Big Take

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Why Instacart Backtracked on an AI-Pricing Experiment Dec 23, 2025

Show notes

This month, the think-tank the Groundwork Collaborative, Consumer Reports and the news nonprofit More Perfect Union released a report finding that Instacart had been using an AI tool to run algorithmic price experiments on shoppers around the country. As a result, shoppers were being charged different prices for the exact same items from the exact same stores.

At a time when inflation has driven grocery costs higher, the revelation that Instacart was charging some consumers more for the same goods struck a chord.

On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder speaks with Bloomberg’s antitrust reporter Leah Nylen and the Groundwork Collaborative executive director Lindsay Owens about the report’s findings and impact — and Instacart’s decision to end their experiment.

Hosted by: Sarah Holder; Produced by: Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by: Leah Nylen; Edited by: Naomi Shavin and Aaron Edwards; Fact-checking by: Julia Press; Engineering by: Katie McMurran.

Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin. Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

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Even a US Blockade of Venezuela Isn’t Spiking Oil Prices Dec 22, 2025

Show notes

From OPEC powerhouses and US shale producers to countries like Guyana, global producers are drilling more oil and driving down prices. And with the potential for a ceasefire in Russia and pressure on Maduro in Venezuela, even more oil could flood the market in 2026.

On today’s Big Take podcast, host David Gura sits down with Bloomberg oil trading reporter Alex Longley and Opinion columnist Javier Blas to discuss the forces driving the oil market right now, how they’re impacting different countries and why even lower prices could be on the way.

Hosted by: David Gura Produced by: Julia Press Reported by: Alex Longley and Javier Blas Edited by: Jeff Grocott Fact-checking by: Rachael Lewis-Krisky and David Fox Engineering by: Katie McMurran

Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer

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Weekend Listen: Lynsey Addario Keeps Going Back to Photograph War Dec 21, 2025

Show notes

Lynsey Addario’s life work means taking great risks to tell other people’s stories. She is a Pulitzer Prize winning war photographer who has been abducted twice while documenting conflicts from Afghanistan to Ukraine and Sudan.
There aren’t many women in her field. In a new National Geographic documentary called “Love+War,” currently streaming on Disney+, she lets us into that world, one she’s made her profession for three decades. Addario shows how she adjusts from a work environment of grave danger and high-adrenaline to being a mother making the school run and spending time with her sons.
In this conversation, she tells Mishal Husain, why she believes her job is to “bear witness” and how she came to it. She remembers the first time she used a camera and shares how her childhood prepared her to walk into any situation and connect with anyone, from soldiers to refugees and civilians living through extreme times.
This interview contains descriptions of abduction, violence and sexual assault which some listeners/viewers may find distressing.

02:27 - Love+War
03:34 - The turning point
06:00 - Learning about the risks
07:00 “I don’t want to do this for a living”
09:19 - Being held in Fallujah
11:20 - On embed in Afghanistan
14:31 - Operation Rock Avalanche
15:43 - Dealing with the emotion
16:50 - The daughter of hairdressers in Connecticut
17:44 - Getting her first camera
19:30 - Planning a “shoot-list”
21:51 - Russian strike on Ukraine
17:30 - Being held hostage in Libya
31:02 - Survivor’s guilt
33:30 Life at home
36:30 - Social media and fake images
40:18 - Switching off
Watch this podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0Ns_wjGlmjlPz0cded0nTYS

You can find the written version of this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: https://www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview

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Inside Disney and OpenAI’s Billion Dollar Deal Dec 19, 2025

Show notes

As AI-generated images ping pong around the internet, the Walt Disney Company has been mostly playing defense, using litigation to protect its intellectual property. But last week, Disney announced a $1 billion deal with OpenAI, licensing more than 200 of its iconic Disney characters for use on OpenAI’s video platform, Sora.

On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder talks with Bloomberg tech reporter Shirin Ghaffary and entertainment reporter Thomas Buckley about the terms of the deal, the opportunities and risks for each side and whether it might spur other similar partnerships.

Hosted by: Sarah Holder; Produced by: Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by: Shirin Ghaffary and Thomas Buckley; Edited by: Tracey Samuelson; Fact-checking by: Naomi Ng and Eleanor Harrison-Dengate. Engineering by: Katie McMurran.

Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin. Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Truckers Are Aging Out. Who Will Replace Them? Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

The trucking industry has long been dominated by older white men. But as those truckers steer toward retirement, who will replace them?

On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder hits the road with Bloomberg’s Jaewon Kang, who’s been exploring how one company is trying to transform its trucking workforce. And we hear from MIT’s Chris Caplice, DAT Freight and Analytics’ Dean Croke and two Walmart truckers about what’s working for the industry and the challenges it faces on the road ahead.

Hosted by Sarah Holder Produced by Julia Press Reported by Jaewon Kang Edited by Tracey Samuelson Fact-checking by Rachael Lewis-Krisky Engineering by Katie McMurran

Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many Cancer Drugs Don’t Extend Life Dec 17, 2025

Show notes

Treating cancer is a massive business. In 2024 alone, cancer treatments generated at least $200 billion in worldwide sales for the pharmaceutical industry, more than the obesity drug rush. But a Bloomberg News analysis showed that fewer than half of treatments reviewed — some of which have painful side effects — have been shown to extend patients’ lives.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg senior healthcare reporter Robert Langreth takes host David Gura inside what some doctors call the “cancer-industrial complex” — from the regulatory landscape that ushered in a wave of lucrative new drugs to the damaging financial and health impacts some treatments can have on patients.

Cancer Drugs Cost More Than Ever. They Often Don’t Extend Lives.

The Implants Were Supposed to Dissolve. They Didn’t.

Pharma Is Pushing $200,000 Cancer Drugs When Cheaper Doses May Work

Cancer Doctors Are Making a Fortune Off Drug-Trial Participants

One Generic Cancer Drug Costs $35. Or $134. Or $13,000.

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The $2 Billion Flood Control Scandal Rocking the Philippines Dec 16, 2025

Show notes

The Philippines is no stranger to typhoons, but this year’s storms exposed something far uglier: a vast corruption scandal.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha speaks to Bloomberg’s Andreo Calonzo and Rosalind Mathieson about how billions of dollars earmarked for flood control vanished and what the crisis means for the country’s political and economic stability.

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Wait, Weren’t We Supposed to Have a Recession in 2025? Dec 15, 2025

Show notes

All year, the jobs market, consumer sentiment, AI and inflation flashed warning signs about the economy — but 2025 managed to avoid a recession.

On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder talks with Bloomberg’s Stacey Vanek Smith and Moody’s Analytics Mark Zandi to understand what this year’s wonky economy can tell us as we head into 2026 and what to watch for in the new year.

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How to Invest in AI Right Now Dec 12, 2025

Show notes

Depending on who you talk to, AI is the key to remaking industries and jobs – or a bubble ripe to pop. And if you’re an investor, you’re already exposed.

So what’s the best strategy for investing in AI now? On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder and Bloomberg personal finance reporter Suzanne Woolley talk to experts – ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood, Fidelity International’s Taosha Wang, Allspring Global Investments’ Michael Smith and Janus Henderson Investors’ Denny Fish – about coming AI investment waves and potential warning signs.

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A Fifth-Generation Farmer on Trump’s $12B Bailout Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

From rising costs to shifting markets, American farmers are struggling to make ends meet. Now, the White House is stepping in.

On today’s Big Take podcast, David Gura sits down with Bloomberg agriculture Reporter Erin Ailworth and a fifth-generation farmer to discuss President Trump’s $12 billion farm aid plan. What prompted the move, which sectors will be eligible and how ongoing tensions between the US and China have upended the market for certain crops and shifted how the US exerts its influence overseas.

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