Big Take

This month, India’s Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether to legalize same-sex marriage.  Bloomberg reporters Muneeza Naqvi and Kai Schultz  join this episode from New Delhi to explain India’s rapid march toward affirming rights for LGBTQ people, and how a ruling in favor of same-sex marriage would be felt not just within the country but across Asia and beyond.  Then, Gurchaten Sandhu, prog...

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 Biden administration’s effort to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US, with a focus on high tech products like semiconductors. But those ambitious plans have exposed a looming problem: The number of skilled workers needed to build factories and fill...

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 Webb Space Telescope—an instrument that’s already transmitting game-changing data from a million miles away. The second is NASA’s SWOT mission, named for its exploration of Earth’s surface water and ocean topography. Using remote sensing technology, it...

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 police stop in Memphis, some cities are trying to limit how often these stops occur. Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and the state of Virginia have taken measures to curb stops for minor violations, which disproportionately affect people of co...

In his 1961 farewell address, President Dwight Eisenhower famously warned about the dangers of the business of war–what he called the “military industrial complex.” Now, more than six decades later, that warning still rings true. The US military is the most powerful – and expensive – in the world, but the Pentagon bureaucracy is vast, inefficient, and often slow to adapt to a rapidly changing worl...

One unexpected consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: It highlighted how just a handful of countries–notably Russia and China–supply much of the fertilizer needed to feed the world. Amid geopolitical tensions and humanitarian concerns, the race for fertilizer has become a priority for the U.S. and its allies. Bloomberg reporter Elizabeth Elkin joins this episode to talk about how concerns ab...

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 numerous crimes related to his dealings with the fugitive Malaysian businessman allegedly at the center of one of the largest financial scandals in history. Michel maintains he’s innocent. This real-life international tale of intrigue involves a long cast...

Startups pioneering invasive and noninvasive devices that interact with the brain seek to alleviate everything from ALS symptoms to epilepsy to treatment-resistant depression. In this episode, a look at the science behind this rapidly advancing technology. Dr. Thomas Oxley, a neurointerventionist and CEO of Synchron, gives us a tour of his lab in Brooklyn, New York, where his company is developing...

Twelve years after the 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster, Japan is now considering restarting its shuttered nuclear reactors to combat rising energy prices. It’s a slow process, and one where the government and the public are conflicted about the advantages and risks of nuclear power. Around the world, countries that turned off their reactors in the wake of Fukushima, or have clo...

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, complicated supply chain that it would be difficult to describe as environmentally friendly. The chain begins in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, at a mine with a legacy of pollution. It leads next to a refinery down the Amazon River where thousands of people...

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 to stop it. They argue the president doesn’t have the power to wipe away billions of dollars of debt on his own. It’s now up to the US Supreme Court to decide if they’re right. Bloomberg Supreme Court correspondent Greg Stohr joins this episode to talk...

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 adults can’t find steady work. People wait in line for hours at gas stations to fill their cars and light their homes with generators because the shaky power grid can’t keep up. Kidnapping for ransom is a growing problem.  What can be done to turn things aro...

February 24 marks one year since Russia invaded Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin believed the country’s military would be defeated quickly and Kyiv, the capital, would fall. Instead, Ukraine’s clever, nimble — and motivated — military has fought back Russia’s forces despite being vastly outgunned. But the war has taken a terrible toll. Thousands of people have died. Cites have been devast...

Around the world, a looming problem is making workers nervous–and angry. People in many countries are living longer, and at some point governments will run out of money to pay their retirement benefits. One solution some politicians are pushing: raising the retirement age for workers. Which…is about as popular as it sounds. So what is the answer? Ben Sills , who leads Bloomberg’s government and ec...

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 with a new episode. Thanks for listening! Here’s a random yet important fact: Copper is one of the very best conductors of electricity of all metals. And that matters, because as we move toward a world in which more and more things in our lives plug in or cha...

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 to put Donald Trump behind them, and some Democrats worry 80-year-old Joe Biden might not be up to the long slog of a presidential campaign. Bloomberg’s managing editor for US government Flavia Krause-Jackson, national political correspondent Joshua Gree...

The recent earthquakes that devastated Turkey and Syria have left millions of people in desperate need of help. But those seeking to bring food, medicine, and supplies into the country face daunting obstacles.  Syria’s government wants to control aid shipments and who gets them. Strict economic sanctions imposed on Syria’s government by the US and Europe make it difficult to conduct any transactio...

In 2020, the enormously popular heartburn medication Zantac was pulled from store shelves after samples were found to contain the probable carcinogen NDMA. The drug has since been re-introduced with a new formula that is considered safe to use as directed. But tens of thousands of people who took the old version of the drug, made with the active ingredient ranitidine, are now suing Zantac’s maker,...

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 cheaper. The pandemic crunch is partly to blame – high demand and scarce supply caused prices to spike along with everything else. But car prices remain astronomical even though those shortages have largely eased. For a lot of middle class Americans, a new...

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 full time are choosing to do so. That means a lot less money is being spent in shops and restaurants. Expensive office buildings are standing partially empty and fewer passengers are paying subway and bus fares. Reporters Emma Court and Donna Borak join...

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 struggling to contain another problem at home—a wave of covid cases that’s overwhelmed the country. Late last year, people in cities across China protested in the streets against the government’s Covid Zero lockdowns. In response to the unrest, President Xi Jin...

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 synonymous with computer antivirus software, and he helped establish the modern cybersecurity industry. But afterward, his life took a strange and dark turn. He was accused of murder, an allegation he denied, and then went on the lam. He sought to reinven...

As Iran approaches the 44th anniversary of the revolution it finds itself at a junction. US and European Union sanctions have crippled Iran’s economy. Thousands of citizens have taken to the streets to protest the Islamic government’s strict religious laws, and the brutality of its security forces in crushing dissent. Thousands of protesters have been arrested, and some have been put to death. Yet...

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 metals and ice. But it’s not science fiction anymore. In this episode, we’ll take a look at two real-life asteroid-mining missions in the works. Dr. Dante Lauretta, who leads NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission, talks about what they’ve gathered...

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 service. The high price tag made headlines–and executives at broadcast television networks, cable companies and other streaming services like Netflix and Apple TV+ are watching closely to see if Amazon’s risk is rewarded. As Super Bowl LVII approaches,...