Big Take

In early January, after a grueling 15 rounds of voting, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy negotiated some concessions with members of the far-right Freedom Caucus – more congressional power in exchange for their votes – to secure his speakership. McCarthy is now feeling the squeeze of their influence in several battles consuming the House. Bloomberg’s Megan Scully and Billy House join guest host Craig Gordon for a play-by-play of how the Freedom Caucus is exerting their brawn.Read more: McCarthy Ramps Up Talk of Potential Biden Impeachment Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK  Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In what’s being hailed as a ‘Great Reset,' how the world does business looks very different now than it did before Covid. Bloomberg Markets magazine sent reporters all around the globe to see what the new order of global trade looks like on the ground. Bloomberg’s Brendan Murray, Malcolm Scott and Jenny Leonard join guest host Rosalind Mathieson to discuss what they found. Read more: War, AI and Climate Change Shake Up $32 Trillion in Global Trade Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK  Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The European Union became one of the first in the world to take wide-reaching action to regulate artificial intelligence when it passed a draft law in June. The proposal would put new guardrails around the use and development of artificial intelligence, including curbing the use of facial recognition software and increasing ChatGPT’s transparency. Bloomberg’s Jillian Deutsch joins guest host Rosalind Mathieson to talk about how the EU pulled ahead in the race to regulate AI, and why concerns are growing about AI being overregulated. Columbia Law School Professor Anu Bradford discusses what the global effect will be if this far-reaching regulatory framework is enacted into law. Read more: Big Tech Wants AI Regulation — So Long as Users Bear the Brunt Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK  Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Biden administration is preparing a new plan to cancel debt for some student loan borrowers, after the Supreme Court struck down its original attempt last month. Guest host Nancy Cook sits down with Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren to ask how she’s advocating for the Biden administration’s plan B for student loan debt and why the issue has become such a hot button topic in Washington. Bloomberg’s Akayla Gardner forecasts what’s next as the political fight over student debt rages on. Read more: Biden Administration to Forgive $39 Billion in Student Debt Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK  Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.This episode was produced by: Supervising Producer: Vicki Vergolina, Senior Producer: Kathryn Fink, Producers: Mo Barrow, Michael Falero. Sound Design/Engineer: Raphael Amsili.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni came to power with a string of superlatives. She’s the country’s first female prime minister, and she’s brought in the most right-wing government in decades. Now, nine months into her term, she faces a series of tests: on China, the war in Ukraine and a looming EU recession. Bloomberg’s Chiara Albanese and Alessandra Migliaccio join guest host Rosalind Mathieson to talk about Meloni’s rise to power and where she plans to take Italy next. Read more: Giorgia Meloni Seeks to Cement Power by Remaking Corporate Italy Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK  Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US Space Force, established in 2019, is the first new branch of the military to be created since 1947, and its mission is vast: defend US interests in space. But what exactly is the Space Force? And what does defending US interests in space mean or look like practically? As the nearly $900 billion defense spending bill winds its way through Congress, Wes went to the Pentagon to sit down with General David Thompson, the Vice Chief of Space Operations to learn what US interests in space are, and how the branch is developing. Bloomberg cybersecurity reporter Katrina Manson joins later to describe her visit to Space Command in Colorado and the importance of the US keeping a watch on its adversaries in zero gravity. Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK  Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

American-made guns are pouring into countries all over the globe, even more so after the US made it easier to export guns in 2020. Even as America’s mass shootings horrify the world and gun-crime rates rise in many of the importing countries, the US government is playing a key role as the firearm industry’s booster and concierge. Bloomberg’s Michael Riley, David Kocieniewski and Patpicha Tanakasempipat join this episode to talk about one gunmaker, Sig Sauer. It has benefited the most from the push for more gun exports and has found a large customer base in Thailand. Read more: How the US Drives Gun Exports and Fuels Violence Around the World  Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK  Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net. Everytown for Gun Safety, which advocates gun-safety measures, is backed by Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For years, park rangers in South Africa have tried to stop poachers who kill rhinos for their valuable horns. But it’s impossible to keep up–and rhinoceros populations have continued to fall. Bloomberg Businessweek contributor Jonathan Franklin reports that now, the rangers are taking a creative new approach to outmaneuver the poachers—and protect the animals. Read more: A Rhino Is Worth More Dead Than Alive Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK  Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re trying something new today. Instead of bringing you just one important story, we’re rounding up some of the week’s biggest news from the US and across the globe. Bloomberg’s Nancy Cook, Craig Gordon and Rosalind Mathieson join this episode to discuss the latest from the 2024 campaign trail, the war in Ukraine and the high stakes talks between the US and China. Plus, they tell us what stories they’ll be keeping a close eye on in the weeks ahead. Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK  Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meta’s new Twitter-like social media platform called Threads is signing up users at a record pace. But will it last–and will it be a “Twitter killer”? Bloomberg Businessweek writer Max Chafkin is…skeptical. He says that after years of explosive growth, social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are facing big challenges. Many longtime users are spending less time each day scrolling through their feeds. Max joins this episode to talk about why people are putting down their phones and choosing to spend more time IRL. Read more: Threads, Twitter and the No-Attention Economy Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.