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
Feb 16, 2021 • 37min
110 - Going Dutch, London's Brexit losses and what's the story with Bitcoin?
Hundreds of years ago, the Dutch were Europe's moneymen and it looks as if they are at it again. We look at new alliances & digital trade routes emerging in the post-Brexit era. Looking at Hindu parables, what's the elephant in the room? What's the story with Bitcoin, digital Gold or digital Tulips, plus the logic in Elon Musk's big bet. If Bitcoin is a hedge against catastrophe, are we missing something? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 11, 2021 • 39min
109 - The fallout from economic mania & the conventional thinking trap with Tom Bergin
we start off by taking a look at the fallout of the Gamestop fiasco before tackling the bigger issue: Conventional thinking. In many ways the world is still pushing “zombie” ideas - ideas that have been proven to be false but that are still being pushed as policies. With the help of Tom Bergin we look at a few conventional ideas and explain why they’re nothing more than a popular myth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 9, 2021 • 36min
108 - How to fix the housing market
Public housing should be addressed with the same urgency as public health. If we can close down the economy, borrow billions, furlough millions and stop the world in the name of public health, we should be able to tear up the rule book when it comes to housing. The property market in Ireland and the rest of the English speaking world is a scam, rigged to push prices upwards, indenturing working families and exacerbating the wealth divide. Here's how to fix it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 4, 2021 • 38min
107 - Wall Street and the Short Selling Revolution Part 2
We take another look at the "day-trading" insurrectionists to examine who is actually in control, what human emotions are unleashed by the markets and what it all means for politics and economics. We are joined by the authors of the wonderful book Angrynomics political scientist Mark Blyth and hedge fund manger Eric Lonergan. Things are rarely as they seem to be! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 2, 2021 • 47min
106 - Wall Street, Game Stop and the Short Squeeze Revolutionaries!
Something unusual is happening in the stock market: the little guy - or in this case, guys - are beating up the big multi-billionaire hedge-fund managers. This is in stark contrast to the usual market hegemony and might signal a deep change: the little guy is slowly recognizing their power in numbers. If short selling, margin calls, put options, short squeezes are all Double Dutch to you, fret now we have you covered. Join us as we explain it all with Twitter comedy sensation Avalon Penrose & the markets editor of the Financial Times, Katie Martin Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 28, 2021 • 31min
105 - The Rentier Economy
Ireland, like many economies is hostage to the rentiers, companies that sidle up to governments to get a licence to provide some product or service that the government used to provide. This is a licence to print money, because the rentier company has a monopoly to hoover up rent rather than make anything. They dominate the property market, utilities and have led to the infantilization of the public sector. At every stage prices rises because these are the opposite of competitive companies. Given that rentiers drive up property prices, sanctioned by government, is it any surprise the young are voting radical? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 26, 2021 • 51min
104 - Doughnut Economics
The arrival of Joe Biden has led to a profound change in tone, with America quickly re-signing back up to the Paris Accord. The planet is back on the agenda and the mantra of growth at all costs irrespective of the environmental costs, is being reappraised. We talk to Kat Raworth, author of "Doughnut Economics" about a different way of looking at the world, the economy and how we understand our relationship to the world around us, our priorities and the need to re-frame economics for the 21st century. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 21, 2021 • 28min
103 - Doc Martins, the financialization of the global economy, IPO's, inequality and Joe Biden's political agenda
We explain by way of the SFX and Doc Martins how financial markets create inequality. Late stage financial capitalism generates super normal profits for owners of capital and debt by way of IPOs, and forces wage moderation on ordinary workers. We explain how understanding the credit cycle is key to understand the modern economy through the prism of the glorious Doc Martin, focusing on trickle down economy, opportunism and leveraged profits and market booms and busts. What does this mean for the economy? Unfortunately: most likely - further wealth division. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 19, 2021 • 47min
102 - The last day of Trump
Trump is gone but what next for Trumpism? The saga is far from over. While the armed Boogaloo boys are mobilizing across the United States we talk with Professor William Black to get a thorough understanding of what’s going on in America and what the future holds for Donald J. Trump. Also a quick hit on how China has emerged unassailable from both Trump and Covid, plus America's first internal rebellion and the vision of Alexander Hamilton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 14, 2021 • 41min
101 - How to end this Lockdown for good!
We still have time to do a New Zealand, with the vaccine roll out going so slowly, can we do a Taiwan and be out and about my St Patrick's Day? We talk zero Covid with Prof Aoife McLyset: How we can administer an economic vaccine while we wait with a bit of imagination, plus what the new biotech revolution - ushered in by the mRNA vaccine - means for all of us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
