Big Take

Game apps like High 5 Casino and Monopoly GO! are wildly popular. Players pay up for perks and the mobile game industry makes money – a lot of money. But scrutiny on these kinds of games and what some players call addictive, gambling-like qualities could challenge the way they do business. On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder and Bloomberg reporter Vernon Silver go inside the...

The US government is required to pay back $166 billion in revenue it collected as part of sweeping global tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court earlier this year. On today’s Big Take podcast, host David Gura talks with Bloomberg economics reporter Laura Curtis and a trade expert in the field about the logistics of that payout, whether any of that money will reach consumers and how politic...

Amid the nervousness about whether AI will replace human workers, one company has been aggressively seeking professionals. The San Francisco startup, Mercor, isn’t hiring experts to perform their jobs; it’s paying them an hourly rate to teach their daily routines to AI agents.  On today’s Big Take podcast, reporter Tom Foster takes host Sarah Holder into the world of Mercor...

As global attention is focused on war in the Middle East, North Korea has been accelerating its nuclear and missile program — testing new weapons and producing more warheads. On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, host K. Oanh Ha speaks with Bloomberg’s Jon Herskovitz on Kim Jong Un’s aggressive nuclear buildup and the strain that puts on US defenses. Read more: North Korea&rsqu...

Global markets have been remarkably resilient amid major geopolitical and economic disruptions, from the Iran war to US tariffs, as investors find cause for optimism in strong earnings and AI. On today’s Big Take podcast, Sarah Holder talks with Asia equities reporter Winnie Hsu, and Ruth Carson, chief FX/Rates correspondent in Asia, about what has kept markets strong — and what could...

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Apple guru Mark Gurman joins David Gura to reflect on Tim Cook’s wins and losses as CEO of Apple and what it will take for John Ternus to successfully usher in a new era for the tech behemoth. Read more: Apple CEO John Ternus Confronts Test of Retaining Top Talent   Tim Cook Regrets Maps Flub, Sees Apple Watch as His Proudest Work &nb...

Building powerful AI tools is the goal of companies like Anthropic. But after realizing how powerful its latest update was, Anthropic moved to keep it from the public and turn it into a cybersecurity stress test. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg cybersecurity reporter Margi Murphy walks host Sarah Holder through the story of how Anthropic discovered the risks of its Mythos tech and wha...

In a nomination hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh fielded an array of questions about his personal finances and economic policy views. There was even a reference to Seinfeld . But one topic loomed largest: the independence of the Fed. On today’s Big Take podcast, host David Gura and Bloomberg’s Michael McKee go inside Tuesday’s hearing, wh...

India wants to become a manufacturing powerhouse to rival China — but its reliance on the Chinese supply chain for things like batteries and semiconductors makes for a complex and exceedingly difficult puzzle to untangle. On today's Big Take Asia Podcast, host Oanh Ha and Bloomberg’s Alisha Sachdev on how corporate India is struggling to navigate this unique geopolitical landscape. Rea...

President Trump said Monday the US will not be rushed into a “bad deal" with Iran. But he also said he was unlikely to extend the ceasefire that expires Wednesday. Meanwhile, the two sides seemed to disagree on whether they’d resume negotiations to end the conflict this week.  On today’s Big Take, host Stacey Vanek Smith and Bloomberg White House Correspondent Kate Sullivan...

Three years ago, Bob Lee, a tech executive famous for creating Cash App, was found stabbed in San Francisco. His killing set off a wave of online fury. Reporter Shawn Wen takes us back to the turbulent days before his killer was arrested, when misinformation and rumors ran rampant. Several tech industry leaders decried violent crime in San Francisco, including David Sacks, who “bet dollars t...

The Strait of Hormuz is now open. In a social media post Friday morning, Iran’s Foreign Minister wrote that Iran will be letting ships through the vital waterway for the duration of a 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon. Oil prices fell, and President Trump celebrated. But Iran’s announcement came with a big caveat: Travel must use a “coordinated route,” specified by Iran. On today...

The atmosphere was grim at this week’s IMF and World Bank spring meetings, as global central bankers grappled with economic shocks from the war in Iran, AI and mounting debt. On today’s Big Take podcast, host David Gura sits down with Stephanie Flanders — Bloomberg’s head of Economics and Politics and host of  Trumponomics — and senior economic writer Shawn Donna...

President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act brought about a host of changes to US tax policy, from tax breaks on tips and overtime to an increased cap on state and local tax deductions, also known as SALT. But are Americans feeling the shifts on tax day? On today’s Big Take podcast, host David Gura and Bloomberg reporter Ben Steverman dig into how the president’s second-term tax...

The ceasefire between the US and Iran is set to expire next week and the US is trying a different tactic to pressure Iran into a deal: a naval blockade. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg Economics defense lead Becca Wasser and Bloomberg Middle East Breaking News editor Patrick Sykes join Sarah Holder to break down how the US’s naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz works, what cou...

Hungarians handed Prime Minister Viktor Orbán a resounding defeat in Sunday’s parliamentary elections. Peter Magyar and his upstart Tisza won the election by a landslide on the promise of ending years of corruption and the ‘illiberal democracy’ that became synonymous with Orbán’s tenure. On today’s Big Take podcast, former US Ambassador David Pressman si...

A core US demand heading into peace talks with Iran this weekend will be reopening the Strait of Hormuz, where a near-total shipping shutdown has led to rising global oil prices and threatened supplies of food, plastics, packaging and semiconductors. On today’s Big Take podcast, Sarah Holder speaks with Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal, hosts of Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast, about how...

Need a little ‘moon joy’? Over the past eight days, four astronauts on NASA's Artemis II mission have been flying through the cosmos, breaking records for human spaceflight and sharing never-before-seen images from the dark side of the moon. On today’s Big Take podcast, guest host Stacey Vanek Smith and Bloomberg global space reporter Loren Grush talk about what the mission means...

In just over a decade, Tether has grown from an idea into a global crypto juggernaut, poised to become one of the world’s most highly valued private companies. But where did its dollar-linked stablecoin come from and where is it headed? On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg reporter Todd Gillespie and guest host Stacey Vanek Smith unpack one of the most powerful companies you’ve...

From London to California, calls to “tax the rich” are growing. But what are they calling for in practice, and how are governments responding? On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder talks to Bloomberg reporters Charlie Wells and Laura Nahmias about the fight over taxes for the world’s wealthiest, and what a political tussle between New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani...

President Trump intensified his threats on Iran Tuesday morning posting on Truth Social, "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again." This escalation follows a post on Monday saying the US would attack its bridges and power facilities if it failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic by 8pm ET Tuesday night. On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Ho...

After a month of fighting, President Trump took his case for war with Iran to the American people Wednesday night. In a prime-time address that sent energy markets surging, he promised both an imminent end to the conflict and two to three weeks of further intense military strikes. On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder and Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Jeff Mason unpack the...

US President Donald Trump spoke for nearly 20 minutes from the White House, saying the US would hit Iran “extremely hard” in the next two to three weeks, and that he’d strike key infrastructure like electric plants if no deal is reached. Stocks fell and oil jumped on his comments, with Brent rising 5% as Trump talked about possible escalation and reiterated his call for other nat...

Fueled by a powerful mix of FOMO and a government drive to accelerate AI adoption, OpenClaw has exploded in popularity across China. But as these agentic systems gain sweeping access to personal data, reports of them “going rogue” are beginning to surface. On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, host K. Oanh Ha sits down with Bloomberg’s Luz Ding and Bloomberg Opinion’s Cat...

A month into the Iran War, the Trump administration continues to send mixed messages about when and how it will end. In addition to threats on electricity plants and oil wells if a deal isn’t reached, the president said he would consider destroying another piece of critical infrastructure: Iran’s water desalination plants. On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder talks to B...