Big Take

For more than 30 years, the Indian-born writer Amitav Ghosh has built a global following with novels that draw on deep historical research. 

But his latest offering, Ghost-Eye, is more esoteric. The plot moves back and forth between India and the US, using past lives to explore the ties between the personal and the political.

The plot centers on a psychiatrist treating a 3-year-old who shocks her family by insisting she remembers a past life in a fishing community.

In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Ghosh explains why he’s finding it harder to write nowadays, how the memories of his childhood came flooding back during the Covid pandemic, why he sees capitalism as an obstacle to protecting the environment and thinks India has lost its way diplomatically. 

Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview

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Game apps like High 5 Casino and Monopoly GO! are wildly popular. Players pay up for perks and the mobile game industry makes money – a lot of money. But scrutiny on these kinds of games and what some players call addictive, gambling-like qualities could challenge the way they do business.

On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder and Bloomberg reporter Vernon Silver go inside the world of so-called “social casinos.” Who’s profiting the most from them? And could a slate of ongoing lawsuits change their business model?

Read more: The $11 Billion Casino-Style Economy Built on Players Who Can Never Cash Out

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Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by David Fox; Reported by Vernon Silver and Peter Robison; Edited by Aaron Edwards.

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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The US government is required to pay back $166 billion in revenue it collected as part of sweeping global tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court earlier this year.

On today’s Big Take podcast, host David Gura talks with Bloomberg economics reporter Laura Curtis and a trade expert in the field about the logistics of that payout, whether any of that money will reach consumers and how political pressure might push some companies to skip a refund altogether.

Read more: 

• Oaktree Capital Accuses BJ’s of Breaching Tariff Refund Deal 
• In Tariff Refund Process, First Payment Set to Go Out May 11 

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Hosted by David Gura; Produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by Laura Curtis; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott 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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Amid the nervousness about whether AI will replace human workers, one company has been aggressively seeking professionals. The San Francisco startup, Mercor, isn’t hiring experts to perform their jobs; it’s paying them an hourly rate to teach their daily routines to AI agents. 

On today’s Big Take podcast, reporter Tom Foster takes host Sarah Holder into the world of Mercor — why professionals are signing up to train the AI that could take over parts of their jobs and how the company’s founders want to remake white-collar work.

Read more: 

• The $10 Billion Startup Training AI to Replace the White-Collar Workforce
• Amazon to Sell OpenAI Tech After Microsoft Cedes Exclusivity

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Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by Julia Press; Reported by Tom Foster; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott.

Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate and Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Engineering by Alex Sugiura.

Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

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As global attention is focused on war in the Middle East, North Korea has been accelerating its nuclear and missile program — testing new weapons and producing more warheads.

On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, host K. Oanh Ha speaks with Bloomberg’s Jon Herskovitz on Kim Jong Un’s aggressive nuclear buildup and the strain that puts on US defenses.

Read more: North Korea’s Nuclear Arsenal is Outgrowing the US Missile Defenses

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Hosted by K. Oanh Ha; Produced by Naomi Ng; Reported by Jon Herskovitz, Soo-Hyang Choi; Edited by Paddy Hirsch.

Fact-checking by Yang Yang; Engineering by Taka Yasuzawa.

Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

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Global markets have been remarkably resilient amid major geopolitical and economic disruptions, from the Iran war to US tariffs, as investors find cause for optimism in strong earnings and AI.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Sarah Holder talks with Asia equities reporter Winnie Hsu, and Ruth Carson, chief FX/Rates correspondent in Asia, about what has kept markets strong — and what could shake them.

Read more: Five Reasons Global Markets Are Holding Up Despite War in Iran

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Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by David Fox; Reported by Winnie Hsu and Ruth Carson; Edited by Tracey Samuelson and Jeffrey Grocott.

Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate; Engineering by Katie McMurran.

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 Apple guru Mark Gurman joins David Gura to reflect on Tim Cook’s wins and losses as CEO of Apple and what it will take for John Ternus to successfully usher in a new era for the tech behemoth.

Read more:

• Apple CEO John Ternus Confronts Test of Retaining Top Talent 
• Tim Cook Regrets Maps Flub, Sees Apple Watch as His Proudest Work 

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Hosted by David Gura; Produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by Mark Gurman; Edited by 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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Building powerful AI tools is the goal of companies like Anthropic. But after realizing how powerful its latest update was, Anthropic moved to keep it from the public and turn it into a cybersecurity stress test.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg cybersecurity reporter Margi Murphy walks host Sarah Holder through the story of how Anthropic discovered the risks of its Mythos tech and what they could mean for banks, businesses and the government.

Read more: 

• How Anthropic Learned Mythos Was Too Dangerous for the Wild
• Anthropic’s Mythos Model Is Being Accessed by Unauthorized Users
  

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Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by Julia Press; Reported by Margi Murphy; 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 a nomination hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh fielded an array of questions about his personal finances and economic policy views. There was even a reference to Seinfeld. But one topic loomed largest: the independence of the Fed.

On today’s Big Take podcast, host David Gura and Bloomberg’s Michael McKee go inside Tuesday’s hearing, where Warsh vowed he wouldn’t be a “sock puppet” for President Trump and laid out some of his vision for the Fed’s future if confirmed.

Read more: Warsh Pledges Independence But Dodges Questions on Rates

Further listening: How Kevin Warsh Could Shape the Fed

We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer.

Hosted by David Gura; Produced by David Fox; Reported by Michael McKee; Edited by Aaron Edwards.

Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate, Julia Press; Engineering by Alex Sugiura.

Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

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India wants to become a manufacturing powerhouse to rival China — but its reliance on the Chinese supply chain for things like batteries and semiconductors makes for a complex and exceedingly difficult puzzle to untangle.

On today's Big Take Asia Podcast, host Oanh Ha and Bloomberg’s Alisha Sachdev on how corporate India is struggling to navigate this unique geopolitical landscape.

Read more: China’s Control Over Tech Is Threatening India’s Manufacturing Dreams

Further listening: Asia Is Bearing the Brunt of the Iran War Energy Crisis

We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer.

Hosted by Oanh Ha; Produced by Yang Yang; Reported by Alisha Sachdev; Edited by Patrick Hirsch; Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate; Engineering by Taka Yasuzawa and Alex Sugiura Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.