IPFS Podcasting

The David McWilliams Podcast

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.

Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Website : http://www.davidmcwilliams.ie/

RSS Feed : https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast

Last Episode : May 8, 2025 3:00am

Last Scanned : 2.4 hours ago

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Episodes

Episodes currently hosted on IPFS.

Inflation for Losers with Mark Blyth

Confirmed 2

Broadcast from a wine-soaked table in Italy’s Valle di Comino, ancestral home of Ireland’s chipper dynasties, this episode covers everything from Irish-Italian football matches and Elvis impersonators to the far more serious threat inflation poses to liberal democracy. We chat to political economist Mark Blyth about his new book Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers, unpicking why prices stay stubbornly high, who inflation hits hardest, and how it quietly fuels everything from MAGA to Farage. Is inflation just economics, or is it the force tearing apart the political centre ground? And is the UK a basket case… or just ahead of the curve? Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Expires in 15 hours

Published Thursday

How Canada Became the Anti-Trump Blueprint

This week, we talk about the most unexpected political shift of the year, Canada’s sudden transformation into the liberal world’s new playbook. We unpack how Mark Carney, once a Davos technocrat, won an election by turning it into a referendum on Trump… and won big. Along the way, we explore nationalism (the decent kind), what Trump gets wrong about trade, and why standing up to bullies actually works. Plus, we chat with Evan Solomon, now an MP in Carney’s new government, about what Canadians really want, what’s next for their economy, and how sometimes, all it takes to wake up a country is a common enemy. Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Published Tuesday

Slowing Down in an Age of Acceleration with Elif Shafak

This week, we take a breath. In a world spinning faster than a speedcubing final, we step away from bond yields and geopolitics and lean into something more human: imagination. We swap global crises for quiet joys, from a Rubik’s cube competition in Wicklow to the power of storytelling in uncertain times. As we always say, economics is about life and today we are joined by bestselling novelist Elif Shafak, to explore how fiction helps us make sense of chaos, how literature bridges the political and the personal, and why sometimes the most radical act in a crisis-ridden world is to imagine differently. Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Published 05/01

Popeonomics?

We mark the passing of Pope Francis by asking: is there such a thing as "Catholic Economics"? If so, what is it, and what strain of Catholic economics did the Pope represent? We start with a lad stopped by the Italian cops on a Vespa in Rome, and a most unusual and uplifting conversation with the Pope, Bono, and yours truly. Yeah, for real. We explore liberation theology, the roots of Franciscan banking, and the common and deeply embedded DNA of Catholic social teaching in the economic policy of Catholic countries, despite widespread secularism. By the way, I did pay the fine! Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Published 04/24

The New Great Game?

The world shifting under our feet and US financial markets remain in turmoil. We explore whether Trump’s economic war with China is backfiring, and might push Europe closer to Beijing, not Washington. We detail a likley monetary scenario for the US over the coming months which will be the backdrop to any geo-political moves. For example, could France, weighed down by debt, turn to China as creditor? Are we entering a new global “Great Game,” where America’s threats drive its allies into the arms of its rivals? If Europe stops financing the U.S. bond market, what happens next? A podcast on grand strategy, with a few French wines, altar boy memories, and Machiavellian moves along the way. Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Published 04/22

Paris, Power & Picking Sides: Europe’s Awakening in a MAGA World

Broadcasting from Paris, we bring a bottle of wine and a warning: the transatlantic honeymoon is over. As America turns inward under the MAGA banner, Europe, led in thought (and theatre) by France, is starting to ask tough questions: Can we still rely on the US? Should we even try? From Macron’s eerily prescient Sorbonne speech to the wild moves in the US bond market, this episode explores why France feels vindicated, why Ireland might soon have to pick a side, and why the real battlefield isn't Normandy or NATO, it’s the balance sheet. With detours through wine laws, de Gaulle in Connemara, and why Nike’s Vietnamese workforce matters more than you'd think, this is a global economic story told with Gallic flair and geopolitical bite. Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Published 04/17

The Nike Economy: Why Vietnam Is America’s Hidden Factory Floor

What do Nike runners, IKEA furniture, and half a million Vietnamese workers have in common? They’re all caught in the crossfire of Trump’s tariff tantrum. This week, we trace the hidden supply chains behind the global economy, from Vietnam’s rise as a manufacturing powerhouse to how a sneaker company now employs more people abroad than Ford and GM do at home. We break down how the MAGA tariff regime threatens to crater entire economies, sour U.S. relations in Asia, and hand China the long game. Plus, what it all means for Ireland, Africa, and the American empire itself. Are we witnessing a pivot, or a pullback from the world stage? Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Published 04/10

Tariffs & Other Fantasies

This week, we watched the world’s biggest economy base its entire trade policy on a formula so dodgy it wouldn’t pass the Leaving Cert. We break down how Trump’s tariffs are chaotic, as well as economically illiterate, dangerously populist, and could have slammed Ireland with more than a 39% hit if not for the EU. This isn’t just bad maths. It’s billionaires mistaking personal instinct for macro strategy, and a White House mistaking nationalism for economic policy. We’re talking supply chains, tanking markets, flying cars in China, Trump channeling FDR, and why the U.S. might be about to run the world like a family business, forever. Strap in. Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Published 04/08

The Economics of Employee Ownership

What if the future of capitalism isn’t tech or tax, but trust? This week, we’re talking about Employee Ownership Trusts: a radical rethink of who gets to own the companies we work for. We’re joined by Alan Coleman of Wolfgang Digital, the first Irish company to take the leap and hand ownership to its staff. It’s a story about building businesses that are more productive, more democratic and maybe even more human. From colonial corporations to AI takeovers, we trace why this small idea could be the start of something huge. And if you're a digital marketer who wants to own where you work, Wolfgang is hiring. Head to wolfgangdigital.com/careers to find out more. Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Published 04/06

Jeffrey Goldberg Has Entered the Chat

On Wednesday, we watched in real time as America’s trade policy devolved into a parody of itself. Trump’s Liberation Day was part Caesar, part Mattress Mick, all empty bluster. A dodgy chalkboard of made-up numbers, a crowd in high-vis, and a president who thinks tariffs are just theatre. You may also have heard that Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic and friend of the pod, was accidentally added to a Signal group chat planning actual U.S. airstrikes. He joins us to talk about what it revealed: a deeply unserious administration where war, trade, and global diplomacy are being handled like a lad’s WhatsApp group. We break down the chaos, the consequences for Ireland and Europe, and why standing up to this kind of performative thuggery might be the only option left.And by the way you can get $20 off a digital sub to The Atlantic at theatlantic.com/dmwpod. Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Published 04/03

Did Ferris Bueller Predict the Trade War?

What do tariffs, the Laffer Curve, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off have in common? More than you’d think. This week, we dive into the world of trade policy, culture wars, and deflated middle-aged fatherhood, all from the basement. From Trump's so-called "Liberation Day" of tariffs to secret WhatsApp groups planning military strikes, this episode examines how America’s trade war is about identity, masculinity, and a long-festering grudge against Europe. With a history lesson on Smoot-Hawley, Reaganomics, and the ghost of Arthur Laffer, we ask: if America is only barely exposed to global trade, why the war on Europe? And is this all just economic policy reimagined as culture war th Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Published 04/01

Why Do Good People Make Bad Decisions?

From Dublin’s housing crisis to stalled metros and blocked wind farms, this week’s episode explores how well-meaning people, and governments, have tied themselves in knots. We ask the simple but provocative question: if we could build Ardnanacrusha in three years a century ago, why can’t we build homes or rail lines now? Blame over-regulation, hyper-democracy, and good intentions gone rogue. Whether it’s zoning laws, environmental red tape, or endless consultations, we’ve made it nearly impossible to build anything at scale or speed. Drawing on lessons from China, Spain, and Dublin 1, this episode is a call for a Second Irish Republic, one that resets the country to make allow it to achieve its potential. Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Published 03/27