Big Take

The US housing market just posted its slowest spring season in more than a dozen years. Experts are pointing to a combination of factors: high prices, elevated mortgage rates and economic uncertainty in America. So what would it take to turn things around? Big Take host Sarah Holder spoke with Bloomberg housing reporter Prashant Gopal and real estate agents in major markets about the challenges fo...

President Trump signed the Genius Act, the US’s first major federal cryptocurrency legislation, earlier this month. The law focuses on one type of cryptocurrency: stablecoins. So, what exactly is a stablecoin? On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Emily Mason joins host Sarah Holder to break down what stablecoins are, how they work and what their wider adoption could mean for...

China is building the largest power plant the world has ever seen, in a very remote corner of Tibet. But the $167 billion hydropower dam has environmentalists and neighboring countries concerned. On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host Menaka Doshi speaks to Bloomberg’s Dan Murtaugh about the engineering and geopolitical challenges, and the impact construction will have on the country&r...

For months, the impact of President Trump’s aggressive trade policy has largely felt theoretical. But with an Aug. 1 tariff extension on the horizon and a consequential week ahead for the president’s broader economic agenda, the cracks are beginning to show. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg senior economic writer Shawn Donnan joins David Gura to break down the tariff fallou...

On today’s Big Take podcast, host David Gura sits down with former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. In a wide-ranging conversation, they discuss Sullivan’s tenure in the Biden White House, the consequences of President Trump’s cuts to foreign assistance and government staff, and what Sullivan sees as the most pressing foreign policy challenges facing the current administr...

With more than $50 billion under management, Harvard has the largest college endowment in the United States. But the University of Texas is not far behind. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Janet Lorin joins host David Gura to discuss how the University of Texas harnessed land and oil to build the second-largest endowment in higher education and why it’s now adding new kin...

Bob Zoellick and Mike Froman spent years crisscrossing the globe as US Trade Representatives for George W. Bush and Barack Obama, respectively. They hammered out deals that accelerated an era of free trade. As President Donald Trump’s August 1 tariff deadline approaches and Japan strikes a major deal with his trade team, David Gura brings the two former trade officials together to get their...

This week, top European Union leaders are traveling to Beijing for a high-level summit which could set the tone for the relationship between the EU and China for years to come. On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha and Bloomberg’s Alan Crawford examine the shifting ties between Brussels and Beijing and the effect Trump is having on the relationship. Read more: US Tariffs Ar...

Over many decades of public service, Robert Gates has served as secretary of defense for two presidents and the director of the CIA. On today’s Big Take podcast, Gates sits down with host David Gura and shares his perspective on what makes this moment one of “the most perilous” in history. It’s the first of several interviews David did with some of the biggest names in fore...

Incumbent NYC Mayor Eric Adams didn't run in the Democratic primary. But he'll be on the ballot in November, running as an independent against Zohran Mamdani and probably a couple of other candidates as well. So what is his vision for addressing affordability? What can the Mayor do about crime, trash, and other quality of life issues? On this episode of Bloomberg's Odd Lots, we're joined by Eric A...

If you’ve been to a store like CVS, Walgreens or Target in the last few years, you may have noticed a trend: more and more essentials are locked up behind plexiglass walls. The strategy started as an anti-theft measure. But there’s little evidence that it’s worked. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Amanda Mull takes host Sarah Holder through the causes and cons...

Jane Street is one of Wall Street’s most profitable and secretive firms. And when Indian regulators accused it of market manipulation earlier this month, it rocked the finance world.  On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg finance reporter Katherine Doherty joins host Sarah Holder to go inside Jane Street’s unique trading strategy, and what new regulatory scrutiny could mean...

At over 16,000 feet, Peru’s Rainbow Mountain is hard to reach — and its bright colors are hard to miss on social media. After a community effort to build an access road and usher in tourists succeeded, fame has proven to be a blessing and a curse for the Indigenous community that sits beneath it. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Marcelo Rochabrun and Sarah Holder tr...

A leaked phone call between Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Cambodia's Hun Sen has ignited a significant political crisis in Thailand, leading to large-scale protests and her suspension from office. On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Patpicha Tanakasempipat about the political fallout and its impact on the powerful Shinawatra cla...

Last week, President Trump sent markets into a tizzy, when he proposed tariffs on one of the world’s most valuable commodities: Copper.  On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s economic statecraft reporter Joe Deaux joins host David Gura to discuss the president’s ongoing push to bring copper manufacturing back to the US. Why 50% levies on copper could affect everythi...

On today’s Big Take podcast, we examine what the disaster in Kerr County, Texas reveals about the growing risk of flooding across the country as the climate changes — and the difficult economic choices facing communities grappling with these new risks.  Read more: No Alerts Heard in Deadly Texas Flash Flood as 161 Still Missing See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Japan’s hottest banking talent is in high demand as Wall Street goes all out to woo new hires with fancy dinners, strong-arm tactics and higher salaries. On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, Bloomberg’s Lisa Du talks to host K. Oanh Ha about why firms are resorting to extreme measures and the problems they face in hiring top talent. Further listening: Can’t Get Enough of Match...

OPEC+, a coalition of some of the world’s top oil producers, surprised markets over the weekend with plans to boost production by more than half a million barrels a day. The increase comes at a time when investors are worried about oversupply. So what was behind the decision? Bloomberg’s Joumanna Bercetche breaks it all down with Big Take host David Gura from Vienna, where members of t...

In a remote part of China's northwestern Xinjiang region, dozens of data centers rise from the desert. A Bloomberg analysis of investor and tax documents and company filings found Chinese companies plan to buy more than 115,000 high-tech Nvidia chips — chips the US has banned from being exported to China – to power these centers, which could then be used for training AI models. On toda...

In late April, shortly after President Trump’s announcement of sweeping reciprocal tariffs sent markets reeling, the White House announced a 90-day pause on when those tariffs would go into effect. That pause is about to end and while the Trump administration has announced a few tentative trade agreements — including one with the UK and another with Vietnam — they’re nowher...

For decades, the penny has cost more to produce than it’s worth. Now, the US government is finally stopping production of the one-cent coin for good. So, how did we get here? And what does it mean for those little Abraham Lincolns stuck behind your couch cushions? On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Steven Dennis takes us through the life and death of the penny, and explores...

After weeks of legislative wrangling, the House passed President Trump’s signature tax bill, sending it to his desk just before his July 4 deadline. It's the latest in a sweep of major victories on legislative, military and legal fronts, all of which could impact how Trump enacts his agenda going forward. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s White House and government editor...

The auto sector saw buyers race to dealerships after President Trump announced 25% tariffs on car imports and parts from outside the US. And according to new data this week, sales from major automakers appear to be losing steam ahead of Trump’s July 9 tariff deadline.    Today on the Big Take, host David Gura sits down with Bloomberg’s Detroit bureau chief David Welch to brea...

Trump’s trade war has thrown American businesses, which source everything from aircraft parts to baby strollers from China, into chaos. Now some companies are challenging the president’s tariff rulings in the courts. On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha is joined by Rick Woldenberg, CEO of the toy company Learning Resources, and Bloomberg’s Lucille Liu, to talk...

The cruise industry is an outlier right now. Even as US summer travel is down, cruise companies are setting sail with record numbers of passengers this year. But as the industry tries to keep up with this demand, it’s facing growing pains in the port cities it relies on most. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg reporter Redd Brown travels to Galveston, Texas — a port city that...