Big Take

By any account, Chen Zhi's ascent was meteoric. At a young age he founded a real estate company in Cambodia, which quickly became the sprawling Prince Group conglomerate. But beneath this legitimate facade, Chen allegedly ran a vast criminal network, building an empire on scams, human trafficking and high-level political protection.
On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, Host K. Oanh Ha and Bloomberg’s David Ramli look into the rapid rise and sudden downfall of an alleged criminal mastermind.
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Read more: The Tycoon Who Had a Secret Life as an Alleged Scam Kingpin
Further listening: Inside Southeast Asia’s Most Notorious Crime Hub
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From online banking and social media to digital ads and AI subscriptions, digital services are the fastest-growing segment of global trade. Unlike physical exports, they’ve been subject to little regulation, taxation or tariffs. Until now.
On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg global trade editor Brendan Murray and David Gura dig into the rising tensions over the almost $5 trillion in digital services sold across borders each year, why a consequential WTO meeting could change everything and what it means for the global tariff war.
Read more: Trump Starts Rebuilding Tariff Protections Targeting China, Europe
Hosted by David Gura; Produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by Brendan Murray; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott.
Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate; Engineering by Alex Sugiura.
Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.
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In the first 24 hours of US attacks on Iran, the scale of firepower more than doubled that of the US’ initial assault on Iraq in 2003 — an expansion made possible by the Pentagon’s embrace of AI. Just hours before the attack, the US parted ways with AI company Anthropic, after the company raised concerns over how the Defense Department might use its tools. The Pentagon says it wants the ability to use the tools for “all lawful purposes.”
On today’s Big Take podcast, host David Gura sits down with Bloomberg national security and tech reporter Katrina Manson — author of the upcoming book Project Maven: A Marine Colonel, His Team, and the Dawn of AI Warfare — and Bloomberg senior editor Mike Shepard to discuss how the US is integrating AI into its warfighting machine and the guardrails in place for the military as it utilizes AI technology to make life-and-death decisions.
Read more: ‘God, It’s Terrifying’: How the Pentagon Got Hooked on AI War Machines
Katrina Manson’s book is Project Maven: A Marine Colonel, His Team, and the Dawn of AI Warfare.
Hosted by David Gura; Produced by Julia Press; Reported by Katrina Manson and Michael Shepard; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott.
Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate; Engineering by Alex Sugiura.
Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.
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On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Brian Chappatta and Olivia Fishlow unpack the recent tumult in the world of private credit. How cracks formed in this $1.8 trillion market, how companies are trying to tamp down investor anxiety and what it all could mean for the private credit industry’s efforts to get into 401(k)s.
Read more: Private Credit’s Gate-Crashers Are Forcing Funds Into a Brutal Spot
Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by Brian Chappatta and Olivia Fishlow; Edited by Naomi Shavin and Tracey Samuelson.
Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate; Engineering by Alex Sugiura.
Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.
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After oil soared to nearly $120 per barrel on Sunday, President Donald Trump began to signal that the US had already achieved victory in Iran and could wind down the conflict soon. There was an immediate drop in oil prices — and the entire global economy seemed to sigh in relief.
On today’s Big Take podcast, Stacey Vanek Smith and Bloomberg Opinion’s Javier Blas discuss why the global economy is so sensitive to oil price spikes and how oil prices are ratcheting up both domestic and international pressure on Trump.
Read more:
Higher Gas Prices Hit Americans Already Hurting From Inflation
This Isn’t an Energy Crisis — at Least Not Yet
Hosted by Stacey Vanek Smith; Produced by David Fox; Reported by Stacey Vanek Smith; Edited by Naomi Shavin.
Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate, Aaron Edwards and Jeff Grocott; Engineering by Alex Sugiura.
Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.