Big Take

Tired Americans are increasingly willing to pay a premium for items or services that save time or ease their fatigue: a laundry machine that both washes and dries, a grocery delivery service that puts the groceries away for them, a high-tech closet that steams their clothes.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg retail reporter Jaewon Kang and Wharton professor Gal Smitizsky discuss why a growing number of American consumers are willing to spend more to save time, even in today’s uncertain economy – and how companies are taking notice. 

Read more: The ‘Adulting’ Tax: Tired Americans Are Willing to Pay to Save Time

Hosted by: Sarah Holder; Produced by: Eleanor Harrison-Dengate with assistance from Dina Katgara and Julia Press; Reported by: Jaewon Kang; Edited by: Jeff Grocott and Tracey Samuelson; Fact-checking by: David Fox; Engineering by: Katie McMurran.

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

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China started 2025 with deflation, a property crisis and fears of a “lost decade” damping sentiment. By year’s end, it had stunned the world with an AI breakthrough, a trillion-dollar trade surplus and rare earth dominance.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks with Bloomberg Executive Editor John Liu and Bloomberg Opinion’s Shuli Ren about how China navigated Trump’s tariff war, revived investor confidence and what risks could derail its momentum in 2026.

Read more: Repeat After Me: Never, Ever Underestimate China
Xi’s Triumphant Year Staring Down Trump Belies Woes in China

Hosted by: K. Oanh Ha; Produced by: Naomi Ng and Yang Yang; Reported by: Shuli Ren and John Liu; Edited by: Paddy Hirsch; Fact-checking by: Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Engineering by: Katie McMurran.

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

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Chinese tech companies Huawei and DeepSeek are teaming up to offer cloud computing and AI services. And they’re pitching African startups on using their offerings over Western competitors like OpenAI in a bid to get an early foothold in the African tech scene.

In a special episode from Bloomberg’s Big Take and Next Africa podcasts, reporters Loni Prinsloo and Helen Nyambura join hosts Sarah Holder and Jennifer Zabasajja to describe the pitch, how it’s landing and what it could mean for the global AI race.

Read more: China's DeepSeek Is Beating Out OpenAI and Google in Africa

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Since the start of his second term, US President Donald Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs – especially on China, where most toys are made. 

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host Oanh Ha talks with Rick Woldenberg, CEO of fourth‑generation toymaker Learning Resources, about his company’s battle against tariffs in stores and in court – and what it reveals about the true cost of America’s trade war.

Read more: Cutting Ties With China Is Harder Than Companies Expected

Tariffs Unravel India’s Dream of Challenging China in Toymaking

Further listening: An American Toymaker Struggles to Break Up With China

India Wanted to Become The World’s Toymaker. Then Tariffs Happened

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The US-China trade war has upended global manufacturing, forcing companies like Chicago-based Learning Resources to fundamentally change how and where its products are made, even as it challenges the tariffs in court.

On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, K. Oanh Ha heads to India, where the toymaker has begun shifting production of its popular children’s toys. We examine how the company is managing the complex shift from China – where its toys have been made for decades, what the factory boom means for communities on the ground in India and how all of this will impact toy prices.

Further listening: The American Toymaker Suing Trump Over Destructive Tariffs

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President Trump’s trade threw American businesses, which source everything from aircraft parts to baby strollers from China, into chaos. Over this year, some companies challenged the president’s tariffs in court — including Illinois-based toymaker Learning Resources, whose case is now before the Supreme Court. 

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha is joined by Rick Woldenberg, CEO of Learning Resources, and Bloomberg’s Lucille Liu, to talk about the impact of the trade war on US importers and Chinese manufacturers – and what it ultimately means for American consumers.

Read more: Chinese Toymaker Takes Drastic Action to Survive Trump’s Tariffs

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This month, the think-tank the Groundwork Collaborative, Consumer Reports and the news nonprofit More Perfect Union released a report finding that Instacart had been using an AI tool to run algorithmic price experiments on shoppers around the country. As a result, shoppers were being charged different prices for the exact same items from the exact same stores.

At a time when inflation has driven grocery costs higher, the revelation that Instacart was charging some consumers more for the same goods struck a chord.

On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder speaks with Bloomberg’s antitrust reporter Leah Nylen and the Groundwork Collaborative executive director Lindsay Owens about the report’s findings and impact — and Instacart’s decision to end their experiment.

Read more: Instacart to Pay $60 Million to Settle FTC Consumer Protection Case

Hosted by: Sarah Holder; Produced by: Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by: Leah Nylen; Edited by: Naomi Shavin and Aaron Edwards; Fact-checking by: Julia Press; Engineering by: Katie McMurran.

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

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From OPEC powerhouses and US shale producers to countries like Guyana, global producers are drilling more oil and driving down prices. And with the potential for a ceasefire in Russia and pressure on Maduro in Venezuela, even more oil could flood the market in 2026.

On today’s Big Take podcast, host David Gura sits down with Bloomberg oil trading reporter Alex Longley and Opinion columnist Javier Blas to discuss the forces driving the oil market right now, how they’re impacting different countries and why even lower prices could be on the way.

Read more: The World Is Awash With Oil and Prices Are Poised to Keep Falling

Hosted by: David Gura Produced by: Julia Press Reported by: Alex Longley and Javier Blas Edited by: Jeff Grocott Fact-checking by: Rachael Lewis-Krisky and David Fox Engineering by: Katie McMurran

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

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Lynsey Addario’s life work means  taking great risks to tell other people’s stories. She is a Pulitzer Prize winning war photographer who has been abducted twice while documenting conflicts from Afghanistan to Ukraine and Sudan.

There aren’t many women in her field. In a new National Geographic documentary called “Love+War,” currently streaming on Disney+, she lets us into that world, one she’s made her profession for three decades. Addario shows how she adjusts from a work environment of grave danger and high-adrenaline to being a mother making the school run and spending time with her sons.

In this conversation, she tells Mishal Husain, why she believes her job is to “bear witness” and how she came to it. She remembers the first time she used a camera and shares how her childhood prepared her to walk into any situation and connect with anyone, from soldiers to refugees and civilians living through extreme times.

This interview contains descriptions of abduction, violence and sexual assault which some listeners/viewers may find distressing.

02:27 - Love+War
03:34 - The turning point
06:00 - Learning about the risks
07:00 “I don’t want to do this for a living”
09:19 - Being held in Fallujah
11:20 - On embed in Afghanistan
14:31 - Operation Rock Avalanche
15:43 - Dealing with the emotion
16:50 - The daughter of hairdressers in Connecticut
17:44 - Getting her first camera
19:30 - Planning a “shoot-list”
21:51 - Russian strike on Ukraine
17:30 - Being held hostage in Libya
31:02 - Survivor’s guilt
33:30 Life at home
36:30 - Social media and fake images
40:18 - Switching off

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

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As AI-generated images ping pong around the internet, the Walt Disney Company has been mostly playing defense, using litigation to protect its intellectual property. But last week, Disney announced a $1 billion deal with OpenAI, licensing more than 200 of its iconic Disney characters for use on OpenAI’s video platform, Sora.

On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder talks with Bloomberg tech reporter Shirin Ghaffary and entertainment reporter Thomas Buckley about the terms of the deal, the opportunities and risks for each side and whether it might spur other similar partnerships. 

Read more: OpenAI Deal to License Disney Characters Is Entirely in Stock

Hosted by: Sarah Holder; Produced by: Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by: Shirin Ghaffary and Thomas Buckley; Edited by: Tracey Samuelson; Fact-checking by: Naomi Ng and Eleanor Harrison-Dengate. Engineering by: Katie McMurran.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.