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

The Department of Education has been a target of critics for decades. Republicans in the Oval Office have repeatedly tried to shrink the agency, and in his second term, President Trump has vowed to eliminate it altogether.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg education reporter Liam Knox and host David Gura talk through what it takes to gut a congressionally approved federal agency: what’s behind the Trump administration’s ‘creative’ efforts to scale back or move some of the Education Department’s trademark programs and what the shift could mean for students, lawmakers and other federal agencies in the administration’s crosshairs. 

Read more: How to Shred a Federal Agency

Hosted by David Gura; Produced by Julia Press; Reported by Liam Knox; Edited by Tracey Samuelson.

Fact-checking by Editorial team; Engineering by Alex Sugiura.

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

The Department of Education has been a target of critics for decades. Republicans in the Oval Office have repeatedly tried to shrink the agency, and in his second term, President Trump has vowed to eliminate it altogether.
On today&rsquo;s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg education reporter Liam Knox and host David Gura talk through what it takes to gut a congressionally approved federal agency: what&rsquo;s behind the Trump administration&rsquo;s &lsquo;creative&rsquo; efforts to scale back or move some of the Education Department&rsquo;s trademark programs and what the shift could mean for students, lawmakers and other federal agencies in the administration&rsquo;s crosshairs.&nbsp;
Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2026-how-to-dismantle-education-department/?srnd=undefined">How to Shred a Federal Agency</a>
Hosted by David Gura; Produced by Julia Press; Reported by Liam Knox; Edited by Tracey Samuelson.
Fact-checking by Editorial team; Engineering by Alex Sugiura.
Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

Trump’s Plan to Dismantle the Department of Education

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/ea1308f9-4e17-483b-af58-b3f60129b6b3/transcript

For the first time in history, Saudi Arabia is allowing international buyers to purchase property in Mecca. This regulatory shift has ignited a building boom, raising concerns over affordability and overdevelopment. 

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Zainab Fattah joins Sarah Holder to discuss what this property gold rush means for the city’s future and Saudi Arabia’s move away from oil.

Read more: Saudi Arabia's MBS Opens Mecca Property Market in Investment Push

Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by Zainab Fattah; Edited by Tracey Samuelson.

Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate and David Fox; Engineering by Alex Sugiura.

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

For the first time in history, Saudi Arabia is allowing international buyers to purchase property in Mecca. This regulatory shift has ignited a building boom, raising concerns over affordability and overdevelopment.&nbsp;
On today&rsquo;s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg&rsquo;s Zainab Fattah joins Sarah Holder to discuss what this property gold rush means for the city&rsquo;s future and Saudi Arabia&rsquo;s move away from oil.
Read more: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-02-13/saudi-arabia-s-mbs-opens-mecca-property-market-in-investment-push">Saudi Arabia's MBS Opens Mecca Property Market in Investment Push</a>
Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by Zainab Fattah; Edited by Tracey Samuelson.
Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate and David Fox; Engineering by Alex Sugiura.
Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

The Race to Buy Real Estate in Mecca

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/83b8fcdb-0ad8-453e-8cfa-b3f5015bafbf/transcript

Inflation in the US has cooled from pandemic peaks, but there’s a grocery product telling a different story: beef. The price of uncooked ground beef soared by the most since June 2020 in government data released Friday. The broad beef and veal category is up 15% over the past year as of January.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg reporter Enda Curran  takes a peek into the American consumer’s grocery basket with host David Gura to understand the perfect storm of factors that’s setting beef apart. And a fifth-generation Oklahoma rancher reflects on the impact that a fragile market has had on her family business.

Read more:
America’s Vanishing Cattle Herd Drives 15% Price Hikes for Beef
US Cattle Herd Stays at 75-Year Low, Keeping Beef Prices High
A Deadly Parasite’s Return Threatens US Ranchers Too Young to Remember It

Hosted by David Gura; Produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky and David Fox; Reported by Enda Curran, Ilena Peng; Edited by Aaron Edwards;

Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate and David Fox; Engineering by Alex Sugiura;

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

Inflation in the US has cooled from pandemic peaks, but there&rsquo;s a grocery product telling a different story: beef. The price of uncooked ground beef soared by the most since June 2020 in government data released Friday. The broad beef and veal category is up 15% over the past year as of January.
On today&rsquo;s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg reporter Enda Curran &nbsp;takes a peek into the American consumer&rsquo;s grocery basket with host David Gura to understand the perfect storm of factors that&rsquo;s setting beef apart. And a fifth-generation Oklahoma rancher reflects on the impact that a fragile market has had on her family business.
Read more:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-02-14/beef-prices-are-rising-more-than-inflation-this-year-with-no-relief-seen">America&rsquo;s Vanishing Cattle Herd Drives 15% Price Hikes for Beef</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-30/us-cattle-herd-stays-at-75-year-low-keeping-beef-prices-high?srnd=undefined">US Cattle Herd Stays at 75-Year Low, Keeping Beef Prices High</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-05-02/deadly-screwworm-parasite-s-comeback-threatens-texas-cattle-us-beef-supply">A Deadly Parasite&rsquo;s Return Threatens US Ranchers Too Young to Remember It</a></li>
</ul>
Hosted by David Gura; Produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky and David Fox; Reported by Enda Curran, Ilena Peng; Edited by Aaron Edwards;
Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate and David Fox; Engineering by Alex Sugiura;
Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver; Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

Where’s the Beef? Inside the Fragile Cattle Market

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/5660985a-9026-438c-883b-b3f40165798f/transcript

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

The Sixth Bureau

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