy, turmoil ...
Does Returning to the Moon Need To Be This…Complicated?
05 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On April 20, the SpaceX Starship Super Heavy rocket made its first test flight. And even though it exploded after just a few minutes in flight, that d...
No, Really. Are We Finally Heading Toward a Recession?
04 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
First Republic Bank is the latest financial institution to fail amid turmoil across the industry. Meanwhile, inflation is still high. Layoffs are rock...
Why Some States Are Loosening Child Labor Laws
03 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The tight US labor market has prompted several Republican-led states to roll back child labor laws, which are aimed at protecting teenagers by restric...
People Are Using Buy Now, Pay Later Just To Make Ends Meet
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With the economy in flux and prices continuing to rise, more consumers are saying yes to buy now, pay later offers. And not just for instant gratifica...
We've Got Electric Cars. Why Not Electric Airplanes?
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Europe’s ambitious climate targets are putting pressure on airlines and airplane makers to come up with sustainable alternatives to dirty jet fuel. ...
Those New Obesity Drugs Really Work–If You Can Afford Them
28 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Pharmaceutical companies and insurance providers are at odds over a new class of drugs that have proven quite effective at helping people living with ...
“Deeper Pockets, Deeper Wells”
27 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Despite the rain-soaked year California has had, the ongoing issues of drought and limited water remain. Bloomberg reporters Peter Waldman, Mark Chedi...
“Swatting” Threats Disrupt Schools Across The US
26 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Teachers and students in the US are always on alert for the possibility of an active shooter entering their classrooms. Now hundreds of schools around...
Europe’s Best Healthcare Systems Are Starting To Crack
25 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Europe’s universal healthcare systems have long been held up as models for other parts of the world. But in many countries they are now under extrem...
How Are the Billions in Biden’s Climate Law Being Spent?
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been eight months since President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. And already the hundreds of billions of dollars it contain...
The Dark Side of TikTok’s Algorithm
21 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bloomberg senior investigative reporter Olivia Carville is back with her latest reporting on TikTok. She explains how the superpopular app’s algorit...
The US-Saudi Relationship Is In Danger of Falling Apart
20 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, the United States and Saudi Arabia maintained an important strategic alliance, which gave the US access to Saudi oil in exchange for guar...
A Gun That Knows Who’s Pulling The Trigger
19 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, inventors have tried and failed to make a smart gun. A company called Biofire now appears to have pulled it off. It uses both fingerprint...
America’s Allies Are Not Pleased About the Intel Leaks
18 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The US intelligence community was relieved when a suspect was arrested last week in the leak of highly sensitive classified documents about America’...
A Flu Shot That Might Work Better–Thanks to Covid-19
17 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s estimated that half a million or more people around the world die of influenza each year. And many of these deaths could be prevented with a hi...
Dust Off Your Dice–Dungeons & Dragons Is Back
14 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons is approaching its 50th anniversary and it has never been more popular, attracting players of all...
What’s Next In the Fight Over the Abortion Pill?
13 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode was recorded before a federal appeals court ruling partly granted the Biden administration’s request to put on hold a Texas court decis...
Germany Cautiously Rebuilds Its Military Might
12 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, Germany has downplayed military spending. But after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the government reversed its longstanding ban on sendi...
How To Protect Your Money In a Rocky Economy
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a whole lot happening in the economy that’s impacting your wallet. Inflation is slowing down, but it’s still high. Layoffs have rocked e...
Ron DeSantis Is a Little Bit Woke on Climate Change
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Florida’s governor–and likely presidential candidate–Ron DeSantis has pledged billions to restore Florida’s Everglades. Among other good thing...
Team Favorite: Revolt Of The Dairy Farmers
07 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re taking a break today for the holiday. Here’s a favorite episode from December that you might have missed–and one that’s still very much ...
Iran and Saudi Arabia Agree To Talk…With China’s Help
06 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Iran and Saudi Arabia surprised many governments in March when they announced an agreement to restore diplomatic relations–ending a seven-year freez...
A Record Number of Anti-LGBTQ Bills Across the US
05 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
More than 400 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in U.S. state legislatures this year, and more than twenty have been signed into law. That’s gre...
What If The IRS Did Your Taxes For You–For Free?
04 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tucked into President Biden’s massive Inflation Reduction Act is a pot of money–$15 million–for the Internal Revenue Service to study a long-tal...
What Comes Next For Donald Trump
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There’s been a ton of news coverage and commentary around Donald Trump’s indictment in New York on Thursday. But the Manhattan case is only one of...
What Would You Do With The Fastest Computer In The World?
31 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Last May, the Oak Ridge National Lab, run by the US Department of Energy, unveiled Frontier–the world's fastest supercomputer. It’s capable of per...
Paying For Childcare So You Can Work...To Pay For Childcare
30 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re a working parent, finding childcare is almost certainly a source of stress in your life. It’s often a struggle to find an opening and wh...
What’s a Guardianship?
29 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Guardianships in the US are supposed to help vulnerable people who can’t help themselves. But a Bloomberg Law investigation reveals a loosely regu...
Can The US Really Ban TikTok? It’s Complicated
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There’s at least one thing Democrats and Republicans in Washington have in common: suspicions about TikTok’s ties to China. The Biden administrati...
The Banking Crisis Is Opening a New Chapter of Capitalism
27 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A lot has been said about the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse. But one important thing revealed by those closely scrutinized failure...
Your Pet Is Costing You A Fortune and You Don’t Care
24 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The global pet economy is expected to reach nearly half a trillion dollars by 2030. After a pandemic surge in pet adoptions, more people are buying ev...
Will ChatGPT Steal Your Job?
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the technology powering artificial intelligence keeps improving, it’s getting harder to tell the difference between human and machine. And that m...
Apple Looks To Grow Some New Roots
22 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The story of Apple’s rise to become the world’s most valuable company is also the story of its relationship with China. Apple’s vast manufacturi...
Washington Takes Aim At Those Hated Non-Compete Agreements
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The US Federal Trade Commission is weighing restrictions on many non-compete agreements in employment contracts. These clauses dissuade workers from s...
How Are US Chips Ending Up In Russian Weapons?
20 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
US sanctions against Russia are supposed to cut off Moscow’s access to all kinds of goods, including semiconductors, which are used in missiles and ...
Israel’s Leader Wants To Weaken The Courts. People Are Furious
17 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For months, Israeli citizens—including CEOs, doctors, hedge fund executives, lawyers, and soldiers—have protested in the streets against Prime Min...
Congress Won’t Let The US Default on Its Debt. Right?
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The White House and Congress are battling over raising the nation’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling. If they don’t act and the US defaults on its debt...
Will Self-Driving Cars Be ‘Just Five Years Away’... Forever?
15 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For years now, we’ve been hearing that autonomous vehicles are just around the corner. Google, Uber, General Motors, Tesla, and other companies inve...
What Does The Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank Mean For Your Money?
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The biggest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis is stoking fears of a larger financial meltdown across regional US banks. Silicon Valley Bank...
How A Satellite Hack Became a Cybersecurity Wakeup Call
12 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
People around the world rely on satellites for their internet connections, credit card transactions–and even to keep track of time. Last year, a s...
India Weighs An Historic Expansion of Marriage Rights
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This month, India’s Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether to legalize same-sex marriage. Bloomberg reporters Muneeza Naqvi and Kai Schultz ...
Why Employers Will Soon Be Fighting Each Other To Hire You
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The future of US competitiveness is taking shape in a field in Licking County, Ohio. It’s the site of a new Intel semiconductor plant, part of the B...
Two Space Missions Shake Up Our View Of The Past–And Future
08 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Two significant advances in science and technology are helping us examine our own planet, as well as galaxies near and far. The first is the James Web...
Cities Test A New Way To Reduce Police Violence
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Traffic stops are the most common way people come into contact with the police. After the January death of Tyre Nichols, who was beaten following a po...
Is the Pentagon Losing Its Edge?
06 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In his 1961 farewell address, President Dwight Eisenhower famously warned about the dangers of the business of war–what he called the “military in...
The World’s Food Security is In The Hands of China and Russia
03 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One unexpected consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: It highlighted how just a handful of countries–notably Russia and China–supply much ...
A ‘90s Rapper. A Fugitive. And the FBI
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Pras Michel, the famed rapper and founding member of The Fugees, goes on federal trial later this month. The US government has charged him with numero...
A Brain Implant To Use An iPhone With Your Thoughts
01 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Startups pioneering invasive and noninvasive devices that interact with the brain seek to alleviate everything from ALS symptoms to epilepsy to treatm...
Countries Cautiously Weigh A Return to Nuclear Power
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Twelve years after the 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster, Japan is now considering restarting its shuttered nuclear reactors to comb...
The Not So Shiny Aluminum in Ford’s New Electric Truck
27 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It takes hundreds of pounds of aluminum to build Ford’s “Truck of the Future,” the electric F-150. A lot of that aluminum comes from a long, com...
Will The Supreme Court Kill Student Loan Relief?
24 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden’s plan to forgive federal student loan debt for millions of Americans has been frozen since a handful of Republican-led states sued ...
Nigeria Is In Turmoil. Can A New President Fix It?
23 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As Nigerians decide on a new president, the country’s economy is reeling. Nigeria’s public debt is growing, inflation is soaring, and half of adul...
How Does Ukraine Continue to Beat Back Russia?
22 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
February 24 marks one year since Russia invaded Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin believed the country’s military would be defeated quickly ...
How Long Will You Have To Wait To Retire?
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Around the world, a looming problem is making workers nervous–and angry. People in many countries are living longer, and at some point governments w...
Team Favorite: The Copper You Need Is Stuck In A 30-Mile Traffic Jam
20 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re taking a break for President’s Day here in the US. So here’s one of our favorite stories you might have missed. We’ll be back tomorrow w...
Doubts About Biden, Fears About Trump
17 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s hard to believe, but the 2024 presidential election is already off and running, and there’s grumbling in both parties. Some Republicans want ...
It’s Really Hard To Help Syria’s Earthquake Victims
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The recent earthquakes that devastated Turkey and Syria have left millions of people in desperate need of help. But those seeking to bring food, medic...
Thousands Claim A Blockbuster Drug Gave Them Cancer
15 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2020, the enormously popular heartburn medication Zantac was pulled from store shelves after samples were found to contain the probable carcinogen ...
Why Car Prices Are Still Crazy High
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Buying a new car today is more painful than ever. Auto prices have risen a shocking 30% in just the past few years. Many used cars aren’t much cheap...
The Real Price of Work From Home
13 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
New York and other cities have struggled to fully bounce back from the pandemic, in part because many people who can work from home either part or ful...
China’s 'Covid Tsunami'
10 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
At the same time China’s government is working to manage the fallout overseas from the surveillance balloon shot down by the US, it’s also struggl...
Introducing: Foundering - The John McAfee Story
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The new season of Bloomberg's Foundering podcast retraces the life and gruesome death of John McAfee. In the 1980s and ’90s, the McAfee name was syn...
Pressure Mounts On Iran–From Inside And Out
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As Iran approaches the 44th anniversary of the revolution it finds itself at a junction. US and European Union sanctions have crippled Iran’s econom...
Mining Asteroids For Science – and Lucrative Metals
08 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re a comic book or sci-fi fan, you’ve likely read about the far-off idea of hitching a ride on an asteroid and mining it for precious metal...
Amazon’s Big Bet on Football Is (Sort Of) Paying Off
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Last fall, Amazon agreed to pay the NFL a whopping $1 billion a year for 11 years to air Thursday Night Football exclusively on its Prime streaming se...
What Was That Chinese Balloon Really Up To?
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What started as a curiosity—a Chinese balloon Washington says was equipped with surveillance equipment floating high above the US—now threatens to...
The Not So Easy Trick To Getting Rid of Rats (In Big Cities)
03 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The number of rat-related complaints in American cities has spiked in recent years. In the most overrun cities – Chicago, Washington, DC and New Yor...
AI Is Here to Save The Whales. And Sharks. And Bees
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Endangered whales getting hit by container ships. Sharks dying on hooks intended for other fish. Pesticides wiping out bees by the millions. Scientist...
How Racist Groups Use Online Video Games To Spread Hate
01 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In December, an Anti-Defamation League study found a sharp rise in the number of people who say they’ve encountered white supremacist ideology while...
China’s Back Open, Great! And…Maybe Not So Great.
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Now that China has relaxed its Covid Zero policy, the world’s second largest economy is rumbling back to life. As China once again starts to buy and...
India’s Plan To Become The World’s New Economic Powerhouse
30 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is investing billions of dollars to boost manufacturing and attract foreign investment in his rapidly growing c...
The US Citizens Recruited to Smuggle Migrants
27 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Migrants looking to enter the US from Mexico illegally often pay thousands of dollars to “coyotes,” or smugglers who transport them across the bor...
Why's It So Hard To Predict A Recession?
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Economists have more information at their fingertips than ever before. And yet, in many ways it’s become more difficult for them to predict if–and...
Companies Are Doing More to Keep Workers From Walking
25 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Despite headlines about tech giants firing thousands of employees, many companies in the US are struggling to attract and keep workers. There are more...
What Will Republicans Do With Their House Majority?
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Republicans are back in charge of the US House of Representatives after winning a narrow majority in November’s midterm elections. They’ve got a l...
Gasoline Starts Its Long, Slow Ride Down
23 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Even though Americans are driving more than ever before, they’re using less fuel to do it. Gasoline demand in the US hasn’t bounced back to pre-Co...
Why Is Your Rent So High?
20 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The price of everything is going up, but few things have risen as fast as rent. The rule of thumb used to be that housing shouldn’t eat up more than...
Get Ready For Lab-Grown Meat
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Companies around the world are competing to produce what’s often called lab-grown meat. It begins with the cells of cows, chickens, fish, or whateve...
How Cocaine Hitches A Ride on The Global Fruit Supply Chain
18 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In December, we told the wild story of drug smugglers who hide tons of cocaine aboard huge container ships bound for Europe from South America. Today,...
Russia and Iran Team Up Against The West
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tough economic sanctions the US and European Union imposed on Russia and Iran have succeeded in cutting off those nations from much of the world econo...
Team Favorite: Clash of the Streaming Titans
16 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Remember when everyone loved to complain how there were 150 channels on TV and nothing good to watch? It’s pretty hard to say that now. There are so...