Crash Course

Remember the early days of COVID-19 lockdowns when, practically overnight, it seemed that every shop closed its doors? Do you remember how all of those small businesses you might have taken for granted – the ones that gave life and an identity to your community – suddenly felt essential to you? Tim watched lots of small businesses in his small town in New Jersey struggle, including his favorite local bakery, Montclair Bread Company. We first published this episode back in March, marking three years since the initial lockdowns in the US. But the holiday season is the most important time of year for small businesses, so it feels fitting to share this episode again now. In this episode, Tim tracks the trials and tribulations this unimaginable public health and economic crisis threw at the bakery and its owner, Rachel Wyman. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The podcast discusses Donald Trump's civil fraud trial in New York, where a state judge will rule on the case. If found guilty, Trump may face a $250 million fine and be banned from doing business in New York. The episode explores the role of prosecutors in society, Letitia James' case against Trump for financial fraud, his use of inflated valuations for his assets, his unusual behavior as a defendant, and the impact of his legal cases on the rule of law and democracy.

Bloomberg News Now is a comprehensive audio report on today's top stories. Listen for the latest news, whenever you want it, covering global business stories around the world.        on Apple: trib.al/Mx9TCh1     on Spotify: trib.al/T4BG8s4     Anywhere: trib.al/O4EX6BASee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The podcast discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on crime rates, including decreases in some crimes and increases in homicides and violent assaults. It explores the limitations of crime statistics and the need for further research. The narratives surrounding crime during COVID-19 are also examined, challenging misconceptions and emphasizing solutions for safer communities. Disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities and the issues with data collection and analysis are discussed, highlighting the importance of considering perceptions alongside statistics.

OpenAI, which you may have heard a lot about lately, is the company that developed ChatGPT, a wildly popular AI bot which you most certainly have heard of. OpenAI’s board of directors recently purged the company’s CEO, Sam Altman, and various stakeholders – employees, investors, Microsoft – saw to it that Altman was reinstated. The board itself then faced a purge. This particular collision has it all: Silicon Valley innovation and Silicon Valley hubris, money, managerial snafus, ugly battles, promising outcomes, and, of course, artificial intelligence. AI is set to transform the world, we’re told. Ingenuity and upheaval at OpenAI offer a way for us to consider all of that. Parmy Olson and Dave Lee are both Bloomberg Opinion technology columnists.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Digital disruption is knock knock knockin’ at the music industry’s door, 20 years after the MP3 and Napster made CD collections obsolete. Artificial intelligence is now filling playlists with ambient music and making pitch-perfect copies of human stars like Grimes, who Bloomberg Opinion columnist Lionel Laurent interviewed for this special episode of Crash Course. He dives into the risky race to make musical robots and how record labels and artists are fighting back with new business models, new types of music, and new ideas about copyright — which could serve as a guide for how the wider economy and the rest of society can deal with AI. NOTE: This episode incorrectly states the name of Grimes' manager. It is Daouda Leonard, not Leonard Daouda.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump’s political speeches of late are chock full of warnings about “the threat from within” posed by his myriad opponents – those he decries as “vermin” out to destroy the US and the American Dream. He routinely promises to crush his critics and “make America great again.” As always with Trump, there’s a method to his madness. Historian Heather Cox Richardson argues that Trumpism claws at American democracy’s true roots – at what she describes as “the idea that a nation can be based not in land or religion or race or hierarchies, but rather in the concept of human equality.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speech has probably never been freer in the world than it is today: Multiple venues – especially social media – allow people’s perspectives to take flight fluently, globally, and frequently. The culture of free speech is also under steady and ever more sophisticated assaults, perhaps because its ubiquity is threatening to any person or institution that holds an opposing viewpoint. The very thing that makes speech so free right now – ease of motion – is, perhaps, what also makes it more threatening. Jameel Jaffer is an attorney and the director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At Bloomberg, we’re always talking about the biggest business stories, and no one is bigger than Elon Musk. In this new chat weekly show, host David Papadopoulos and a panel of guests including Businessweek’s Max Chafkin, Tesla reporter Dana Hull, Big Tech editor Sarah Frier, and more, will break down the most important stories on Musk and his empire. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Exploring China's population, economy, technology sector, military capacity, and recent economic problems. China's strategy towards Hong Kong and its growing influence. The efficiency of China's government and its impact on economic growth. Concerns about political risks, aggressive rhetoric, and debt problems. China's infrastructure development and debt accumulation. China's changing direction under Xi Jinping and the impact of COVID-19.