Big Take Asia

A leaked phone call between Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Cambodia's Hun Sen has ignited a significant political crisis in Thailand, leading to large-scale protests and her suspension from office. On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Patpicha Tanakasempipat about the political fallout and its impact on the powerful Shinawatra clan, which has dominated Thai politics for almost three decades. Read more: Humbled Thai Billionaire Is a Warning to Trump-Era Populists [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-07-09/what-the-decline-of-thai-billionaire-thaksin-s-political-dynasty-means?srnd=undefined]Further listening: What Thailand's Same-Sex Marriage Victory Means for the Economy [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-thailands-same-sex-marriage-victory-means-for/id1746141911?i=1000692127623&l=ru] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister, turned 100 this week. Bloomberg Weekend Editor-at-Large Mishal Husain sat down with the veteran former leader for an interview in the offices of his foundation, just outside Kuala Lumpur. Husain asked him about his thoughts on aging and leadership; what he thinks Donald Trump’s tariff war means for Malaysia; and what he sees as the way forward, in a world that’s getting more tense and divided by the day. Read more: Mahathir Mohamad: Trump Is ‘Against the Whole World’ [https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2025-mahathir-bin-mohamad-weekend-interview/?srnd=undefined] Further listening: Bloomberg’s Interview With UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bloombergs-interview-with-uk-prime-minister-keir-starmer/id1578096201?i=1000712772948] Bloomberg’s Elon Musk Interview [https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/bloombergs-elon-musk-interview/id1578096201?i=1000709175866] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

In a remote part of China's northwestern Xinjiang region, dozens of data centers rise from the desert. A Bloomberg analysis of investor and tax documents and company filings found Chinese companies plan to buy more than 115,000 high-tech Nvidia chips — chips the US has banned from being exported to China – to power these centers, which could then be used for training AI models. On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Andy Lin and James Mayger about the story, and what it means for China’s AI master plan. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Trump’s trade war has thrown American businesses, which source everything from aircraft parts to baby strollers from China, into chaos. Now some companies are challenging the president’s tariff rulings in the courts. On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha is joined by Rick Woldenberg, CEO of the toy company Learning Resources, and Bloomberg’s Lucille Liu, to talk about the impact of the trade war on US importers and Chinese manufacturers and what it ultimately means for American consumers. Read more: Chinese Toymaker Takes Drastic Action to Survive Trump’s Tariffs [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-06-25/chinese-toymaker-takes-drastic-action-to-survive-trump-s-tariffs]Further listening: Live from Hong Kong: Why China Can Afford to Wait for a Deal, and the US Can’t [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/live-from-hong-kong-why-china-can-afford-to-wait-for/id1578096201?i=1000712963896]The US and China’s High-Stakes Diplomacy [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-us-and-chinas-high-stakes-diplomacy/id1746141911?i=1000712516900] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

On Tuesday morning, in a series of posts celebrating the fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel, Donald Trump touched on one of Iran’s most significant economic relationships, writing, “China can now continue to purchase oil from Iran.” Today on Big Take Asia, host Oanh Ha is joined by John Liu, who oversees Bloomberg’s China coverage from Beijing, to discuss what’s at stake for China in Iran and how the conflict could change China’s game plan — not just in the Middle East, but on the global stage. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.