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150 episodes

The David McWilliams Podcast, page 5

by David McWilliams & John Davis · English

The aim of this weekly podcast is to make economics easy, uncomplicated and accessible. With the world at a political, technological and financial tipping point, economics has never been so important to all of us and yet, it’s made inaccessible and complicated by so many. I’ve always thought what is complicated is rarely important and what is important is rarely complicated. That will be our motto. Every week we are going to tease out some big economic or political issue facing us, not just here in Ireland but in Europe and further afield. Globalisation has brought us all together. We all face similar challenges whether you live in Dublin, London, Minnesota or Milan. If you would like to enjoy all of our content ad-free and have early access to episodes, subscribe to DMCW+ on Apple Podcast. You can also find our early access ad-free episodes on Spotify by searching for the David McWilliams Podcast Premium Feed on the app or by clicking here. Want to join our crew? Join at davidmcwilliams.ie/crew, where you can enjoy ad-free listening, as well as exclusive bonus content such as premium episodes, our macroeconomics course, early access to episodes and pre-sale access to tickets for Dalkey Book Festival & Kilkenomics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All episodes, page 5

Europe Under Threat: Can the Centre Hold?

Europe’s vulnerability as an “Atlantic island” (Ireland) faces a reshaped global order: American withdrawal/anti-European turn, Russian threat to Europe, and China’s industrial takeover of…

11 Dec 2025 · 47m · 19 chapters

The Great Affordability Lie?

The episode argues that official poverty and “rich country” statistics miss how expensive it is to live in Ireland. Using a U.S.

9 Dec 2025 · 36m · 14 chapters

Petty Lines in the Sand

This weekly podcast aims to simplify economics, making it accessible and uncomplicated.

4 Dec 2025 · 37m

China Explained with Dan Wang

Dan Wang’s Breakneck argues China is an “engineering state” (and also a “social engineering” state) that can build infrastructure and strategic industries faster than “lawyerly” common-law societies.

2 Dec 2025 · 50m · 23 chapters

Is Central Asia the Next Front Line of Global Power? with Peter Frankopan

Central Asia as a future “front line” of global power competition, driven by demographics, energy and critical minerals, logistics, and rising national-security risks (including water stress and…

27 Nov 2025 · 39m · 14 chapters

Why Can’t the West Build Anymore?

The episode argues that the West (especially the US, Ireland, and Britain) can’t build large infrastructure anymore, not mainly due to ideology, but because leadership is dominated by lawyers rather…

25 Nov 2025 · 39m · 8 chapters

Is $4,000 Gold the First Crack in the Fiat Era?

The episode argues that today’s gold surge (around $4,000/oz) reflects a broader shift away from fiat, and it explains how 19th-century gold discoveries reshaped economies and enabled the gold…

20 Nov 2025 · 32m · 9 chapters

Hollywood, Soft Power & Ireland’s Anti-American Left?

The hosts discuss Los Angeles as a “storytelling” economy and use that to frame a political argument about Ireland’s relationship with the United States—claiming it’s overwhelmingly positive, yet the…

18 Nov 2025 · 48m · 13 chapters

Vibecession, AI Mania & The New Casino Economy with Kyla Scanlon

Kyla Scanlon (economist/Gen Z economics educator) explains “vibeconomics” (vibe recession vs recession), how the attention economy and AI shape identity and consumer sentiment, and why the US is…

13 Nov 2025 · 38m · 13 chapters

The Tech Crash, The Demographic Time Bomb, and Ireland’s Future 40

The episode argues that a “tech crash” may be starting in the US as AI-driven speculation unwinds.

11 Nov 2025 · 39m · 10 chapters

The Pope’s Children at 20: How Ireland Grew Up

The 20th anniversary of David McWilliams’ The Pope’s Children, explaining how the 1979 papal visit shaped Ireland’s demographics and later social/economic change, especially the rise of suburbia, the…

6 Nov 2025 · 38m · 16 chapters

Australia, Argentina & Ireland: A Tale of Three Economies

Comparison of Australia vs Argentina as “economic twins” that diverged after WWII, used as a warning about Ireland’s current politics and spending.

4 Nov 2025 · 41m · 13 chapters

The Life Raft for Billionaires: Why Tech Titans Are Buying New Zealand

The host discusses New Zealand’s British-influenced architecture and economy, then argues that tech billionaires led by Peter Thiel are buying land there as a “life raft” against anticipated societal…

30 Oct 2025 · 33m · 12 chapters

The AI Bubble: Boom, Bust & Baked in Nimbin

The podcast argues that the AI boom is a “bubble” likely to burst, driven by speculative finance, concentrated spending, and perishable hardware economics, with broad social and political fallout.

28 Oct 2025 · 43m · 17 chapters

The Lost Sailors: From Aboriginals to Schumpeter

How Australia’s First Nations arrived and thrived for ~60,000 years, why Europeans misread them as “Stone Age,” and how disease, ecological disruption, and “collective brain”/Schumpeterian innovation…

23 Oct 2025 · 39m · 14 chapters

The Land of Opportunity Down Under: Australia

A two-host discussion from Brisbane about why Australia has avoided recessions for nearly half a century, framed as “Land of Opportunity Down Under: Australia,” and what sustains its growth amid…

21 Oct 2025 · 42m · 13 chapters

Saudi the Kingmaker: Gaza, Trump & a New Middle East with Andrew Maxwell

The episode argues that the “Trump peace” plan for Gaza/Israel signals a major shift in Middle East power away from Cold War-style blocs, with Saudi Arabia positioned as the key “kingmaker” due to…

16 Oct 2025 · 55m · 18 chapters

The Behavioural Budget: How Tax Shapes Us

How Ireland’s budget and taxation should be understood as tools to shape behavior (not just raise revenue), and how upcoming fiscal/political dynamics could lead to another crisis and political…

14 Oct 2025 · 37m · 11 chapters

The Art of Creation with The Edge - Part Two

Part two of “The Art of Creation with The Edge” focuses on economics and entrepreneurship through the lens of creativity—risk-taking, “creative destruction” (Schumpeter), startup culture, global…

9 Oct 2025 · 43m · 19 chapters

The Art of Creation with The Edge

Edge of U2 discusses Endeavor, a global entrepreneurship mentorship nonprofit, and parallels between building startups and rock bands—especially creativity, risk, learning from failure, and Ireland’s…

7 Oct 2025 · 44m · 15 chapters

What is Radical Politics?

Defines “radical politics” as policy positions that are far from the average voter on key cultural issues.

2 Oct 2025 · 46m · 18 chapters

Culture Wars in the West, Alliances in the East

The episode argues that “geo-economics” (using economic power to achieve geostrategic goals) is replacing the older idea that globalization is “colourblind.” It claims Western societies are…

30 Sep 2025 · 37m · 10 chapters

Who Owns the Flag? From the American Revolution to Charlie Kirk

The episode argues that the U.S. culture war will intensify around the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776) and the upcoming midterms, with both MAGA conservatives and…

25 Sep 2025 · 38m · 13 chapters

The Economics of Golf

The economics of golf, using Ireland’s current golf boom and the Ryder Cup as a lens to explain how participation, tourism, media, sponsorship, and “soft power” drive money and growth.

22 Sep 2025 · 48m · 25 chapters