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PODCAST

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

news & politics

All Episodes

41:38

The Ghosts of Yugoslavia: Borders, Bankers & Balkan...

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/07/17

In this episode, we dive headfirst into one of Europe’s most brutal and under-discussed chapters: the collapse of Yugoslavia. Live from Croatia, where the scars of that war still linger, and where, 30 years on, the economic, political, and human fallout continues to echo across the continent. We explore how hyperinflation, sparked by debt-fuelled mismanagement and ethnic tension, helped tear the country apart. At one point, Yugoslavia’s army was the largest in Europe. Today, its people make up the

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32:38

Can We Cope With This Level of Immigration?

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/07/15

This week on the podcast, we take on the two biggest issues shaping our future: immigration and housing. We begin with the looming threat of U.S. tariffs, which could hit by August 1st. A 30% levy would be catastrophic for Ireland, the most open economy in the world, with nearly €600 billion in imports and exports annually. While China retaliates in unison, Europe squabbles over wine, cars, and Big Tech. Meanwhile, Ireland, so dependent on U.S. multinationals, stands massively exposed. We then dive

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30:26

Who Wants to Live Forever? The Economics of...

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/07/10

This week, we start with Oasis and end in Silicon Valley, via Tír na nÓg. We’re talking about the economics ofnot dying, and how tech billionaires are pouring billions into that dream. From Oasis beltingLive Foreverto Irish mythology’s take on eternal youth, we ask: why are we so obsessed with dodging death? We explore the surreal story of Brian Johnson, the tech bro spending $2 million a year trying to reverse ageing. Vegan diet, 100 supplements a day, teenage blood transfusions… all in an effort

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37:59

Trieste and the City of the Future

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/07/08

Trieste is a city that’s belonged to everyone, and no one. This week, we go walking through a place that’s been Austrian, Italian, Yugoslav, and, at one point, technically run by the United Nations. It's a port city without a hinterland, a European crossroads where empires once collided, and identities blurred. What if this strange, stateless city is actually a glimpse of the future? Trieste thrived when borders were open and trade was fluid. It declined when nationalism took hold and lines were

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39:15

Who Killed the Living City?

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/07/03

After travelling through Montreal, Bilbao, and Vilnius, cities alive with colour, sound, and soul, I returned home and felt the contrast sharply. Dublin, like many cities across the developed world, feels hollowed out. Despite booming economic growth and over €150 billion sitting idle in savings accounts, our capital is crumbling. Streets are lifeless, dereliction is everywhere, and policy seems paralysed. So what went wrong? This week, we explore how bad incentives, not bad people, kill cities

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31:29

Content, Culture & the Bottom Line: How Finance is...

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/07/01

Are we living through the death of innovation? We’re back in HQ asking a tough question: has culture stagnated, and if so, is economics to blame? We explore the twin juggernauts of our age: financialisation and tech. From Florence under the Medicis to Hollywood in 2023, we trace how once-risky bets on the new have been replaced by spreadsheets and streaming algorithms. In 2023, all of the top 10 highest-grossing global films were sequels, spin-offs, or remakes. Back in 2005, 40% of top films had

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32:39

Has the Balance of Global Power Just Shifted to Israel?

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/06/26

Has Israel just become the undisputed power in the Middle East? After a lightning-fast 12-day conflict, oil prices fell instead of spiking, Iran backed off with symbolic missile strikes (after giving the U.S. a heads-up), and Russia is suddenly too nostalgic about its expats in Tel Aviv to pick a side. We unpack how this war, short, sharp, and stunning, shifted the entire balance of power in the region. Why didn’t the Strait of Hormuz crisis materialise? Why are markets pricing in peace while Gaza

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40:05

The Dollar, the Ape & the End of an Empire

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/06/24

Live from a packed GAA hall at the Dalkey Book Festival, this episode tackles one of the wildest questions in economics: how did humans, flimsy, anxious apes, end up running the world, and why did we invent money to do it? We dig into the evolution of money as a collective hallucination hardwired into our psychology. Along the way, we unpack how 90% of dollars exist only digitally, how the pandemic rewired our sense of value, and why the dollar’s global dominance might be nearing its final act. From

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49:45

Memoirs of an Arab Jew

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/06/19

In this powerful episode recorded at the Dalkey Book Festival, we sit down with Israeli historian Avi Shlaim, whose memoirThe Memoirs of an Arab Jewweaves together the personal and political. Born in Baghdad and expelled to Israel, Shlaim dismantles the dominant Zionist narrative and shares a forgotten story: that of the Arab Jews, rooted in the Middle East for millennia, fluent in Arabic, and often alienated in the state built in their name. Shlaim explores British colonial meddling, the legacy of

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47:11

The Islamic Enlightenment

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/06/17

Tensions in the Middle East are escalating, following Israel’s surprise attack on targets across Iran on Friday, and ensuing strikes between the two powers continued over the weekend. The Muslim world has often been accused of a failure to modernise and adapt. Christopher de Bellaigue disagrees and charts the forgotten story of the Islamic Enlightenment – the social movements, reforms and revolutions that transformed the Middle East from the early nineteenth century to the present day. Modern ideals

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36:54

The Hanseatic League: Europe’s First Free Trade Zone

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/06/12

Forget Brussels, the first European Union was built by medieval merchants, not politicians. This week, we dive into the Hanseatic League: a loose alliance of 200 city-states that dominated trade across the Baltic and North Seas for 500 years. They pioneered free trade, built Europe’s first banking networks, and forged a multilateral model that still shapes today’s EU. Their story is also a warning. The League eventually lost out to land-based nation-states, a tension that’s alive again in today’s

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36:34

Will America’s Debt Crash the Global Economy?

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/06/10

When Jamie Dimon warns that the U.S. bond market could "crack," it’s time to listen. This week, we dive into America’s mounting debt crisis, with U.S. debt now surpassing $34 trillion, deficits running at $2 trillion a year, and interest payments exceeding military spending. We unpack how Trump’s tax cuts, tariffs, and spending splurges are pushing the system to breaking point, and why a bond market crack could trigger a global dollar crisis.Then we turn the lens to Ireland, where the economy is

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35:55

From Bolsheviks to Bolt: The Tallinnovation Nation

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/06/05

We’re on the road again, this time reporting from Vilnius, Lithuania, in the heart of Europe’sBloodlands. Don’t be fooled by the history of war and trauma, this episode is all about how the Baltics are sprinting into the future. Estonia, with just 1.3 million people, has produced 10+ tech unicorns and collects 99% of its taxes online. Lithuania, home to 50,000 people living in Ireland, is buildingRail Baltica, a €6 billion high-speed line connecting Finland to Poland. We chat with economist James

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40:07

Creativity in the Cul-de-Sac: Why the Suburbs Won

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/06/03

Back home at HQ, we stretch our legs and dive into something huge hiding in plain sight: Ireland is nowthe most educated country in the world. But what does that really mean? From the Inhaler gig in St. Anne's Park to the brilliance of Roddy Doyle and camogie skirts, this episode celebrates the often-overlooked power of the suburbs, not just as a creative hotbed, but as the epicentre of Ireland’s education revolution. We trace how the children of small farmers became the middle class, why suburban

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43:38

Spain’s Miracle Economy: What They Got Right (That We...

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/05/29

We're back in Spain, and I’ve got questions. Why is Spain growing faster than Germany, France, and even the US? Why can they build high-speed rail for a fraction of the cost, and why are they the only major EU country where immigration is boosting GDP without blowing up politics?This week, we talk to Professor Joe Haslam in Madrid about what’s being called Europe’s miracle economy. Since COVID, Spain’s growth has outpaced every major European economy, driven by smart immigration (nearly 1 million

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31:37

The Bilbao Blueprint

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/05/27

We're in Bilbao this week, and it’s got us thinking. How does a football club that refuses to sign non-Basque players manage to qualify for the Champions League, raking in close to €100 million from TV rights, match days, and UEFA money, while Dublin’s best bet is a few fivers from the Conference League? The answer is in economics. The Basques were Europe’s forgotten industrialists, the only region in Spain to undergo a full-blown Industrial Revolution, powered by local iron ore, steel production,

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32:40

The Moody Blues: No More Finance Bros in LA

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/05/22

This week, we’re keeping one eye on Wall Street and the other on a canal in Dublin. Moody’s just downgraded the United States' credit rating, a move that quietly confirms what most won’t say out loud: America’s debt-fuelled growth is unsustainable, and interest payments are now outpacing military spending. Meanwhile, back home, a row of cottages literally collapsed, not abandoned, but owned by the very people lobbying to fix Ireland’s housing crisis. In a country where average rents just passed

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42:43

The Battle for Africa with Pumi Mashigo

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/05/20

From wine valleys to White House stand-offs, we’re in South Africa as the continent’s biggest economy finds itself caught between China, Russia, and a sulking Uncle Sam. Reporting from Franschhoek, we trace the Huguenot legacy, the Dutch East India Company, and how South Africa became the West’s favourite refuelling stop, until now. With President “Cupcake” Ramaphosa headed to the White House this week, US aid frozen, and Afrikaner “refugees” granted asylum, tensions are flaring. South African

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31:29

Trump’s New Enemies: Billionaires, Big Pharma & Bibi?

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/05/15

Trump is stealing Bernie’s manifesto. In this episode, we dive into why Trump is suddenly talking about taxing the rich and slashing the cost of prescription drugs, policies lifted straight from the progressive left. Is he turning on the billionaire donors funding his campaign? And is Israel, long a pet cause of those donors, being quietly edged out of Trump’s new MAGA calculus? We unpack a flurry of recent deals, from a largely meaningless UK–US trade agreement , to an urgent truce with China after

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51:16

A Letter from Africa with Simon Kuper

The David McWilliams Podcast ·

2025/05/13

This week I'm in South Africa on a book and speaking tour and am chatting at the Franschoek Literary Festival, so we are all South Africa today. A country of contradictions, rich in resources, vibrant in culture, yet S.A. is held back by inequality, corruption, and the long shadow of apartheid. In this episode, we explore its uneasy present and remarkable past: from Mandela’s legacy to Elon Musk’s childhood, from empire and race to why Donald Trump has fixated on white Afrikaners. We travel through

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