Everybody's Business

Max and Stacey have caught the fever of Big Money. What does this moment of thousand-dollar sporting event tickets and trillion-dollar AI IPOs mean for middle class and retail spending? Bloomberg’s Katie Greifeld and Randall Williams join the show to make sense of the numbers. Plus, a theory behind the declining birth rate and a late-capitalist fragrance.

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Is YouTube the new film incubator? In the wake of two hit movies from internet native directors, Max, Stacey, and Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw figure out if the buzz around Backrooms and Obsession is a trend or a fluke. Plus, we check in on the Iran conflict and China’s role in it with Javier Blas, some clumsy alleged insider trading, and a couple different instances of international art theft.

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Across the country, Americans are cutting back on groceries, but maybe they don’t have to. With an eye to one of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s signature initatives, Max and Stacey take you inside a city-run grocery store in Atlanta that keeps some prices low no matter its profit margins. And then, what’s the difference between art and slop? Max sits down with AI filmmaker Matt Zien to weigh the pros and cons of a nearly human-free cast and crew. (We promise that neither Max nor Stacey has been replaced by a chatbot.) Plus, we discover 2026’s song of the summer, and doping in sports is so back.

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This week, Puck fashion correspondent Lauren Sherman joins Max and Stacey to break down her latest scoop: direct-to-consumer pioneer Everlane has been acquired by fast-fashion giant Shein for $100 million. What does an opaque e-commerce behemoth want with a brand that built its name on "radical transparency?" Lauren unpacks the corporate irony and offers sanity-saving shopping advice for the ethically whiplashed.

Plus, Businessweek contributing writer Megan Greenwell drops by to discuss the roaring success of the WNBA. Fresh off a historic new collective bargaining agreement engineered with the help of a Nobel Prize-winning Harvard economist, the league's growth seems limitless — even if skyrocketing ticket prices are giving day-one fans a bit of sticker shock.

Then we debut our new segment, Super Savers, with the story of one resourceful soccer enthusiast who built a viral workaround to attend the World Cup.

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We here at Everybody’s Business are big fans of our colleagues and friends over at Big Take, Bloomberg’s daily news podcast. They just released and episode hosted by our very own Stacey Vanek Smith and we'd love to share it. Please enjoy, and hop on over to subscribe to their feed if you like what you hear!
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The oldest Gen Alphas are still in high school, but some of the early reviews have been scathing. Unruly. Nihilistic. Bad at reading. Yet when Bloomberg Businessweek’s Stacey Vanek Smith dug into the research, she emerged with a more optimistic view on the most online generation yet. Tech savvy. Globally minded. Also, preternaturally good at skincare.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Smith tells host David Gura about the cohort that accounts for $100 billion a year in direct spending power in the US alone – and what it might look like when it begins to enter the workforce.

Read more: Gen Alpha Can’t Be Ignored

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

Hosted by David Gura; Produced by David Fox; Reported by Stacey Vanek Smith; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott.

Fact-checking by Laura Newcombe; Engineering by Alex Sugiura.

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

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Amazon is everywhere, from your doorstep to outer space. So, what is the current state of the Everything Store? This week, Max and Stacey look at the company that is more utility than retailer with Bloomberg Businessweek editor-in-chief Brad Stone. Plus, have you wondered why the stock market has been doing so well even though lots of things don't seem to be going great at home or abroad? Author and economic commentator Kyla Scanlon explains why the record highs keep coming even as oil prices double and the job market is at a standstill. And: a special guest gives us an underrated story that makes the case for booing.

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Summer travel this year is shaping up to be an absolutely expensive, chaotic, shrill time. Luckily, we have the cheat codes for avoiding (some of) it. Recorded live at the Ludlow House in New York City for On Air, Max Chafkin and Stacey Vanek Smith, tap Bloomberg travel czar Nikki Ekstein and The Points Guy’s Brian Kelly to provide some understanding, wisdom and good old fashioned travel hacks to lower your anxiety.

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This week Max and Stacey look at two legal battles reshaping the worlds of tech and public health.

OpenAI, which started off as a nonprofit, is now worth roughly $850 billion as it eyes an IPO and battles Elon Musk. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman breaks down the company’s latest pivot into hardware, and whether this is what consumers actually want or if it's merely a convenient distraction.

On the other coast, the Make America Healthy Again movement goes to the Supreme Court to fight Bayer, maker of herbicide Roundup. Businessweek columnist Deena Shanker was at their latest protest, and is here to explain what the case means for the food industry and a movement that’s at odds with the administration it helped elect.

Plus: Prediction market bots, insider trading and a showdown between the state of New York and federal regulators.

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Summer plans often come with a price tag, and right now, that price tag is getting bigger. This week on Everybody’s Business, Max and Stacey dig into the economics of all kinds of tickets.

First, the Strait of Hormuz has been opening and closing since the US attack on Iran in February, and the ripple effects are  hitting the aviation industry especially hard. Economist Michelle Brouhard, head of policy and geopolitical risk at global trade intelligence firm Kpler, breaks down what a constrained oil supply means for jet fuel and flight prices. Then, a federal jury has ruled that Live Nation Entertainment monopolized the concert ticketing market. Bloomberg reporter Ashley Carman joins us to explain what the verdict means for Ticketmaster’s grip on the industry, and if fans will actually see relief at checkout. Plus, a tariff offer that you can’t refuse.

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A Molotov cocktail hurled at Sam Altman’s home. Bullets fired at a city councilman who approved the building of a data center. The cultural mood around artificial intelligence has shifted, and this week on Everybody’s Business, we’re trying to make sense of it. Bloomberg tech reporter Sarah Frier joins Max and Stacey to break down what’s driving the new wave of AI backlash, from consumer frustration to outright rage. Then, the job market is rough for everyone, but especially if you're just starting out. Businessweek senior editor Julia Rubin joins the show to talk about what Gen Z is actually up against. Plus, a sneaker company shifts to AI, and a controversial economic term.

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