For two decades, American universities have doubled down on master’s programs, relying on graduate degrees as their financial backbones. Now, the Trump administration’s policies are posing existential threats to that business model.

On today’s Big Take podcast, education reporter Liam Knox joins host Sarah Holder to break down the administration’s three-pronged attack on graduate school and the impact it could have on students, universities and America’s place on the global stage.

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

Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by Julia Press; Reported by Liam Knox; Edited by Tracey Samuelson.

Fact-checking by Victor Swezey; Engineering by Alex Sugiura.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China rattled neighbors from Japan to Australia on Monday by test-launching a long-range ballistic missile from a nuclear submarine in the Pacific Ocean. While such launches are rare, the latest test reflects Beijing’s increasing openness about its growing military strength.

On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, Rebecca Choong Wilkins, who covers Asian government and politics, joins host K. Oanh Ha to discuss the surprise launch, China’s expanding arsenal and what they reveal about Beijing’s military aspirations for 2027 and beyond.

Read more:

• China’s ICBM Tests Point to New Normal Rattling the Pacific
• China Holds Rare Test of Sub-Launched Missile in Pacific Ocean
• China’s Secretive Missile Program Is Making Dozens of Companies Rich

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

Hosted by K. Oanh Ha; Produced by Naomi Ng and Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by Rebecca Choong Wilkins; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott, John Liu and Julia Weaver;

Fact-checking by Julia Press, David Fox and Yang Yang; Engineering by Taka Yasuzawa and Alex Sugiura.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two opaque corners of finance have joined forces: shadow banking and phantom debt. Put another way, private credit firms are backing Buy-Now-Pay-Later companies to finance their expansion into the US consumer market.

On today’s Big Take podcast, guest host Stacey Vanek Smith joins Bloomberg reporters J.J. McCorvey and René Ismail to discuss what private credit’s involvement in BNPL means for everyday borrowers, why it’s raising concerns and whether the risks hiding in these spaces could spill over into the rest of the economy.

Read more: Private Credit Is Making Bets on Consumer Debt at a Precarious Time

Hosted by Stacey Vanek Smith; Produced by David Fox; Reported by J.J. McCorvey and René Ismail; Edited by Naomi Shavin.

Fact-checking by Julia Press and Laura Newcombe; Engineering by Alex Sugiura.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For America’s 250th anniversary and our Weekend Listen, the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jill Lepore joins Mishal Husain to take her through her book on the US Constitution.

We The People explores how the Constitution came about and, crucially, how there was an expectation that it would likely change over time.

This is not, however, an episode entirely set in the past, because Jill Lepore is acutely alive to the pressures of the moment and of the contested sense of what America is or should be.

Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net

Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The federal programming leading up to the United States’ 250th anniversary this weekend has ranged from the genteel (essay contests for grade-schoolers and a national push for volunteerism) to the MAGA-coded (a “Freedom Truck” convoy and a UFC cage fight on the White House lawn). The events are the product of rival planning committees – one created last year by the Trump administration, another by Congress a decade ago.

On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder talks to Bloomberg Businessweek Senior Editor Laura Bliss about the funding battles and cronyism allegations that have dogged this year’s events – and how they echo earlier chapters of American history.

Read more:

• The Money and Influence Behind America’s Very MAGA 250th Birthday Party
• Why the Great American State Fair Looks So Empty

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

Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by Laura Bliss; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott and Tracey Samuelson.

Fact-checking by David Fox; Engineering by Alex Sugiura.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In just a few years, peptides have grown from fringe drugs popular with fitness buffs and ‘looksmaxxers’ to a billion-dollar black market. Now, with the prospect of regulation on the horizon, healthcare players and investors are racing to cash in.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg reporters Amanda Mull and Madison Muller join host Sarah Holder to break down the peptide boom, the safety concerns surrounding it and how a friendly Trump administration could bring it into the mainstream.

Read more: Peptides Fuel a Multibillion-Dollar Startup Race

Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by Laura Newcombe, Victor Swezey; Reported by Amanda Mull, Madison Muller; Edited by Julia Weaver, Aaron Edwards.

Fact-checking by Julia Press; Engineering by Alex Sugiura.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 2026 elections, artificial intelligence is the backdrop for just about everything.

The US and Anthropic reached a truce in recent days that lets the company roll out its powerful models to some users, the sort of on-the-fly decision-making that has candidates jockeying to shape how AI is regulated. Big AI companies are pouring money into 2026 state and federal races, dwarfing the cryptocurrency industry’s spending in 2024. And even as AI is fueling Americans’ anxiety about jobs and energy prices, it’s feeding them the ads and information that will shape their votes: According to one survey, 55% of US voters under the age of 45 are likely to use chatbots to learn about candidates and elections.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Michael Shepard, a senior editor focusing on AI, joins David Gura to discuss what the first AI election means for our current moment.

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

Hosted by David Gura; Produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by Michael Shepard; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott.

Fact-checking by Victor Swezey, Julia Press and David Fox; Engineering by Emma Munger.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thanks to the AI boom, stock markets in Taiwan and South Korea have seen historic rallies this year. But as retail investors pile in, often using borrowed money, concerns are growing over whether this momentum is sustainable.

On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, guest host Rebecca Choong Wilkins speaks with Bloomberg’s Asian markets reporter Charlotte Yang and Bloomberg Opinion’s Shuli Ren about the risks of betting on AI and how potential fallout could ripple beyond the region.

Read more: Taiwanese Go Deep Into Debt to Amp 100% Stock Rally

Play Micron, Hynix and Samsung ETFs at Your Peril

Hosted by Rebecca Choong Wilkins; Produced by Naomi Ng; Reported by Charlotte Yang, Shuli Ren, Chien-Hua Wan; Edited by Paddy Hirsch, Jiyeun Lee, Julia Weaver.

Fact-checking by Victor Swezey; Engineering by Taka Yasuzawa.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.