Big Take Asia

Samsung recently made headlines when it narrowly averted a strike by offering eye-popping bonuses to its chip workers. But the move has seemingly backfired—sparking deep resentment in other corners of the company and fueling a wider debate over wage equity in South Korea.
On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, host K. Oanh Ha and Bloomberg’s Yoolim Lee break down how the wage dispute took hold in South Korea and discuss its broader global implications as other tech giants weigh how best to share the spoils of their AI windfalls.
Read more: Huge AI Bonuses in South Korea Spark Fight Over Sharing Tech Wealth
Hosted by Oanh Ha; Produced by Yang Yang; Reported by Yoolim Lee; Edited by Patrick Hirsch, Edwin Chan.
Fact-checking by Naomi Ng; Engineering by Taka Yasuzawa
Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.
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Indonesia’s free lunch program is a massive operation, feeding tens of millions of people every day across a vast archipelago.

On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, host Rebecca Choong Wilkins talks with Bloomberg’s Rosalind Mathieson about the challenges facing President Prabowo’s flagship program and whether it can survive the strain.
Read more: Handing Out $15 Billion of Free Meals Strains Indonesia's Budget

Hosted by Rebecca Choong Wilkins; Produced by Naomi Ng; Reported by Rosalind Mathieson, Eko Listiyorini; Edited by Paddy Hirsch.
Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate; Engineering by Alex Sugiura.
Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver; Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.
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Beyond this month's talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, there’s an epic tale that has been unfolding for decades. It’s a battle to be the world’s number one power and a much bigger story than the latest meeting of these two men.

Kishore Mahbubani is a former Singaporean diplomat who served as president of the United Nations Security Council. For two decades, he has argued that the West fundamentally misunderstands the rise of China and its challenge to American supremacy.

Mahbubani, who eventually turned to academia, now specializes in governance and public policy. In this conversation with Mishal Husain, he traces the story behind the Xi-Trump talks, the handshakes and the social media posts–and what may lie ahead.

Mahbubani also reveals how his own successes were made possible by Singapore’s remarkable growth.
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SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has made a $60 billion bet on OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman – a commitment that has some insiders worried.
On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha speaks with Bloomberg’s Min-Jeong Lee about how Son became captivated by Altman and what’s at stake for his reputation – and the company – as the AI race intensifies.
We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer.
Read more: SoftBank Founder’s Starstruck Bet on OpenAI Raises Concern
Watch, from Originals: The Troubled Saga of Masa Son's $100 Billion Fund
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Tensions between the US and China have deepened since the last time a US president traveled to Beijing for a summit, in 2017. President Trump’s return to China, in a swirl of dinners and festivities, generated positive optics for host and guest alike, but brought less apparent progress on some of the biggest bilateral sticking points, from tariffs and trade to US arms sales to Taiwan.
On today’s Big Take podcast, Big Take Asia host K. Oanh Ha talks to Co-head for Asia John Liu and White House Correspondent Jeff Mason, who were both on the ground in Beijing, about the summit’s deals, sticking points and unfinished business.
Read more:
Bloomberg’s Trump-Xi Summit Page
Winners and Losers From Trump and Xi’s Beijing Summit Talks
We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer.
Hosted by K. Oanh Ha; Produced by Yang Yang and Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by Jeff Mason and John Liu; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott.
Fact-checking by 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.