The tight US labor market has prompted several Republican-led states to roll back child labor laws, which are aimed at protecting teenagers by restricting where and how long they can work. Bloomberg Industry Group reporters Rebecca Rainey and Chris Marr join this episode to talk about where this is happening and who’s pressing for these changes. And labor historian Betsy Wood explains how today’s arguments about whether kids should be put to work mirror the same fights going back decades. Read m...
May 03, 2023•26 min
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 gratification on big-ticket items like a couch or a laptop. Struggling families are using it to spread out payments for essentials like food. Bloomberg reporters Augusta Saraiva and Paulina Cachero join this episode to talk about the popularity of buy now, pay later services–and the fees for those who fall behind on payments. And we hear from a single mothe...
May 02, 2023•20 min
Europe’s ambitious climate targets are putting pressure on airlines and airplane makers to come up with sustainable alternatives to dirty jet fuel. Bloomberg reporters Siddharth Philip in London and William Wilkes in Frankfurt join this episode to talk about some ideas on the drawing table for cleaner jet engines–from battery powered concepts to aircraft that run on hydrogen. Read the story here: Why Europe Is Emerging as a Green Aviation Test Bed Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and...
May 01, 2023•24 min
Pharmaceutical companies and insurance providers are at odds over a new class of drugs that have proven quite effective at helping people living with obesity lose weight. Bloomberg’s Robert Langreth and Emma Court join this episode to share their reporting on recent advancements in weight loss treatments–and the fight over who should pay for them. And Dr. Angela Fitch, a physician and president of the Obesity Medical Association, talks about the challenges of treating obesity. Read their reporti...
Apr 28, 2023•25 min
Despite the rain-soaked year California has had, the ongoing issues of drought and limited water remain. Bloomberg reporters Peter Waldman, Mark Chediak , and Sinduja Rangarajan join this episode to talk about how farms that grow lucrative cash crops like almonds and pistachios are digging deeper and deeper wells to tap the state’s dwindling groundwater supply–leaving people in some communities with less to drink. Read the investigation here: Groundwater Gold Rush Listen to The Big Take podcast ...
Apr 27, 2023•21 min
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 the country are dealing with a new, anxiety inducing disruption: swatting. It’s when police rush to schools in response to fake threats intended to cause chaos. Bloomberg cybersecurity reporter Jeff Stone joins this episode to talk about the sharp rise of these events in recent months. And New York school district superintendent Matt Landahl share...
Apr 26, 2023•27 min
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 extreme strain. Chronic underfunding, an aging population and labor force, and continuing fallout from the pandemic mean these systems are sometimes failing their patients. Bloomberg reporters Naomi Kresge and Jonas Ekblom join this episode to explain how this happened and what governments are trying to do about it. And Dr. Tomas Zapata of the World Health...
Apr 25, 2023•25 min
It’s been eight months since President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. And already the hundreds of billions of dollars it contains for clean energy and slowing climate change—alongside private venture capital investments—are funding a wide array of climate technology projects, from decarbonization infrastructure to rust-based battery storage. Bloomberg climate reporter Eric Roston joins this episode with Akshat Rathi , a senior reporter and host of our sister podcast Zero . It...
Apr 24, 2023•28 min
Bloomberg senior investigative reporter Olivia Carville is back with her latest reporting on TikTok. She explains how the superpopular app’s algorithm can serve up a stream of anxiety and despair to teens, including videos about eating disorders and suicide. And Jennifer Harriger, a professor of psychology at Pepperdine University, joins to talk about the effect these messages can have on teens and young adults. Read the story: TikTok’s Algorithm Keeps Pushing Suicide to Vulnerable Kids Listen t...
Apr 21, 2023•33 min
For decades, the United States and Saudi Arabia maintained an important strategic alliance, which gave the US access to Saudi oil in exchange for guaranteeing the kingdom’s security. But growing tensions between the two nations now threaten to rupture this relationship. Bloomberg’s Ziad Daoud , Tom Orlik , and Nick Wadhams join this episode to explain what’s behind the US-Saudi rift, and why it could have far-reaching consequences for the US economy and potentially the 2024 presidential election...
Apr 20, 2023•24 min
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 scans and facial recognition so that only a registered user can fire it. But will anyone buy it? Will this technology become yet another point of contention between pro and anti-gun groups? Firearms advocates have long been skeptical of biometric weapons but they’ve also never run across one that actually worked. Bloomberg reporter Ashlee Vance jo...
Apr 19, 2023•28 min
The US intelligence community was relieved when a suspect was arrested last week in the leak of highly sensitive classified documents about America’s friends and adversaries. But the fallout is far from over. The leaks are a huge embarrassment for the Biden administration, which is moving quickly to reassure the UK, Israel, and other allies. Bloomberg national security correspondent Courtney McBride joins this episode to talk about US efforts to repair the damage and shore up its credibility wit...
Apr 18, 2023•23 min
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 highly effective, widely used flu shot. Now, the mRNA technology we became familiar with during the development of the Covid vaccine is being used to create a new flu shot that promises to work better than the current hit-or-miss version. It also offers the potential to bundle covid, flu, and other common viruses into a single shot. But with vaccine sk...
Apr 17, 2023•24 min
The tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons is approaching its 50th anniversary and it has never been more popular, attracting players of all ages to its analog charms. Now Hasbro, the toy company that owns it, is betting D&D can be brought into the digital age and become a big moneymaker. Bloomberg correspondent Felix Gillette joins this episode to talk about why Dungeons & Dragons is having a cultural — and economic — moment, and why it might not be so easy to persuade diehard...
Apr 14, 2023•30 min
This episode was recorded before a federal appeals court ruling partly granted the Biden administration’s request to put on hold a Texas court decision overturning FDA approval of the abortion pill. The appeals court allowed restrictions that were lifted since 2016 to be reinstated. For details on the ruling read more here . The appeals court decision leaves mifepristone on the market while a Justice Department appeal works its way through the courts. It overrules a lower court decision in Texas...
Apr 13, 2023•32 min
For decades, Germany has downplayed military spending. But after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the government reversed its longstanding ban on sending weapons into war zones, and announced a plan to spend an additional 100 billion euros to upgrade its armed forces. Bloomberg senior editor Alan Crawford joins this episode to explain why the country’s defense industry is booming—and why that’s dividing a public wary of a German military resurgence. And military analyst Dr. Bastian Giegerich makes ...
Apr 12, 2023•27 min
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 every industry. And rent prices keep surging. Is it a good time to quit your job–or ask for a raise? Should you buy a house (if you can find one)? And which investments are safe when markets are all over the place? Bloomberg personal finance journalists Claire Ballentine and Craig Giammona join this episode to share advice about what to do with your money...
Apr 11, 2023•23 min
Florida’s governor–and likely presidential candidate–Ron DeSantis has pledged billions to restore Florida’s Everglades. Among other good things, that will help lower Florida’s carbon footprint and potentially combat some of the effects of climate change. But you won’t hear him boasting about those benefits. As a Republican trying to lure away Donald Trump’s voters with promises to attack “woke” policies, he says he’s “not a global warming person”, opposes restrictions on fossil fuels, and often ...
Apr 10, 2023•21 min
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 in the news . We’ll be back on Monday with a new episode. Have a great weekend. And thanks for listening! Our insatiable appetite for meat, eggs and cheese means there are billions of chickens, pigs and cows the world over. One consequence: animal agriculture is a leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants like ammonia and nitrogen. In ...
Apr 07, 2023•31 min
Iran and Saudi Arabia surprised many governments in March when they announced an agreement to restore diplomatic relations–ending a seven-year freeze. Just as surprising: The deal was brokered by China. Bloomberg correspondents Golnar Motevalli and Sam Dagher join this episode to explain how this landmark agreement came together and what each side hopes to gain from it. And Jonathan Fulton, a nonresident senior fellow for Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs, talks about China’s critical role...
Apr 06, 2023•28 min
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 greater than the last five years–combined. Some of these pieces of legislation seek to outlaw access to gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth. Others would make it easier to ban books from school libraries. Bloomberg reporter Ella Ceron joins this episode to talk about the momentum behind this push and which states are pressing ahead with th...
Apr 05, 2023•24 min
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-talked-about idea: Building an online IRS platform that would enable taxpayers to file their taxes easily and for free. If it moves ahead, it could mean an end to frustratingly complex forms and fees to accountants and tax prep companies. There are plenty of obstacles in the way. Some politicians and industry groups in Washington are already lining up again...
Apr 04, 2023•26 min
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 several criminal investigations and civil cases swirling around the former president—from the US Justice Department’s inquiry into the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol and the investigation of Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, to probes of Trump’s business practices. Bloomberg legal reporters Zoe Tillman and Erik Larson...
Apr 03, 2023•26 min
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 performing a quintillion calculations per second, breaking what's called the exascale barrier. The system requires its own power plant, 6,000 gallons of water to keep it cool, and a highly trained staff to operate. So what can it do? And who gets to use it? We set out for Knoxville, Tennessee to try to wrap our brains around Frontier’s limitless potential...
Mar 31, 2023•33 min
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 when you do, it can be crazy expensive. This presents a tough choice: pay for childcare to be able to work, or become a caregiver and forgo a second income. And for single parents, there is no choice at all. Bloomberg reporter Olivia Konotey-Ahulu has been covering the growing discontent of parents in the UK. And Simon Workman is co-founder of Prenatal t...
Mar 30, 2023•28 min
Guardianships in the US are supposed to help vulnerable people who can’t help themselves. But a Bloomberg Law investigation reveals a loosely regulated system in which those placed under guardianships can find themselves trapped, and sometimes exploited, by the people entrusted with their care. Bloomberg Law correspondents Ronnie Greene and Holly Barker join this episode to discuss their five-part series on how the system works—and doesn’t work—and what can be done to fix it. Read the story: htt...
Mar 29, 2023•28 min
There’s at least one thing Democrats and Republicans in Washington have in common: suspicions about TikTok’s ties to China. The Biden administration and members of congress from both parties are urging the social media platform’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance Ltd., to sell its stake in TikTok or risk being banned in the US. Sound familiar? That’s because two and a half years ago, former President Trump sent a very similar warning that ultimately went nowhere. Bloomberg reporters Alex B...
Mar 28, 2023•30 min
A lot has been said about the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse. But one important thing revealed by those closely scrutinized failures has largely gone unnoticed: the changing relationship between governments and banks. Bloomberg Editor-In-Chief John Micklethwait joins this episode to talk about how the idea that finance is an arm of the state is back –and why that will have far-reaching consequences for the way the world works. Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and s...
Mar 27, 2023•29 min
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 ever more expensive food and toys for their furry friends. But beyond these routine costs, a growing number of owners are also shelling out thousands for veterinary care to treat complex illnesses and keep their pets alive for longer. Bloomberg reporters Brendan Case and Nacha Cattan join this episode to give an expansive view of the industry, includ...
Mar 24, 2023•26 min
As the technology powering artificial intelligence keeps improving, it’s getting harder to tell the difference between human and machine. And that means companies are looking to capitalize on its uses. ChatGPT’s maker OpenAI is quickly rolling out new iterations, like the more powerful version of the product called GPT-4. Google has introduced its own version, albeit with some early stumbles. And Elon Musk also has his eye on the AI space. Bloomberg Opinion columnist Parmy Olson and technology r...
Mar 23, 2023•35 min
