What is the best way to tell a climate story? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi speaks with Booker Prize-winning novelist George Saunders. His new novel Vigil is an exploration of guilt, told on the deathbed of an oil executive haunted by ghosts. Rathi asks Saunders what he learned about climate change, his thoughts on whether AI complements or compromises human creativity, and why literature still matters in the era of TikTok.

Listen now, and subscribe on Apple, Spotify or YouTube to get new episodes of Zero every Thursday.

What is the best way to tell a climate story? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi speaks with Booker Prize-winning novelist George Saunders. His new novel&nbsp;Vigil is an exploration of guilt, told on the deathbed of an oil executive haunted by ghosts. Rathi asks Saunders what he learned about climate change, his thoughts on whether AI complements or compromises human creativity, and why literature still matters in the era of TikTok.
Listen now, and subscribe on&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/zero/id1621556928">Apple</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/5rHwnJEjFRnivIdpWwnZyZ?si=985034d7e76a47a0">Spotify</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0MtnA98Xp8igGT9S3Na_zDD">YouTube</a> to get new episodes of Zero every Thursday.

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

Weekend Listen: George Saunders Imagines an Oil Exec’s Deathbed

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/97035b65-94db-439e-97ab-b3e9015549e6/transcript

Leaders in Washington and Tehran are on the clock, with about a month to wrap up the Iran war before it does greater damage to the global economy and their own political fates, according to retired Admiral James Stavridis.

On today’s Big Take podcast with David Gura, Adm. Stavridis, the former head of US Southern Command and Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, outlines how the US troops heading to the region could help bring about a diplomatic resolution – or raise the risk of a longer conflict.

Read more: 
Taking Kharg Island May Be a Big Risk for Little Reward
Three Targets for US Boots on the Ground in Iran
Iran Can Turn the Persian Gulf Into a Minefield

Hosted by David Gura; Produced by David Fox; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott.

Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate, Tracey Samuelson and Julia Press; Engineering by Katie McMurran.

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

Leaders in Washington and Tehran are on the clock, with about a month to wrap up the Iran war before it does greater damage to the global economy and their own political fates, according to retired Admiral James Stavridis.
On today&rsquo;s Big Take podcast with David Gura, Adm. Stavridis, the former head of US Southern Command and Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, outlines how the US troops heading to the region could help bring about a diplomatic resolution &ndash; or raise the risk of a longer conflict.
Read more:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-03-24/iran-war-taking-kharg-island-is-a-big-risk-for-little-reward?srnd=undefined">Taking Kharg Island May Be a Big Risk for Little Reward</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-03-13/iran-war-three-targets-for-us-boots-on-the-ground?srnd=undefined">Three Targets for US Boots on the Ground in Iran</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-03-05/us-iran-conflict-tehran-can-make-the-persian-gulf-a-minefield?srnd=undefined">Iran Can Turn the Persian Gulf Into a Minefield</a></li>
</ul>
Hosted by David Gura; Produced by David Fox; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott.
Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate, Tracey Samuelson and Julia Press; Engineering by Katie McMurran.
Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

How US Troops Could Go About Taking Hormuz

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/814efe77-0cda-4922-bbca-b41a01499620/transcript

Just when it seemed that Netflix had clinched the deal to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Skydance Corp. swooped in with a $110 billion counter-offer that was ultimately too good for the studio to pass up.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw and Chris Palmeri take host Sarah Holder inside the behind-the-scenes negotiations that secured the deal for Paramount, how Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos explained his company’s decision to walk away –  and the twists and turns that could still be coming in this story as two mega-studios become one. 

Read more: What the Paramount-Warner Merger Means for Hollywood

David Ellison Used Political Ties, Deep Pockets to Buy Warner Bros.Netflix’s Co-CEO Explains Why He Quit the Warner Bros. Fight

Just when it seemed that Netflix had clinched the deal to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Skydance Corp. swooped in with a $110 billion counter-offer that was ultimately too good for the studio to pass up.
On today&rsquo;s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg&rsquo;s Lucas Shaw and Chris Palmeri take host Sarah Holder inside the behind-the-scenes negotiations that secured the deal for Paramount, how Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos explained his company&rsquo;s decision to walk away &ndash;&nbsp; and the twists and turns that could still be coming in this story as two mega-studios become one.&nbsp;
Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-27/what-the-paramount-warner-merger-means-for-hollywood?embedded-checkout=true">What the Paramount-Warner Merger Means for Hollywood</a>
<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-27/how-david-ellison-outlasted-netflix-in-the-warner-bros-bidding-war?embedded-checkout=true">David Ellison Used Political Ties, Deep Pockets to Buy Warner Bros.</a><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-01/netflix-s-co-ceo-explains-why-he-quit-the-warner-bros-fight?embedded-checkout=true">Netflix&rsquo;s Co-CEO Explains Why He Quit the Warner Bros. Fight</a>

What Really Happened in the Battle for Warner Bros.

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/7ebaab6b-f8f6-4ec5-a2d6-b419014ef3f7/transcript

Two decades ago, a federal prosecutor in Florida spent two years investigating Jeffrey Epstein and urged her superiors to charge him. Her frustrations mounted as her boss, US Attorney Alex Acosta, pursued a now-infamous plea deal that allowed Epstein to serve just 13 months, much of it on work release.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg legal reporter David Voreacos joins host Sarah Holder to examine emails and evidence recently released by the Justice Department. They reveal Marie Villafaña’s exhaustive efforts to hold Epstein accountable — and how, despite years of credible evidence, he managed to slip through the cracks.

Read more: Sex-Crimes Prosecutor's Repeated Pleas for Epstein's Arrest Were Denied

Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by Julia Press; Reported by David Voreacos; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott.

Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate and David Fox; Engineering by Katie McMurran.

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

Two decades ago, a federal prosecutor in Florida spent two years investigating Jeffrey Epstein and urged her superiors to charge him. Her frustrations mounted as her boss, US Attorney Alex Acosta, pursued a now-infamous plea deal that allowed Epstein to serve just 13 months, much of it on work release.
On today&rsquo;s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg legal reporter David Voreacos joins host Sarah Holder to examine emails and evidence recently released by the Justice Department. They reveal Marie Villafa&ntilde;a&rsquo;s exhaustive efforts to hold Epstein accountable &mdash; and how, despite years of credible evidence, he managed to slip through the cracks.
Read more: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-20/prosecutor-pushed-her-bosses-for-epstein-s-arrest-multiple-times-in-2007?srnd=undefined">Sex-Crimes Prosecutor's Repeated Pleas for Epstein's Arrest Were Denied</a>
Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by Julia Press; Reported by David Voreacos; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott.
Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate and David Fox; Engineering by Katie McMurran.
Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

The Prosecutor Who Tried to Stop Epstein, in Her Own Words

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/51baff4f-03f5-415d-a37a-b4180162fb83/transcript

Weekend Listen: George Saunders Imagines an Oil Exec’s Deathbed

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