Big Take Asia

North Korea was supposed to be broke and isolated. Now, it’s enjoying an unexpected economic boom.
On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, Bloomberg’s Cat Barton and host K. Oanh Ha unpack North Korea’s shift from pandemic-era hardship to a multibillion-dollar windfall, and discuss how the country’s newfound wealth is reshaping geopolitical alliances.
Read more: Kim Jong Un Flouted Sanctions to Amass $22 Billion Windfall

Further listening: North Korea’s Nuclear Program Reaches Tipping Point for the US
Watch, from Originals: Why Sanctions Aren’t Stopping North Korea
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The launch of Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3 model has taken the tech world — and Washington — by storm, raising urgent questions about how a Chinese startup can suddenly rival the world's most powerful AI systems.
On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, host Oanh Ha speaks with Bloomberg’s Mark Anderson about the distillation method behind Moonshot’s breakthrough and what it means for the high-stakes AI race between the US and China.
Read more: Moonshot Plans IPO in Six Months After China AI Breakthrough
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Our Town from Bloomberg’s Big Take podcast follows residents of Gainesboro, Tennessee, after a group of far-right Christians moves in with plans for a radical social experiment.

Listen to Episode 1 in the Big Take.
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As the Japanese yen hit a 40-year low against the US dollar, Japan's government stepped in to support its currency. And it has a powerful ally in US President Donald Trump, who is putting the US financial might behind the historic currency intervention in what he called a “signal of friendship.”
On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, host K. Oanh Ha sits down with chief Asia foreign exchange correspondent Ruth Carson to unpack how the yen fell so far, what it could take to get it back on track and what’s at stake for the global economy.
Read more: Bessent Says Yen Level Problem for Japan, Other Currencies
Further listening:
Carry Trades, Explained
Could the Chinese Yuan Ever Replace the US Dollar?
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Hosted by K. Oanh Ha; Produced by Naomi Ng, Yang Yang, Rachael Lewis-Krisky and Victor Swezey; Reported by Ruth Carson; Edited by Paddy Hirsch and Tracey Samuelson. Fact-checking by Victor Swezey; Engineering by Emma Munger and Taka Yasuzawa. Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.
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Weeks of student-led protests forced the resignation of India’s education minister, in a rare public setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, guest host Rebecca Choong Wilkins and Bloomberg reporter Atul Dev discuss how India’s cockroach movement grew from a satirical online joke into a powerful anti-Modi protest and why its economic grievances resonate so deeply among young Indians at this moment.
Read more: Awakened Indian Students Hand Modi One of His Biggest Setbacks
India Youth Protests End as Modi Bows to Group’s Demands
Hosted by Rebecca Choong Wilkins; Produced by Naomi Ng; Reported by Atul Dev; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott, Paddy Hirsch and Julia Weaver.
Fact-checking by Rachael Lewis-Krisky and Julia Press; Engineering by Taka Yasuzawa, Alex Sugiura, Emma Munger
Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.
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