In Episode 2 of The Sixth Bureau, a limited-run series from The Big Take, we learn how China’s Ministry of State Security recruits experts in the West — and why intelligence officers shouldn’t keep their secrets backed up to the cloud.

In Episode 2 of The Sixth Bureau, a limited-run series from The Big Take, we learn how China&rsquo;s Ministry of State Security recruits experts in the West &mdash; and why intelligence officers shouldn&rsquo;t keep their secrets backed up to the cloud.

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

We’re taking The Big Take to Asia. Each week, Bloomberg’s Oanh Ha tells a story from the home of the world's most dynamic economies - and the markets, tycoons and businesses that drive the ever-shifting region.

We’re taking The Big Take to Asia. Each week, Bloomberg’s Oanh Ha tells a story from the home of the world's most dynamic economies - and the markets, tycoons and businesses that drive the ever-shifting region.

Big Take Asia

The Sixth Bureau, Episode 2: The Spy’s Diary

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/05b0e56a-e45c-47d5-bc34-b3f0004e16c4/transcript

It’s an open secret that the Chinese government has engaged in a global campaign to acquire intellectual property from foreign rivals. At the center of that campaign is the Ministry of State Security, China’s elusive intelligence agency. The US has apprehended hundreds of people accused of giving information to the MSS, but the agency’s inner workings have been a mystery –  until now.The Sixth Bureau from Bloomberg News follows an MSS intelligence officer whose mission was to snatch the crown jewels of American aerospace companies. With aliases, blackmail and the occasional break-in, he targeted corporate giants. In the end though, After years of work, his sloppiness – and a cunning FBI sting – led to a stunning reversal: Xu Yanjun became the first Chinese intelligence officer ever convicted on American soil.The Sixth Bureau is the story of superpowers, their secrets and how one Chinese spy got caught.

It&rsquo;s an open secret that the Chinese government has engaged in a global campaign to acquire intellectual property from foreign rivals. At the center of that campaign is the Ministry of State Security, China&rsquo;s elusive intelligence agency. The US has apprehended hundreds of people accused of giving information to the MSS, but the agency&rsquo;s inner workings have been a mystery &ndash;&nbsp; until now.The Sixth Bureau from Bloomberg News follows an MSS intelligence officer whose mission was to snatch the crown jewels of American aerospace companies. With aliases, blackmail and the occasional break-in, he targeted corporate giants. In the end though, After years of work, his sloppiness &ndash; and a cunning FBI sting &ndash; led to a stunning reversal: Xu Yanjun became the first Chinese intelligence officer ever convicted on American soil.The Sixth Bureau is the story of superpowers, their secrets and how one Chinese spy got caught.

The Sixth Bureau

In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court blocked President Trump’s efforts to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook for now, delivering the Fed a victory in the grueling fight over its independence. But the decision arrived alongside another ruling that allows the president to fire a top official at the Federal Trade Commission—a move widely seen as a boon to executive power over independent agencies.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg Fed Editor Amara Omeokwe and Senior Legal Reporter Zoe Tillman join Sarah Holder to unpack what these twin rulings mean for the Trump administration's push to assert power over long-independent government regulators, how the court singled out the Fed in its decision and what this means for the central bank and Lisa Cook’s future.

Read more: Supreme Court Expands Trump’s Power to Fire Federal Bureaucrats

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 Amara Omeokwe and Zoe Tillman; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott.

Fact-checking by Laura Newcombe and Victor Swezey; Engineering by Emma Munger.

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

In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court blocked President Trump&rsquo;s efforts to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook for now, delivering the Fed a victory in the grueling fight over its independence. But the decision arrived alongside another ruling that allows the president to fire a top official at the Federal Trade Commission&mdash;a move widely seen as a boon to executive power over independent agencies.
On today&rsquo;s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg Fed Editor Amara Omeokwe and Senior Legal Reporter Zoe Tillman join Sarah Holder to unpack what these twin rulings mean for the Trump administration's push to assert power over long-independent government regulators, how the court singled out the Fed in its decision and what this means for the central bank and Lisa Cook&rsquo;s future.
Read more: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-29/supreme-court-expands-trump-s-power-to-fire-federal-bureaucrats?srnd=homepage-americas">Supreme Court Expands Trump&rsquo;s Power to Fire Federal Bureaucrats</a>
We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/podcasts">Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer.</a>
Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by Amara Omeokwe and Zoe Tillman; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott.
Fact-checking by Laura Newcombe and Victor Swezey; Engineering by Emma Munger.
Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

With Lisa Cook Ruling, Supreme Court Shields Fed from President Trump

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f7e09552-8b0c-416b-90cc-b4780158fbee/transcript

In November, California will choose a new governor to replace Gavin Newsom, pitting Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra, a former US Secretary of Health and Human Services, US Congressman and state attorney general, against an unlikely Republican rival: Steve Hilton.

Hilton was born in the UK and became a US citizen only five years ago. He had a career in center-right British politics, working as an adviser for former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron. 

In 2012, Hilton moved to California, where he worked as a tech entrepreneur and as a host on right-leaning Fox News.

Hilton, who wants to be the state’s first Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger, tells Mishal Husain how he joined the party, discusses the US-Israel war with Iran, his attitude to big tech and what he misses about life in Britain. He also discusses what having Donald Trump’s endorsement means for him and his campaign.

Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net

In November, California will choose a new governor to replace Gavin Newsom, pitting Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra, a former US Secretary of Health and Human Services, US Congressman and state attorney general, against an unlikely Republican rival: Steve Hilton. Hilton was born in the UK and became a US citizen only five years ago. He had a career in center-right British politics, working as an adviser for former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron. In 2012, Hilton moved to California, where he worked as a tech entrepreneur and as a host on right-leaning Fox News. Hilton, who wants to be the state&rsquo;s first Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger, tells Mishal Husain how he joined the party, discusses the US-Israel war with Iran, his attitude to big tech and what he misses about life in Britain. He also discusses what having Donald Trump&rsquo;s endorsement means for him and his campaign.
Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net

Weekend Listen: Can Republicans Win California Again? Steve Hilton Thinks So

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/9cc904a1-1c41-400d-9450-b475015f8d64/transcript

On July 1, 2025, the US effectively ended operations of the United States Agency for International Development, the global aid organization founded in 1961, cutting most staff and moving it into the US State Department.

Samantha Power, who led the agency under President Biden until early 2025, joins David Gura on the Big Take podcast to look back at what was lost, internationally and at home.

You can watch their conversation — on Ebola, Iran, Israel and Gaza — on Bloomberg.com.

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

Hosted by David Gura; Produced by David Fox; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott and Aaron Edwards.

Fact-checking by Laura Newcombe; Engineering by Emma Munger.

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

On July 1, 2025, the US effectively ended operations of the United States Agency for International Development, the global aid organization founded in 1961, cutting most staff and moving it into the US State Department.
Samantha Power, who led the agency under President Biden until early 2025, joins David Gura on the Big Take podcast to look back at what was lost, internationally and at home.
You can watch their conversation &mdash; on Ebola, Iran, Israel and Gaza &mdash; on <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2026-06-26/samantha-power-on-trump-s-soft-power-suicide-video">Bloomberg.com</a>.
We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/podcasts">Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer.</a>
Hosted by David Gura; Produced by David Fox; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott and Aaron Edwards.
Fact-checking by Laura Newcombe; Engineering by Emma Munger.
Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

‘Soft Power Suicide’: Samantha Power on One Year Without USAID

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/3e432a15-b605-4448-9823-b475014caae1/transcript

The Sixth Bureau, Episode 2: The Spy’s Diary

The Sixth Bureau

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