Big Take Asia

Microdramas — mini soap operas designed to be watched on your phone — have become one of the fastest-growing forms of entertainment in the world.
On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, host K. Oanh Ha speaks with Bloomberg’s Yang Yang and Bloomberg Businessweek’s Christopher Beam about how millions got hooked on the medium, the challenges studios face as they try to reach new audiences and how AI could transform it all.
Read more: China Has the World Hooked on Two-Minute Microdramas
China Brought 90-Second Microdramas to the US. Now Hollywood Wants In
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Hosted by K. Oanh Ha; Produced by Naomi Ng and Victor Swezey; Reported by Yang Yang and Christopher Beam; Edited by Paddy Hirsch and Crispina Robert.
Fact-checking by Victor Swezey; Engineering by Alex Sugiura and Sean Carter.
Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.
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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?
We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer.
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.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.