California Creates A Reparations Blueprint For African Americans

Billionaires are increasingly taking advantage of a provision in the US tax laws that lets them park money designated for charity in something called a donor advised fund. They get a tax break up front…and can let the money sit in the fund for as long as they like. It’s eventually got to be given to a charitable cause, but they don’t have to say when, or where it’ll go.  Bloomberg reporters Noah Buhayar, Ben Steverman and Sophie Alexander join Wes for a look at their analysis and reporting on donor advised funds–and why they’ve become so popular among the super wealthy. Jan Masaoka, CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits, also stops in to talk about what it means for charities that depend on those delayed dollars. Learn more about the episode: https://bloom.bg/3GxT3ll  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.

21 Dec 202229min

In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, some of the biggest mortgage lenders in the US promised to extend billions in new loans to Black homebuyers. That hasn’t happened. Instead, the numbers are going in the opposite direction. Bloomberg senior economics writer Shawn Donnan joins Wes this episode to talk about why banks have fallen short of the goal–and what it means for families across the country. Dedrick Asante-Muhammad of the National Community reinvestment Coalition also joins to spell out what needs to be done to fix the problem. Learn more about this story here: https://bloom.bg/3YyRgDA  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.

20 Dec 202230min

As the US coal industry dwindles, big mining companies that once made a fortune are packing up–and leaving behind a staggering mess of destroyed land and poisoned water. So who’ll pay to clean it up? Bloomberg reporters Josh Saul and Zachary Mider spent time in coal country and join this episode to talk about the multi-billion-dollar game of pass the buck now playing out in Appalachia. Learn more about this story here: https://bloom.bg/3HKh2yQ 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.

19 Dec 202229min

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