The David McWilliams Podcast
Episodes
Has the FED done the impossible? Is a soft landing coming?
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Americans might have engineered the impossible: a soft landing… which would be an absolute anomaly in economic cycles! While we look at how this...
Bastille Day Special: What makes France tick?
13 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On the eve of Bastille Day we head to France to explore the French economy. Who really runs France, the technocrats, big business or the political cla...
The Recession that Isn't Happening
11 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We explore why the world is not in a recession despite everything. The US economy simply refuses to buckle under the pressure of high interest rates. ...
What's happening in Germany
06 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Germany, Europe's most important economy, is at a turning point. It is now a massive industrial economy with no energy. For over one hundred years, Ge...
Fiscal Incontinence!
04 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What a scandal at the Irish national broadcaster tells us about how the country became the most expensive place to live in Europe. It's all about valu...
European evolution, train tales and the history of mathematics
29 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From a train journey to Ishango bones we talk about Europe’s complicated relationship with Africa before turning our sights (and your ears) to Maths...
A Russian Revolution?
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The whole world learned the name Prigozhin over the weekend as the warlord threatened Putin and plotted a course for Moscow. With this failed coup now...
Searching for America with David Brooks
22 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this intimate conversation, we discuss America - from a political, personal & cultural point of view to understand this land where decisio...
Why modern cities need to look at the 19th century for inspiration
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Urban living is nothing new, but some decades did it better than others! Let’s look at how people designed cities before the advent of cars and what...
The Unionist strategy against Irish Unity: Poverty
15 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Brexit was supposed to drive a wedge between the two jurisdictions of Ireland. In reality it has built a bridge: There's far more trade between the No...
The Economics of Football seen through the eyes of Logan Roy
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Love Football? Love Succession? You're gonna love this one in which we explain the economics of football as Logan Roy would explain it to Shiv, Kendal...
The opioid crisis in America is coming to Europe
08 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
America has been fighting through a series of drug epidemics in the last few years, and those drugs are now poised to cross the pond. Today we take a ...
Why more interest rate hikes are coming and Irish census revelations
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We start in America, breaking down the impact of the debt ceiling deal & why more bank fallouts are likely on the way before moving to the Irish c...
Follow the money
01 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
All criminal enterprises are enterprises, meaning they are businesses…and like every business they leave a money trail. Today we talk to the man who...
Why the Federal Reserve is stuck in a "cul de sac", and what it means for you.
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The American economy refuses to obey the Federal Reserve and things are going to break. We examine the monetary bind facing the world's premier centra...
What you know about Western civilization is wrong
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 repe...
The Coming Great Crash?
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
This is the most important week in the Ukraine war - and global geo-politics as a whole
18 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
A Coming US Default?
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 governm...
American Bank Carnage part 2
11 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The American banking system is experiencing a slow grinding crisis. We explore, why this is happening, why now and why the Fed adopted a complete...
How does the UK recover financially?
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
The Dream Economy
04 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ec...
Civilization and the planet
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We seldom hear how the environment affected the growth and collapse of civilizations across the world and history. More than any other factor, the env...
The Paradox of Prudence
27 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Feed your Brain
25 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I’ve just come back from giving a TED talk in Vancouver. Brilliant experience, lots of amazing speakers, top notch presentations ;which more than an...
Biden, Relationships VS interests & Contemplations from TED
20 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Countries don't have relationships, they have interests - this notion guides us as we reflect on the coverage of Biden's visit to Ireland before tackl...
The benefits of longterm thinking in the TikTok age
18 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Future citizens have, by definition, no voice but someone needs to speak on their behalf if we’re meant to build a longterm society. The solution to...
Why negativity took over the news cycle
13 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Communicating the bad before the good is an evolutionary trait that has helped us survive - but in today’s world, our ancestral instincts and the ne...
Global Irish Soft Power
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What does Ireland do for the Irish Diaspora? Here's an idea: why not use Ireland as the re-charging battery for the Irishness of the Global Irish...
It's Easter, Ramadan, Passover take your pick! We head to Jerusalem, spiritual home of all three religions.
06 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's Easter, Ramadan and Passover, so let's go to the centre of the three Abrahamic religions, Jerusalem. Many years ago I spent time living and worki...
Why a country can be rich on paper, but feel poor in reality
04 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You've never had it so good, but you ain't feeling it. Sound familiar? We explain this dilemma at the heart of a society - in this case Ireland - but ...
China plays chess, while Russia plays poker
30 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Putin has managed to turn Russia into a vassal state of China, a fact confirmed by Xi’s visit to Russia. The Sino/Russo alliance against the West is...
The Next Global Banking Crisis is Here
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The easiest way to rob a bank is to run it. Banks go bad from the inside out. When interest rates shift upward, lots of mistakes and dodgy practices a...
Apartment Living Cures Housing Viruses
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The global housing crisis is significantly worse in countries that speak English. Why? Is it because far few English speakers live in flats? Flats are...
Bank Carnage
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You wait for bank failures for years then... three come in a week, one in the home of banking, Switzerland,. This presents central banks with a dilemm...
On St Patricks Day, a US State of the Nation special with Bernie Sanders
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On St Patrick's Day we go to the US, home to thirty five million Irish/Americans - there are only 7 million of us on the island. In the country ...
SVB Bank Run. Is 2023 a re-run of 2008?
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We explain why SVB went bust, why yield curves matter and what comes next. Banks go bad from the inside out, but is this the first or the last bank cr...
The UK is stuck in a political, economical and social cul de sac is there a way out?
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we visited the richest and poorest parts of the UK and it didn't feel right. London, so long the dynamo for productivity, growth and taxatio...
The end of economists
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
AI has really come into its own in 2023 with the mainstream use of ChatGPT - but beyond the headlines and the initial curiosities, what does the ascen...
Russia - A Giant Hostage Situation?
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the mindset of the West, Russia is a big, significant, military power with significant resources, but is this perception based in reality? Is the r...
Addressing land capture and the new face of the world bank
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The way out of the housing crisis, both in Ireland and abroad is going to require us to think as a collective and reject individualistic, speculative ...
In defence of Democracy
23 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On the eve of the invasion of Ukraine, we examine how fragile this idea of liberal democracy, where the individual is valued and protected, has become...
The housing fix might be here - if we hold strong
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s finally happening, the government is going to tax vacant land! Or at least, they’re thinking about it. As a listener to the podcast, you'll b...
The great China/USA breakup
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week's Chinese balloons are only the latest sign of tension between the two superpowers. The relationship between China and the US has deter...
Immigration Part 2: Is immigration a class issue?
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On last week’s episode we discussed the fact that immigration is good for the economy in the aggregate, but is it good for everyone? As with most th...
Bonus episode: Why prices fluctuate - the impact of interest rates on our lives
10 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This bonus episode is brought to you by Done Deal Motors.Price and value don't exist in isolation - everything is relative. Join us for this bonus epi...
Why are some countries more successful than others?
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Economic growth is not distributed evenly. Why are some societies richer than others? What is the impact of economic growth? let's look at the very es...
The case for immigration
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Immigrants are used to having it hard, both in life an in the public eye where they are often vilified. This lambasting though is based on nothing mor...
Creating a new Currency
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Argentina and Brazil are currently undertaking the herculean task of creating a new currency based on the Euro model. Let’s discuss why they’re at...
In Praise of Cathedral Thinking
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The people who build Europe's gothic cathedrals knew that they wouldn't be around to see them completed. They were building for people yet to be born....
Things Learnt Half way up the Alps
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Davos’s World Economic Forum, although often maligned for it’s ultra-wealthy attendees - and understandably so - is still an event that outlines, ...
Around the world, 30 year olds are getting screwed
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's never been more expensive to be 30 something. The old social contract used to be, work hard, study, get a degree, keep your beak clean and soon e...
The view from Kyiv - Part 2
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Listen to the view of the region from my travelling companion to Ukraine, Sasha Kabanovsky, born and bred in Kyiv. We covered a lot of ground, hi...
Letter from Kyiv
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As a student I first went to the Soviet Union in 1987. Then spent months in the Russian countryside trying to learn the language in 1991. Since then, ...
Unmasking cryptocurrency from both a financial and technological standpoint
12 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
2022 saw many ups and downs - and one notable "down" was the fall of crypto-mania. While the madness feels behind us, most still don't understand this...
The story of money
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Like fire, money has profoundly impacted our species. So much so that it’s development has shaped how we organize together, how the world was discov...
Reframing the housing crisis
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Let's start the new year with a fresh perspective on housing - because looking at it differently can create new ideas to solve the problem! Hosted on ...
A hard look at the return of Inflation - and why it hasn't been transitory
27 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With inflation still very much present at the end of the year and various unions fighting to maintain their real world wages, some through strikes, le...
Irish Argentine
22 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Messi apart, the player that caught most people's eye was Alexis McAlister. But how did his Irish family end up in the Pampas? Today we tell the story...
The UK’s transformation in 2022
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This year has been a turbulent one, across Europe, one of the countries that has felt this the most is the UK: 3 prime ministers in a year, a bank cri...
Bonus episode: The economics of movies
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This bonus episode is brought to you by NOW.Where did movies come from? What costs and expenses are involved in making them? How has streaming platfor...
Ukraine economics - Before & after the war
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The new phase of the economy and short trading explained
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With the latest macro-economic cycle coming to an end, let’s look at what’s next on the horizon and how to spot companies that are over-value with...
The end of competence
08 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As we near the end of 2022 let’s look at the year that’s been, identify takeaways of what has passed and have a chat about what might be on the ho...
Adam Smith was wrong: we need to diversify, not specialize
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The crazy things about economics is that so much of what we’re taught growing up is actually wrong. Today we take a look at the myth about specializ...
The End of a 14-year Bull Market
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The credit cycle is an unforgiving master, as interest rates rise, different questions are asked about both companies and investments. We examine the ...
Finding Russia’s Remote Killers
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As the war between Russia and Ukraine grinds into winter, Putin's new strategy is to destroy Ukrainian infrastructure. What it couldn't achieve on the...
The great crypto collapse
24 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We've always been "Doomcoiners" - yes, you guessed it, not fans of crypto. Now you know why. A passing understanding of monetary economics and monetar...
Planning for 10 Million people
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ireland's population is set to grow rapidly. Like a parent buying a-size-too-big-clothes for a teenagers, the State needs to be building infrastructur...
The nature of money
17 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Join us on this wide ranging conversation on the nature of money that might change. the way you look at central banks, investments, spending and much ...
Letter from America
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I'm in NYC this week and caught up with Jeff Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic magazine. With the American midterm elections, the collapse of FTX excha...
Tech Feudalism with Yanis Varoufakis
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is Capitalism dead? There’s a new media and retail ecosystem that is controlled by a select few who use algorithms to curate what we consume and how...
How the world changes with interest rates - Live from Kilkenomics
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Taking a look at the long-term economics shifts we breakdown how everything has changed since the pandemics - from international allies to cost of liv...
Is Ukraine a distraction for a Taiwan takeover? - With Angelica Oung
03 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With the world’s eyes turned to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia - are the Chinese about to make a move on Taiwan while the world is distract...
Housing market shifts and tech stock carnage - With Katie Martin
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is a buyer’s panic being followed by a seller’s panic in the housing market? Plus, what is happening in the tech sector? This week, the market val...
Bonus episode: How to thrive in these turbulent times
28 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This bonus episode is brought to you by Square.Retail has been changing drastically over the last few years, on this pod we take a look at the history...
The house price horror show - With Vinjeru Mkandawire
27 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a wind of change in the air, globally house prices are falling by double digits? What’s happening? Why now? We’re joined by The Economis...
The UK’s fall from grace, it's not about politicians, it's about policy.
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Economic stability is no laughing matter - and quite a bit more fragile than people believe. The UK may have a new PM but does it have a new vision? W...
We might already be in World War 3 - it’s just not what you thought it would look like - With Pippa Malmgren
20 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pippa joins us today to talk about about the state of global geopolitics and makes a case for the world being in a third global war - just not on land...
London Calling! - With Mark Blyth
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The UK is in a mess, how did it get there and how does it get out, or can it? It's much more than Truss. It's a decade of shite decisions. Lots going ...
Why central bankers want higher unemployment
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When your mate loses his job it's a downturn, when you lose your's, its a recession. And you know what, the world's central bankers will not juts be c...
The new energy reality
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
OPEC+ has announced that it will reduce its production quota by 2 Million barrels per day - something the west has seen as OPEC+ siding with the Kreml...
UK experiments & Irish stability
06 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When the Tories lose the trust of the financial markets you know that something has gone incredibly wrong. History tells us that people need to trust ...
The crucial link between the planet and your pension
05 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In partnership with Irish Life , we bring you: The crucial link between the planet and your pension - because making the right investments can end up ...
UK chaos and bond doom loop
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The global financial markets, particularly the bond markets are in bad shape, and the UK was the first to show how bad it can get, but this is not a U...
Endgame for Putin?
29 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With the "mobilization" Putin reveals that he is running out of road. He is doing what he always does, escalating. To make sense of this escalation, a...
Is Liz Truss the leader of a Doomsday Cult?
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The UK, already the most unequal country in Western Europe, just got more unequal. We start by breaking through the internet noise with tangible ...
Populism might not be what you think
22 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Populism is often vilified - but it’s origin is far more noble than you might think - and we might all need a bit more populism moving forward! Host...
With interest rates going up, housing market is heading down
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Housing is a global asset class now and now that rates are rising, lots of leveraged property funds are likely to go bust. How is this going to play o...
How inflation in the 1970s brought us to our current situation - and what we can do about it
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The economy is full of unintended consequences - and those ripple through time for decades. How the world stopped inflation in 1970 brought on our cur...
The Queen is dead. What now for her kingdom?
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A few months back we talked about 1922 being the year the 20th actually began, in terms of modernism, ideology, politics and economics. We mused ...
Lizz Truss: Friend or Foe? And the state of the UK nation
08 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The rotating cast of Torie leaders continues, this time it’s Lizz Truss’s time in the spotlight. What exactly is going on in the UK, and where is ...
How it all came down: The story of the last leader of the USSR
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
More than a few years back, I got the chance to sit down and chat to the most consequential politician of my life, Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Preside...
The Chinese property bubble has just burst, here’s what you need to know
01 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Many in China have stopped paying their mortgages - what happened to this once golden goose of investment? And perhaps more importantly: how does this...
With Euro/dollar below parity, lets talk exchange rates
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Within the Euro, given the vastly different economic structures and stage of economic development, some countries, like Ireland, have undervalued exch...
Weedenomics
25 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The war on drugs has failed and the public perception of marijuana is changing rapidly, here's some numbers that underscore why legalization is long o...
Financing a Revolution: The economics of Michael Collins
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
New countries start with no money. The departing colonists take everything with them, including capital. Like all former colonies, the New Ireland had...
The Economics of Music
18 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today an Irish artist needs to get around 4000 streams an hour or about 300,000 per month to earn the minimum wage which we know is far below what is ...
Why the housing crisis can undo 30 years of economic growth
16 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
All over the world rent prices are skyrocketing and bringing unbearable pressure on the young and the most vulnerable. let’s talk about how this com...
How behavioural economics and personalization shapes your life
12 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In partnership with Liberty Insurance, we bring you: Nudges, choices and personalization - today's episode is all about the countless small decisions ...