The David McWilliams Podcast
David McWilliams & John Davis
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.If you would like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/DavidMcWilliams. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 25, 2023 • 35min
What you know about Western civilization is wrong
The saying goes that there’s a straight line from Plato to Nato - but actually, it’s much more complicated than that. Today we explain why we repeat a story that we know to be untrue and what the real story is. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 23, 2023 • 44min
The Coming Great Crash?
They say that history doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes. Today’s discussion is all about what we can take from history as we navigate this slow grinding bank crisis, many years of easy money and still elevated asset prices - all in a time of rising, not falling interest rates Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 18, 2023 • 38min
This is the most important week in the Ukraine war - and global geo-politics as a whole
The counter-offensive might be underway but the outcomes are still very much up in the air. Let’s look at what’s going on and how the outcomes in Ukraine will ripple across the world Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 16, 2023 • 37min
A Coming US Default?
Is the US about to manufacture a debt crisis? Don't rule it out. There are enough nut-jobs knocking around Capitol Hill for whom shutting down government is a victory not a catastrophe. And once we’re finished with the Lunes on the Hill, we explains what any Irish sovereign wealth fund (PS: we’re delighted the government is listening to our ideas!) ought to be focussed on. Incidentally, paying down debt is actually the worst use of money possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 11, 2023 • 31min
American Bank Carnage part 2
The American banking system is experiencing a slow grinding crisis. We explore, why this is happening, why now and why the Fed adopted a completely different attitude to the 2023 banking crisis than the 2008 crisis and what this all means for the economy and the way we distribute money around the 21st century economy. And further out, could Apple - the great disrupter - be poised to disrupt Wall Street? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 9, 2023 • 40min
How does the UK recover financially?
The UK is what happens when economic growth stops. So on the week of the coronation let’s look at what is happening in the country and what it takes to right the wrongs of the last few years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 4, 2023 • 37min
The Dream Economy
Arts and culture are associated with many things, but rarely is economic impact cited. This is right, culture is not a spread sheet, but nor too is economics. The economy is a highly sensitive ecosystem of which arts and culture are part. We examine the role of culture in the economy, plus in a special detour, we look at the economics one of Ireland's great revolutionary heroes, Wolf Tone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 2, 2023 • 39min
Civilization and the planet
We seldom hear how the environment affected the growth and collapse of civilizations across the world and history. More than any other factor, the environment has been a defining factor to where we live, how we organize and what we consume. Today we’re joined by the great Peter Frankopan for a masterclass in this untold story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 27, 2023 • 27min
The Paradox of Prudence
Having money is only half the battle, deploying it well is the other half. We look at Ireland's financial balance sheet: we're saving far too much! By saving too much, both at the State and the punter level, we are hiding behind the sanctimonious veil of savings rather than involving ourselves in hard thinking, which is what economics is all about. Economists have a bias towards prudence and prudence only, this is highly costly and is an abdication of responsibility. Money is an energy, we have to use it to drive the economy onwards! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 25, 2023 • 33min
Feed your Brain
I’ve just come back from giving a TED talk in Vancouver. Brilliant experience, lots of amazing speakers, top notch presentations ;which more than anything reveal to us the stories that nations tell themselves. Today we also announce the line up for the Dalkey Book Festival, showing that as a nation of storytellers, we Irish are still second to none. Hope to see you at Dalkey which kicks of with a live podcast! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
