app_store_button

google_play_button

Details page - Device banner - 894x1036

Step into an infinite world of stories

Listen and read

Bloomberg and iHeartPodcasts


The Big Take from Bloomberg News brings you inside what’s shaping the world's economies with the smartest and most informed business reporters around the world. The context you need on the stories that can move markets. Every afternoon.


Big Take

For almost 40 years, Richard Moore was a career spy in Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service. Only his closest friends and family knew what he did for a living. When he was appointed chief of the agency in 2020, that changed: The name of the person in the top role is the only one made public.
 
In his first broadcast interview since leaving his post in September 2025, Moore talks to Mishal Husain about managing China, the psychology of Vladimir Putin and why spies shouldn’t expect recognition.
 
03:00 - “I certainly haven’t left the world in a better place than I found it”
 
05:02 - China as an “opportunity and a threat”
 
07:20 - UK’s China spy scandal
 
09:44 China should “get their embassy” in London
 
10:22 - Getting the “tap on the shoulder” at Oxford University
 
14:16 - Telling your children you’re a spy
 
16:28 - What is spycraft really like?
 
22:00 - Intelligence work post 9/11
 
28:15 - “Putin has no intention of doing a deal”
 
33:46 - Strikes on Venezuela 
 
40:00 - Life on the outside
 
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
 
Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net
 
Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Weekend Listen: Former UK Spy Chief Was Paid to Steal Secrets, Not Solve Mysteries

For years, Mackeys Ferry Sawmill in North Carolina relied on exporting its goods to China and Vietnam after a dip in domestic demand for high-quality hardwood. But President Donald Trump’s trade war with China dealt a blow that the mill’s owners say they couldn’t come back from. In July, just months after the president announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs, they decided to shut it down.
 
On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg economics reporter Shawn Donnan goes to the “Old North State” to understand the ripple effect of tariffs on one of the oldest industries in America and how the mill’s owner feels about Trump and his policies, one year after voting for him in the ballot booth.
 
Listen more: The Most Worrying — and Reassuring — Signals in the US Economy

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They Voted for Trump. His Tariffs Took Down Their Family-Owned Sawmill

In recent weeks, a number of economic warning signs have put investors on edge, from growing skepticism over the possibility of an AI bubble to bankruptcies that have rocked the private credit market.
 
On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg Opinion columnist and senior markets editor John Authers and host David Gura tackle the question: How worried should we be about the US economy?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Most Worrying — and Reassuring — Signals in the US Economy

When President Trump took office in January, he made it clear that retribution against his perceived political enemies was a key part of his second-term agenda.

He’s used a variety of tools at his disposal — and with his encouragement, the Department of Justice has indicted former FBI Director James Comey, New York State Attorney General Letitia James and former National Security Advisor John Bolton.

On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder is joined by Bloomberg senior national political reporter Nancy Cook and Department of Justice reporter Chris Strohm to talk about how these cases are playing out and the new precedent they could set for future administrations.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trump Promised Revenge. He’s Using the DOJ to Make It Happen

Wall Street banks are on a hiring spree across India, recruiting workers for everything from software engineering to risk management as part of a decades-long shift away from support roles toward high-skill positions.
 
On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host David Gura sits down with Bloomberg’s Siddhi Nayak to look at India’s changing job landscape. What to expect as Wall Street continues to expand into its tech hubs – and how Donald Trump’s H1-B visa crackdown could accelerate that push.
 
Further listening: Trump’s H-1B Visa Fee Dashes Indian Workers’ American Dreams

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wall Street Speeds Up India Expansion

The US economy appears remarkably resilient right now, but if you look closer, you’ll see a different picture emerge: a growing divide between America’s wealthiest consumers and everyone else. Economists call this kind of bifurcated economy “K-shaped.” And as the top and bottom of the K have diverged, the overall economy has also become more top-heavy and more fragile.
 
On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder is joined by Peter Atwater – the economist who popularized the idea of a “K-shaped economy” during the pandemic – and Bloomberg reporter Catarina Saraiva, who covers the federal reserve and labor market. They examine why this gap is widening, how it’s showing up in company earnings reports and what it means for the country’s overall financial health.
 
Read more: ‘Jenga Tower’ US Economy Teeters as Middle Class Pulls Back Spending

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why a K-Shaped US Economy Is Raising Red Flags

How do you tell the history of a whole country through its women? And what can it tell us about the world today? These are the questions Russian-American journalist Julia Ioffe has set out to answer in her new book, Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy.
Having reported from, and on, Russia for publications including The New Yorker and Foreign Policy for more than a decade, Ioffe says she has repeatedly been asked to explain the actions and motivations of one man: Vladimir Putin.
Motherland is, she says, partly a response to Putin, through her desire to show that Russia is much more than one person, let alone one man.In this conversation Ioffe talks to Mishal about reclaiming Russia’s women, about Donald Trump’s hollowing out of American institutions and why Putinism will endure. (Note: This podcast contains a discussion of sexual violence that some listeners may find distressing.)

02:30 - “I was born in a country that no longer exists”
03:55 - The anti-feminist at Lenin’s side during the Revolution
06:55 - Reluctancy to write about Russian women
12:55 - What a “horrible boyfriend” Vladimir Putin was
16:50 - Return to Russia, oligarch hunters and ‘trad wives’
22:13 - Alexei Navalny, “the last shred of hope”
29:20 - Can Russia sustain the war in Ukraine?
32:32 - Trump’s assault on US institutions, faster than Putin
34:30 - American authoritarianism, risk of “one party state”

Watch this podcast: 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

Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Weekend Listen: Julia Ioffe Wants You to Know Russia Is Bigger Than Putin

The United States has struck more than a dozen boats off the coast of Venezuela over the last two months, killing more than 60 people.

The Trump administration says it’s targeting narco-traffickers. But critics at home and abroad have decried the attacks and challenged their legal basis. Meanwhile, President Trump has overseen a buildup of force in the region.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg National Security Reporter Nick Wadhams, Bloomberg Economics Defense Lead Becca Wasser and host David Gura take stock of the concentration of American military force in the Caribbean. They break down why President Trump is taking aim at Venezuela right now — and discuss what could happen next. 

Read more: Nobel Peace Prize Winner: US Escalation Is ‘Only Way’ to Free Venezuela

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s Trump’s Venezuela Endgame?

The ongoing US government shutdown has broken historic records — and its economic consequences could prove even longer-lasting.
 
Today on the Big Take, host Sarah Holder is joined by Bloomberg’s Gregory Korte and Megan Scully, who cover the White House and Congress, to talk about the shutdown’s impacts across sectors — and what it could take to break the logjam.
 
Read more: The US Government Shutdown Is the Longest Ever. Why Does This Keep Happening?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How the Longest Government Shutdown Is Impacting the Economy

Zohran Mamdani clinched New York City’s mayoral race by campaigning against wealth inequality and promoting affordability. Now, he faces the challenge of delivering on the promises that got him elected while coming to the table with the city’s wealthiest residents, who have an outsized influence on the city’s politics, economy and revenue.
 
On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder is joined by Bloomberg reporters Emily Flitter and Fola Akinnibi and speaks with Kathryn Wylde, the CEO of the Partnership for New York City, which represents the interests of the city’s business community. They discuss what Mamdani’s victory means for Wall Street and how he plans to win over the 1 percent.
 
Read more:
 
 Wall Street Drops Fear of ‘Hot Commie Summer’ in Overture to Mamdani Allow Zohran Mamdani to Reintroduce Himself New York’s Golden Handcuffs: Why the City Has a Special Hold on the Rich 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mamdani Won on Affordability. Can He Win Over NYC’s 1 Percent?

Millions of Americans depend on public assistance programs to help pay for food and make ends meet. But it’s not always easy for them to manage the red tape required to keep those benefits coming. Bloomberg Businessweek contributor Bryce Covert joins this episode with the story of a nonprofit called Code For America. It works with states to make navigating government bureaucracies less of a hassle. And we also hear from Code For America’s Genevieve Miller.
 
Read more: How Many People Does It Take for the Government to Send a Text?
 
Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bringing Government Services Into The 21st Century. One Text At A Time

Listen and read

Other podcasts you might like ...