You Might Think Twice Before Buying Those New Jeans

In 2019, US officials seized a massive cargo ship called the MSC Gayane in the Port of Philadelphia. On board, they found containers filled with products of all kinds that the ship had picked up along its global route. They also discovered cargo that didn’t appear on the ship’s manifest—40,000 pounds of cocaine. Bloomberg investigative reporters Lauren Etter and Michael Riley join this episode to tell the wild story of how one of the world’s biggest cargo ships became an unofficial courier for a notorious European drug cartel. Learn more about this story here: https://bloom.bg/3Gaa7h4  Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK  Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

16 Dec 202234min

This year saw some important advances for #MeToo. The US Congress passed two bills, now signed into law, that protect the rights of women who come forward to report sexual abuse in the workplace–and make it harder for companies to try to silence them. Two members of Congress who pushed that legislation through the House, Rep. Cheri Bustos and Rep. Lois Frankel, join this episode to explain the far-reaching consequences of the new laws.  Then Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, and Bloomberg’s Equality editor Rebecca Greenfield give a broader view of how much has changed in the five years since #MeToo went viral–and how much more needs to be done.  Learn more about how companies in other countries are handling claims of sexism and racism: https://bloom.bg/3uRiW8Z 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.

15 Dec 202226min

Well, some of them anyway. Each year, Businessweek’s Bloomberg 50 list introduces you to people in business, entertainment, finance, politics, science and technology whose work helped define the year. The 2022 list includes familiar names doing new things (Tom Cruise) and new names doing historic things (Tom Oxley, whose company invented an implant that lets users communicate with brain waves). Bloomberg 50 editor Bret Begun and a host of reporters join today's episode to share highlights from the list and talk about how the team made their picks. Learn more about this story here: https://bloom.bg/3YkHh4A Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK  Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

14 Dec 202224min

While everyone was focused on Covid over the past few years, America’s decades-old opioid crisis entered a new deadly phase – largely because of one drug in particular: fentanyl. Potent, cheap and ubiquitous, it’s sometimes mixed by street dealers with other drugs including marijuana, cocaine and even adderall, creating a ‘cocktail’ that kills people who unwittingly buy it.  Bloomberg reporters Emma Court, Linly Lin and Leonardo Nicoletti join this episode to talk about the consequences of fentanyl’s rise in cities around the country. And Helena Girouard, a health official in hard-hit Volusia County, Florida, gives an up-close look at the crisis there and how the local government is trying to bring it under control. Learn more about this story here: https://bloom.bg/3FM4llG  Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK  Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

13 Dec 202229min

Bloomberg Investigative reporter Olivia Carville has spent months delving into TikTok, the hugely popular video social network. In November, she joined the podcast to talk about children who have died copying dangerous video challenges of the kind that can be seen on the app. Today, Olivia is back to talk about her latest story about TikTok for Bloomberg Businessweek.  It follows the life of a 16-year-old girl from Florida whose provocative videos have won her millions of followers–and many detractors who say TikTok shouldn’t allow this kind of content from minors on the platform.  Learn more about this story here: https://bloom.bg/3Ph6mJz Listen to the first conversation with Olivia about TikTok’s problem moderating the dangerous challenges HERE. Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK  Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

12 Dec 202233min

Our insatiable appetite for meat, eggs and cheese means there are billions of chickens, pigs and cows the world over. One consequence: animal agriculture is a leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants like ammonia and nitrogen. In Europe, governments are starting to crack down—demanding farms dramatically cut the size of their herds to meet environmental goals. Farmers are, to put it mildly, furious.  Bloomberg reporter Diederik Baazil joins this episode from Amsterdam to talk about how farmer’s protests against the new rules are boiling over in the Netherlands. And Wes also catches up with reporter Agnieszka de Sousa, Bloomberg’s “food czar” based in London,  for a look at how this problem has spread across Europe–and possible ways to fix it.  Learn more about this story here: https://bloom.bg/3FgxSSL Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK  Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

9 Dec 202230min

A group of Taylor Swift fans is suing Ticketmaster, the big live event ticket provider, after sales for her upcoming concert tour went haywire. It’s also drawn the attention of the US Justice Department. The government is investigating whether Ticketmaster is using its dominance in ticket sales to drive out competitors and drive up prices. And Ticketmaster isn’t the only big company in the government’s sights. The Biden administration has taken an activist stand against the consolidation of corporate power in tech and other industries.. Sara Forden, who leads Bloomberg’s coverage of corporate influence in Washington, and Leah Nylen, a reporter who writes about antitrust, join this episode to talk about Ticketmaster’s troubles– and a renewed push in Washington to rein in big companies. Learn more about this story here: https://bloom.bg/3P7Jtbm  Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK  Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

8 Dec 202226min

The secretive Al Nahyan family of Abu Dhabi has amassed a fortune of $300 billion–and they’re investing it around the globe, in everything from green energy and healthcare to Manchester City Football Club, SpaceX and Rihanna’s lingerie line. Bloomberg reporters Devon Pendleton, Ben Bartenstein and Nicolas Parasie join this episode to talk about the family’s global reach. Learn more about this story here: https://bloom.bg/3P3ChNz Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK  Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

7 Dec 202228min