Computers have outplayed humans in chess and Go for decades. But poker was long considered unhackable. The game requires not just crunching numbers, but creativity and complex strategy. That only started to change about 10 years ago, when a new generation of unbeatable poker bots began to appear online. 

The makers of the technology remained in the shadows, so Bloomberg’s Kit Chellel set out to find them. On today’s Big Take podcast, he joins David Gura to share the story of how a group of Russian students invented the world’s best online poker bots and what that means for the multi-billion-dollar industry.

Read more: The Russian Bot Army That Conquered Online Poker

Computers have outplayed humans in chess and Go for decades. But poker was long considered unhackable. The game requires not just crunching numbers, but creativity and complex strategy. That only started to change about 10 years ago, when a new generation of unbeatable poker bots began to appear online.  The makers of the technology remained in the shadows, so Bloomberg’s Kit Chellel set out to find them. On today’s Big Take podcast, he joins David Gura to share the story of how a group of Russian students invented the world’s best online poker bots and what that means for the multi-billion-dollar industry.
Read more: <a href="The%20Russian%20Bot%20Army%20That%20Conquered%20Online%20Poker">The Russian Bot Army That Conquered Online Poker</a>

The Big Take from Bloomberg News brings you inside what’s shaping the world's economies with the smartest and most informed business reporters around the world. The context you need on the stories that can move markets. Every afternoon.

The Big Take from Bloomberg News brings you inside what’s shaping the world's economies with the smartest and most informed business reporters around the world. The context you need on the stories that can move markets. Every afternoon.

Big Take

The Genius Minds Behind the World’s Best Poker Bots

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/fb6b7192-2bdd-405a-99bc-b1f10116df2d/transcript

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.

Beyond this month's talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, there&rsquo;s an epic tale that has been unfolding for decades. It&rsquo;s a battle to be the world&rsquo;s number one power and a much bigger story than the latest meeting of these two men.&nbsp; 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&ndash;and what may lie ahead. Mahbubani also reveals how his own successes were made possible by Singapore&rsquo;s remarkable growth.

Weekend Listen: China vs the US: Kishore Mahbubani on a Zero-Sum Rivalry

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/bc8330f1-0c65-43ab-8f19-b451011c6adf/transcript

The global bond market buckled over the past week. Yields on 30-year US Treasuries hit their highest level in almost 20 years, while long-term debt yields in the UK and Japan reached multi-decade highs. It’s a signaling effect, Bloomberg’s Enda Curran says, that investors around the world are increasingly convinced higher inflation is here to stay.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Curran and host David Gura discuss how supply shocks from the Iran war feed into longer-term inflation concerns, how AI might provide a way out for the global economy — and what this rout in the bond market means for the Federal Reserve, its new chair and the rest of us.

Listen more: The Great Bond Car Wreck — in Slow Motion

Read more: $50 Trillion Safe-Haven Debt Market Upended by Iran War Inflation

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

Hosted by David Gura; Produced by David Fox; Reported by Enda Curran, Mark Schroers, Ye Xie and Jorgelina Do Rosario; 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.

The global bond market buckled over the past week. Yields on 30-year US Treasuries hit their highest level in almost 20 years, while long-term debt yields in the UK and Japan reached multi-decade highs. It&rsquo;s a signaling effect, Bloomberg&rsquo;s Enda Curran says, that investors around the world are increasingly convinced higher inflation is here to stay.
On today&rsquo;s Big Take podcast, Curran and host David Gura discuss how supply shocks from the Iran war feed into longer-term inflation concerns, how AI might provide a way out for the global economy &mdash; and what this rout in the bond market means for the Federal Reserve, its new chair and the rest of us.
Listen more: <a href="http://swap.fm/l/4H5hwGzJz1MVS96XNTP2">The Great Bond Car Wreck &mdash; in Slow Motion</a>
Read more: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-05-21/iran-war-upends-inflation-bets-in-50-trillion-debt-market-safe-haven?srnd=undefined">$50 Trillion Safe-Haven Debt Market Upended by Iran War Inflation</a>
We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/podcasts">Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer.</a>
Hosted by David Gura; Produced by David Fox; Reported by Enda Curran, Mark Schroers, Ye Xie and Jorgelina Do Rosario; 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.

Why You Should Care About What’s Happening in the Bond Market 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/c62e9f06-4c15-454f-b956-b45201424545/transcript

Graduation is here — but the jobs aren’t. On today’s Big Take podcast, we check in with recent graduates facing a brutal hiring landscape where 42% are underemployed. We look at what’s driving today’s low-hire, low-quit market, how the AI boom could hamper the job search and what happens when top-tier students finish school without a clear path forward.

Read more: 
A Dozen Young Job Hunters on What It Takes to Get Hired
Why More College Graduates Are Stuck in Jobs That Don’t Require Degrees

Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by Julia Press; Reported by Marin Cogan; 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.

Graduation is here &mdash; but the jobs aren&rsquo;t. On today&rsquo;s Big Take podcast, we check in with recent graduates facing a brutal hiring landscape where 42% are underemployed. We look at what&rsquo;s driving today&rsquo;s low-hire, low-quit market, how the AI boom could hamper the job search and what happens when top-tier students finish school without a clear path forward.
Read more:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2026-job-hunt-stories/">A Dozen Young Job Hunters on What It Takes to Get Hired</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-13/ai-and-a-frozen-job-market-leave-college-grads-underemployed?srnd=homepage-americas">Why More College Graduates Are Stuck in Jobs That Don&rsquo;t Require Degrees</a></li>
</ul>
Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by Julia Press; Reported by Marin Cogan; 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.

Is AI Ruining the Entry-Level Job Search?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/ee33d3fb-8174-4fa6-8f97-b45101456f85/transcript

The Genius Minds Behind the World’s Best Poker Bots

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