Big Take

Decades-long efforts to save Brazil’s Amazon have hit a brutal reality. Impoverished local communities often turn to agribusiness and other industries that drive deforestation. 

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Brazil bureau chief Vanessa Dezem joins host Sarah Holder to talk through the link between poverty and deforestation and the country’s new efforts to save its rainforest by building up local economies.

Read more: The Amazon’s Relentless Poverty Cycle

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Bloomberg News and Morning Consult have spent the past year polling voters in the seven key swing states that could decide the election: Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.

The results are in for the last poll before Election Day — and the race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris could hardly be closer.

Senior editor Wendy Benjaminson leads Bloomberg’s polling coverage. She joins Big Take DC host Saleha Mohsin to unpack the state of the race and the economic concerns motivating these voters as November 5 approaches.

Read more: Two Weeks Out, Trump and Harris Are Locked in a Dead Heat

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Started as a battery company in the 1990s in Shenzhen, BYD is now one of the best-selling EV brands in the world. Once mocked by Elon Musk, the company’s startling growth made it a global player and has sparked tariffs in the US and EU.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Gabrielle Coppola and Danny Lee about the company’s aggressive expansion and what it means for the global auto market.

Read more: BYD Is Winning the Global Race to Make Cheaper EVs

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In recent years, investors of all kinds bet big on the future of the so-called Green Economy. But now, some hedge funds are shorting green stocks — a sign that investor enthusiasm may be waning.

A new Bloomberg analysis examines the positions that more than 500 hedge funds have taken on the green economy. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg ESG reporter Sheryl Lee joins host David Gura to discuss the findings, and why some investors who had bet on a sustainable future are now betting against it.

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The education system has an AI problem. As students have started using tools like ChatGPT to do their homework, educators have deployed their own AI tools to determine if students are using AI to cheat.

But the detection tools, which are largely effective, do flag false positives roughly 2% of the time. For students who are falsely accused, the consequences can be devastating. 

On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder speaks to Bloomberg’s tech reporter Jackie Davalos about how students and educators are responding to the emergence of generative AI and what happens when efforts to crack down on its use backfire.

Read more: AI Detectors Falsely Accuse Students of Cheating—With Big Consequences

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Since 2023, more than 165 lawsuits have been filed challenging nearly every dimension of this year's presidential election. Across 37 states, including all seven swing states, these court cases could determine who can vote, how they vote, and how those votes will be counted.

Bloomberg’s Zoe Tillman is tracking these cases as Election Day nears, and joins host Saleha Mohsin to discuss the role courts will play in the outcome of the presidential race — and what this all means for public trust in the voting process.

Read more: More Than 165 Lawsuits Are Already Shaping the 2024 US Presidential Election

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With the US presidential election less than a month away, and the economy top of mind for many voters, former President Donald Trump sat down for an interview with Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait at the Economic Club of Chicago on Tuesday.

On today’s Big Take podcast, host David Gura highlights the key takeaways from the interview. From Trump’s defense of tariffs, to his plans for the Federal Reserve and immigration, the interview offers a view of what a second Trump term could mean for the global economy.

Read more: Trump Says Growth to Outpace Feared Debt, Inflation From Agenda

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Vietnamese real estate tycoon Truong My Lan was convicted in April of orchestrating a $12.3 billion fraud. She was sentenced to death by lethal injection, which she is appealing. And this week, the court is expected to hand down another verdict on additional charges. 

On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, host K. Oanh Ha speaks to Bloomberg’s John Boudreau about how Lan was able to embezzle so much money for so long, how she went from riches to death row and what her multibillion fraud case means for one of the fastest growing economies in Asia.

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In recent weeks, two monster storms have pummeled the US. Hurricanes Helene and Milton left more than 200 dead — and early estimates suggest the recovery could cost more than $100 billion. It’s a huge strain on affected homeowners and the insurance industry that’s meant to shoulder some of that burden. 

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Leslie Kaufman joins host David Gura to talk about the increasing severity and frequency of extreme weather events, and how the new normal is changing the calculus for insurers. 

Read more: Federal Flood Maps Are No Match for Florida’s Double Hurricane

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Uber and Lyft promised to give drivers independence and the flexibility to work whenever they wanted. But this summer in New York City, these ride share companies started restricting when their drivers could go online. A new Bloomberg investigation found that driver lockouts were designed to save the companies millions in minimum wage payments — and ultimately cost drivers in the process.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg tech reporter Natalie Lung joins host Sarah Holder to talk about the strategy behind the lockouts, and how she and her team crowd-sourced stories from hundreds of drivers to understand the impact. 

Read more: How Uber and Lyft Used a Loophole to Deny NYC Drivers Millions in Pay

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