Big Take

Molly Smith, Bloomberg U.S. economy editor who analyzes labor-market data, breaks down January’s surprisingly strong jobs print and why annual revisions rewrote 2025 hiring. She explains sector winners like health care, reconciles big tech layoffs with aggregate data, and teases how payrolls, GDP, wages and Fed policy all interact.

Sakura Murakami, a Tokyo-based Bloomberg reporter covering Japanese politics, breaks down Sanae Takaichi’s landslide win. Markets' reaction and the LDP supermajority's power are explored. Listeners hear about Takaichi’s populist appeal, her interventionist economic mix, sales-tax cut controversy, bond market jitters, and a firmer stance toward China and Taiwan.

Golnar Motevalli, a Bloomberg reporter with over a decade covering Iran from Tehran and London, breaks down the US–Iran indirect talks. She discusses Iran’s weakened bargaining position amid domestic unrest. She explains how relay-style meetings work and what each side wants. She outlines risks of military action, regional fallout, and economic levers like oil and shipping.

George Saunders, Booker Prize–winning novelist known for Lincoln in the Bardo, discusses his new novel Vigil. He talks about putting climate at the center of a story, inventing characters from experience rather than interviews, and balancing humor with darkness. He also explores empathy for morally fraught figures, the narrative challenges of climate, and how reading and creativity survive amid AI and short-form media.

Justina Lee, a Bloomberg markets reporter who covers cross-asset markets and sports betting, and Rufus Peabody, a professional sports gambler with 15+ years placing large wagers, discuss prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket. They talk about pros shifting bets to exchanges, how yes/no contracts and exchange models work, Wall Street traders entering sports, integrity and regulatory questions, and sportsbooks’ responses.

Amber Tong, Bloomberg reporter on Asian pharma, gives on-the-ground views of China and India markets. Naomi Kresge, Bloomberg health reporter, analyzes patent moves and industry trends. They discuss semaglutide’s rise, how compounded copies differ from regulated generics, Canada as a test market, and why India and China will reshape global supply and pricing.

Sarah Frier, Bloomberg Big Tech editor who tracks platform strategy and AI investment. She breaks down why Microsoft’s results rattled markets and how Meta’s AI bets boosted ads. She contrasts firms’ AI spending, explains what investor-proof metrics look like, and explores how new public AI entrants could reshape the landscape.

Patpicha Tanakasempipat (Best), a Thailand-based Bloomberg reporter who covers the country's cannabis policy. She traces the post-decriminalization boom of dispensaries. She describes the regulatory chaos that followed. She details public health concerns and a growing backlash. She explains how politics pushed parties toward recriminalization and what that could mean for the market.

Jason Leopold, investigative reporter who specializes in FOIA and federal records, walks through the DOJ’s latest massive Epstein document release. He explains his search strategy and following financial leads. He flags missing FBI files, inconsistent redactions, revealed victim info, and rare FinCEN suspicious activity reports. He considers whether more records could still surface.

Noah Brier, co-founder of Alephic and an early adopter of large language models, explains the rise of Claude Code and AI-assisted coding. He talks about how local file and command access changes workflows. They explore automation of analyst tasks, persistent skills via files, and how tools reshape hiring, SaaS, and developer roles.