Big Take

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Latest Episodes:

A Warming Planet vs. Trump Mar 06, 2025

Show notes

Since taking office in January, President Trump has set in motion a series of sweeping rollbacks on US climate policy. This comes at a time when governments around the world have lagged behind their stated environmental goals.

On today’s episode of the Big Take, host Sarah Holder is joined by Akshat Rathi, host of the Zero podcast, to talk through the Trump administration’s key climate actions, how they could impact investment in green energy, and what it all means for the global fight to stop the warming of the planet.

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Why Harvard Law Is Losing Black Students Mar 04, 2025

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The data is in: The number of Black first-year students at Harvard Law fell dramatically after the Supreme Court’s decision to ban the consideration of race in admissions.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg higher education reporter Janet Lorin shares what she’s learned about how Harvard has changed its application process and what the institution has historically meant for generations of Black leaders. Plus, we hear from a Harvard Law student who’s involved in efforts to recruit more Black students.

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How Facebook, Tinder and Airbnb Are Being Used for Sex Trafficking in Colombia Mar 03, 2025

Show notes

In January 2024, the US Embassy issued a warning to all American travelers: Be careful using dating apps in Colombia. Eight men had been killed in two months — several of them after traveling to Medellin and using apps to connect with women online.

Bloomberg’s Natalie Lung and Antonia Mufarech investigated and found an even darker situation. On today’s Big Take podcast, they join host Sarah Holder to explain how apps from US-based tech companies are being used for sex trafficking and child exploitation in Colombia — and why it’s so hard for the companies to keep criminals off their platforms.

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What’s Behind All of the US Air Travel Accidents? Feb 28, 2025

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Over the last few months, a spate of high-profile air travel incidents in North America have captured public attention. And it’s raised concerns about whether air travel is as safe as it used to be.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s global aviation editor Benedikt Kammel joins host David Gura to discuss how recent accidents — especially the fatal collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and a military helicopter and, weeks later, the crash landing of Delta Flight 4819 — have undermined public trust in flying. And they examine what’s going on inside the FAA in the midst of mass government lay-offs.

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When a Small Town Gets a Big Data Center Feb 27, 2025

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The Hopeful Primitive Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Georgia, has been standing for two hundred years. Now, with a huge, private equity-backed data center coming to town, it will soon be surrounded by towering power poles — and power lines will run through the yards of more than a hundred homes and private properties.

Today on the show, energy reporter Josh Saul reports on the AI boom, the demand it’s creating for data centers, and what it looks like on the ground in the communities where those are being built. Plus, the pastor from Hopeful Primitive Baptist talks about the community’s response.

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Xi Has Embraced China’s Tech Titans Once Again. Will It Last? Feb 26, 2025

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Four years after launching a regulatory crackdown that plunged the tech sector into turmoil, China’s President Xi Jinping sat down publicly with Alibaba Group’s co-founder Jack Ma, whose firm bore the brunt of that campaign, and a number of other tech titans.

On today's Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Lucille Liu and Opinion columnist Catherine Thorbecke about Xi’s shifting stance and where the tech industry goes from here.

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Inside Walmart’s Next Chapter With CEO Doug McMillon Feb 24, 2025

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Doug McMillon has been running Walmart since 2014. He’s credited with pushing the company into the digital age and successfully steering it through the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, he’s turning his attention to the company's next chapter and new challenges ahead.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg reporters Jaewon Kang and Devin Leonard travel to Bentonville, Arkansas, to interview McMillon about navigating a second Trump presidency, appealing to higher-end shoppers and the company’s ambition to go after Amazon’s e-commerce crown.

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Why Eggs Are So Expensive Right Now Feb 21, 2025

Show notes

The price of eggs was up 15% in January, driving overall inflation higher. The cause? Bird flu.
We’re joined by farmer Jim Hayes, as well as the hosts of Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast, Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway, to talk about how bird flu threatens the chicken supply chain and public health — and what, if anything, can be done to lower egg prices.

Listen to Beak Capitalism from Odd Lots.

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Undocumented Workers Helped Build Elon Musk’s Tesla Gigafactory Feb 19, 2025

Show notes

Over the last four-and-a-half years, the footprint of Elon Musk’s Texas business empire has undergone rapid expansion. It now includes SpaceX facilities and a sprawling Tesla gigafactory outside the state capital.
New Bloomberg reporting shows that undocumented workers helped to build some facilities — even as Musk ratcheted up his anti-immigration rhetoric and advocated for a border crackdown.
On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Julia Love investigated how undocumented workers ended up at these sites — and the conditions they encountered — and joined host Sarah Holder to share what she found.

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How Amazon Rival Temu Got Sucked Into Trump’s Trade War Feb 18, 2025

Show notes

Since its US launch in 2022, Chinese marketplace Temu has rapidly risen to become America’s biggest e-commerce platform after Amazon, thanks to ultra-low prices on almost every product imaginable.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha speaks to Bloomberg’s Spencer Soper and Rachel Chang about Donald Trump’s order to close a tariff loophole and what it means for American shoppers and the giants supplying them with goods direct from China.

Further listening: The Tariff Wars Are Here — And They’re Messy

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