The David McWilliams Podcast

128 - Clinging to power, what's the next move?

20 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We head down the West Lower to look at the fallout from the KBC move to leave Ireland, plus in the week that the new more muscular USA slaps sanctions...

127 - By 2030 there will be more female millionaires in the world than men. Change is coming.

15 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most significant changes influencing our world is the feminization of the economy. It's been a long time coming, and the fruits of many bat...

126 - The end of the road for the Irish corporate tax advantage?

13 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Over the last few decades Ireland has been growing by leaps & bounds, catching up with most of our European neighbours in almost every measurement...

125 - When China flexes. Is Taiwan Asia's Berlin wall?

08 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

China is changing. Relations with the US have plummeted Taiwan is the ground zero for the new China. What happens in Taiwan will affect the globa...

124 - Where is the "lockdown dividend"? Joe Biden the economic revolutionary - plus its Vespa time!

06 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ireland has been in lockdown for 231 days - by far the most stringent lockdown in the EU, so where's the dividend? Could 1950s/60s Irish emigration to...

123 - Our hyper-integrated world. Suez canal, supply chain fragility & the death of traditional recessions!

01 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Yes, the canal is unblocked, but the ramifications of the events should not be understated: the fragility of our global supply chain has been exposed ...

122 - Its time for a buyer’s strike

30 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Any free trade has 2 sides: a buyer & a seller. After today’s conversation with one of our Patreon: Ciaran Mulqueen - who runs the crazy house p...

121 - The Psychology of the Far Right

25 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

All European countries have seen increases in far-right parties in the last decade. This political affiliation will not just disappear as most people ...

120 - Cease and desist. Get out of the housing market right now, plus the 5 fundamental ways cities are changing

23 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The global seller’s market for housing is hitting new levels of madness - its time for buyers to take a stand and decide that they’re not going to...

119 - The Economic Revolution is here

18 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Joe Biden unveils a $1.9 trillion package and is saying he will spend more. This is a massive change - almost a revolution against economic orthodoxy ...

117 - Learning from the master innovator Johannes Gutenberg

11 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Learning used to be hands-on, trail and error, mentors, mistakes & real world experience. Gutenberg is the model. Could going back to the old ways...

116 - White collar crime, why vaccines are destiny, & the miraculous resurrection of Boris Johnson

09 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Why vaccine is the only game in town. What Michael should say to Joe on St Patricks Day, plus crimes in the “West lower”..... then off the London ...

115 - The War on Drugs has failed, stop it.

04 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The War in Drugs is a spectacular failure. It is time to end it and begin to have an adult conversation about legalizing drugs. If you went out to set...

114 - Building back better

02 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The markets are getting their knickers in a twist over inflation and maybe even deficits, we explain why the economics of the 1990s no longer applies ...

113 - Bidenomics, why we should not worry about inflation and embracing economic heres

25 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The USA is embarking on the biggest change in economic policy in decades. Biden is using the economics of the 1930s to avoid the 1930s. This is a big ...

112 - How Ireland really works!

23 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The upcoming sale of Ulster Bank will reveal how Ireland actually works. We give you the "collars up" view from the West Lower Stand at the Aviva stad...

111 - The future of the City

18 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What will our cities look like after Covid? We talk to renowned urbanist Richard Florida, the man behind the concept of the Creative Class and Creativ...

110 - Going Dutch, London's Brexit losses and what's the story with Bitcoin?

16 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 e...

109 - The fallout from economic mania & the conventional thinking trap with Tom Bergin

11 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

108 - How to fix the housing market

09 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Public housing should be addressed with the same urgency as public health. If we can close down the economy, borrow billions, furlough millions and st...

107 - Wall Street and the Short Selling Revolution Part 2

04 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

106 - Wall Street, Game Stop and the Short Squeeze Revolutionaries!

02 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 manag...

105 - The Rentier Economy

28 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 th...

104 - Doughnut Economics

26 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

103 - Doc Martins, the financialization of the global economy, IPO's, inequality and Joe Biden's political agenda

21 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We explain by way of the SFX and Doc Martins how financial markets create inequality. Late stage financial capitalism generates super normal profits f...

102 - The last day of Trump

19 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 tal...

101 - How to end this Lockdown for good!

14 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 tal...

100 - American Carnage and its radicalized Middle

12 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Trump is over, Trumpism is not. The great American experiment is only starting, as the Republicans become the party of the anxious while, the Dem...

The Brexit Dividend - for everyone bar Britain!

07 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Interesting times! As the US is engulfed by a culture war, we look at a culture war closer to home. Here’s why Brexit provides a once in a generatio...

Every Day is Crucial!

05 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to the podcast 2021! During the height of the civil rights campaign when people were dying needlessly, Martin Luther King deployed this e...

Christmas Podcast

24 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Thanks for your support all year. This week we take stock of Ireland after the year we’ve just had and how your view on COVID actually tells much mo...

Investor or Speculation? Tech, market madness & the cost of mistakes

22 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Technology changes the world - but not everyone who bets on technology wins. With the recent boom in tech IPOs we take a look at what the market with ...

When Scotland Rises

17 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The first casualty of Brexit will be Britain. Scotland is on its own path for the first time since 1707. When Scotland becomes independent, it will tr...

Beyond Brexit. What does the post-Brexit world look like?

15 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The British are gone - well almost - and the EU will change. The face of that change is likely to be Emmanuel Macron. So we examine France, by way of ...

Meritocracy - Scourge or Salvation

10 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today we review our Tuesday conversation with Andy Haldane and go through some of the most interesting aspects of the discussion, including the merits...

Brexit and much more with Andy Haldane, Chief Economist of the Bank of England

08 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It’s Brexit week, last throw of the dice allegedly, so what better week to talk to the man from the Bank of England - an institution that will have ...

The end of the car park

03 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Not all ideas are timeless - this week we look at how we can take dead space and turn it into living spaces through economic incentives Hosted on Acas...

"Hand of pod" - The Maradona Generation

01 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We go to Argentina to gauge the reaction to the death of the Diego. Plus we explore with the former economics minister of Argentina, Martin Lousteau, ...

The World in 2021

26 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On Thanksgiving, with the Dow hitting 30,000 and Janet Yellan taking over at the US Treasury, we examine the short and medium terms health of the US e...

the fallout from COVID

24 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There’s light at the end of the tunnel - for the first time it seems that people are starting to see the end of this mess. As we look to the return ...

Show me the money

19 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Optics and execution are two profoundly different things. All over the world politicians talk and entrepreneurs walk. Small businesses have been promi...

“Don’t cry for me Great-Brit-Annia” - to be sung imagining Boris Johnson channelling his inner Elaine Page

17 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

“Is Boris Johnson England’s Eva Peron? All through my wild days, my mad existence…..and all that stuff, anyway we get to this point following an...

Lets talk about unemployment

12 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Behind every statistic is a person and a family. As unemployment sky-rockets, we need to put employment front and centre for the economy in 2021. We l...

Outside it’s America!

10 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What Joe Biden’s victory means and what it does not. We examine the US economy with a former US cabinet member and Chairman of the Council of Econom...

Orange is the new Red

05 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Biden just about, but Orange is the new Red. The Trump family business has taken over the GOP. What does this mean? Why the Democrats need to find the...

A Good Day to hide Bad News!

03 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We’re avoiding America, (well mostly) today as we can’t add much more. We’re going all Covid. There might not be a right answer for how to tackl...

Market & Politics - Why Who Wins Matters & Why It Doesn’t

31 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this special episode, we look at the relationship between politics and money through the lens of the US elections. We try to make sense of wha...

Skin in the Game

27 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

3 Mile Pubs, why public servants don’t get business, why cashflow is King, the Grantocracy, Hydraulic economics, and what Flann O’ Brien had to sa...

The Funeral of Austerity & the Return of Brexit, plus when an Opel Jersey walked into the Tate Gallery!

20 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This was the week austerity died. We explore the timely end of a bad idea and look forward to a new era for economics. Plus what the Modh Coinníollac...

A gem of a Letter from America with the brilliant Tom Frank

13 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Why dereliction is vandalism in Ireland and then off to Kansas with the author of NYT’s mega best-seller, “What’s the Matter with Kans...

How will Trump getting Covid affect the campaign, and why Ireland’s youth should determine the budget.

06 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The legend that is Professor Bill Black on the USA. This is the man who put more white collar criminals behind bars than any other. He’s an economis...

Economics at a tipping point

29 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Economics is at a tipping point, as we lockdown again, how can we remain solvent, avoid national and international bankruptcy and deploy all the possi...

How the UK breaks up….lessons from the Balkans, plus Trump’s possible road to victory

22 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been a monumental week - with the help of American policy analyst Pippa Malmgren - we look at what might be the unintended consequences of Bori...

Back to Brexit

15 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Once again the British government uses Ireland as a hostage in its Brexit theatre with the EU. The record is on repeat. Brexit has now returned and th...

The American divide and the Vaticanization of the ECB

08 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Less than 2 months away from what will inevitably be a historic election we take a look at the American landscape - how we got there and what might ha...

Cryptocurrency & the future of money

01 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week we tackle one of the most requested topics: Cryptocurrency. We’re going to try and explain what Bitcoin is, where it came from and what it...

How history shapes current policies

25 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week we ignore the political shenanigans in Ireland (as it’s so pathetic) and look at what we can learn from ancient Mesopotamia and its approa...

The 15 minute city

18 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Cities are at a crossroads. The decisions we take now will dictate a new urban future. The office as we know it is over and its main enemy is not COVI...

Angrynomics - Why its okay to be mad about the current economic crisis and what we can do about it

11 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week we talk with two brilliant economists Mark Blyth and Eric Lonergan on this fantastic new book - Angrynomics. We analyze why people are angry...

How bonds not bombs liberated Ireland

04 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week we mark the death of John Hume, a great Irish patriot. We explore one of his unheralded achievements, the Credit Unions and how these small ...

Living in interesting times and how best to think of it

28 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Four massive economic changes are going on right now under our noses, yet we are unaware of their magnitude because we increasingly value short-term t...

Taxes, urine & wealth creation

21 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week we take a rather unconventional look at the Apple ruling - taking the time to look at the many ways that countries around the world have cre...

From "the craic economy" to the annexation of the West Bank

14 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Another week, another episode where we look at the world and try to make sense of it. This week we explore how language evolves, the idea of "the crai...

Black Swans & Black lists

07 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week we explore black swans and black lists. First, we explain why the economy behaves more like a complex adaptive system rather than a giant ma...

The enormous potential of free money and the illusion of a V shaped recovery

30 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How the ECB is turning into the Fed. What Austria issuing a 100 year bond means for Irish economy policy. Why a new EU philosophy is changing the rule...

Addressing generational wealth inequality

23 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week we talk about the youth & money - because if you lose the youth, you lose the future - something our new government doesn’t seem to be...

Skin deep

16 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week we discuss options for a New Ireland, building sovereign wealth finders to underwrite a start up nation and why the evolutionary battle betw...

Tribal voices

09 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dispatches from a Pulitzer Prize winner on the LA frontline, why the 1980s ain’t coming back, who are ’The Jews who Booze”, why networks matter ...

America burns, Ireland’s potential reset and the end of Fianna Fáil?

02 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

When Rappers deploy the language of Presidents and Presidents deploy the language of Rappers, you know America is in trouble. Plus, why commercial pro...

Unconventional thinking: its enemies & why it is important

26 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

While it seems that the peak of the cases are now behind us we’re still facing its economic repercussions. The Pandession is here. This week we talk...

We are living through a Pandession

19 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Language is important, in fact its is essential. If you can’t describe it, you don’t understand it. So, today we coin the expression a “Pandessi...

Leaving Cert - the Irish equivalent of national service. Covid in the Caribbeans & what Judy Garland tells you about monetary economics.

12 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

From Leaving Cert cancellation to understanding the impact of COVID 19 in other countries and wrapping things up by reframing what you thought about t...

The extreme urgency of now

05 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, why Corona will spark huge changes in economic thinking. We explore the coming a revolution in monetary economics with the woman who may we...

Why economics is not a cult, negative oil prices, Newcastle United, Altar boys, America’s reckoning and gay hit men! Whats not to love?

28 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week we cover a wide array of subjects: from new Irish government to possible recession fixes (no disinfectant involved) and then talking to...

What’s Next? Lessons from the Great Depression, avoiding bad economics, reading the markets’ tea leaves & the youth surge.

21 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

These are the times when change happens - not incremental change, drastic changes - the type that can completely change the face of a nation. In this ...

What’s Next? The frugal four, antibody testing and post-COVID changes

14 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been another packed week. On this week’s episode we talk about what’s next for the economy, we talk to Prof Luke O’Neill on the next scie...

The Anatomy of a Pandemic

07 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week we explore what’s happening in Ireland and Europe’s crucial reaction, plus we focus on the catastrophe enveloping the developing world. ...

Macroeconomics for a Globalized World

02 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Now that we all have more time on our hands, why not use this time to learn economics? I've devised a new macro economics course based largely on the ...

The economics of the possible

31 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We are looking at the complete rethinking of economics. So much is possible, from mortgage rates plummeting here immediately, to ensuring that taxes n...

Beyond money - Why livelihoods matter most

24 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Capitalism as we know it has been suspended. The most important thing now is to minimize unemployment and see beyond the crisis. Unemployment isn’t ...

Lockdown, Herd immunity & helicopter money

17 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Happy St Patrick's Day. The strangest, most eerie one I've ever experienced. Make no mistake about it, this Coronavirus will change our world profound...

Corona goes Global

10 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

With markets collapsing, oil prices plummeting and the West about to be put in lockdown, we examine the dramatic consequences of Corona for economics ...

Got you face mask yet?

03 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week we talk viruses with the brilliant Professor Luke O’Neill and as I’m in New York - and no one does panic better than this shower- we exp...

Germany is changing - and Europe should take notice

25 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Germany is going through a fundamental change - the alt-right is rising, Angela Merkel’s reign is coming to an end and Germans are aging… how will...

The battle for the soul of Fianna Fail (if there is such a thing) and are we witnessing China’s Chernobyl?

18 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Napoleon once said “to govern is to choose”, Fianna Fail has to make a choice, will it be SF or FG in coalition? Plus as the Corona Virus spreads ...

Storm Shinner

11 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Vladimir Lenin once said “there are decades when nothing happens and there are weeks when decades happen” - this was one of those weeks. We explai...

Stats, polls & elections

04 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A leap in the dark or the bright shining light of change? SF - for the first time ever - lead the polls. We welcome Kevin Cunningham - the sharpest po...

The Giant Global Housing Swindle

28 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

From Davos to balance sheet recession this week is all about economics. Join us as we explain how the wealthy get rich in bust economies and how regul...

Why traffic is like gas, not liquid

21 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week we tackle the problem facing many cities: congestion. We look at why historical thinking isn't working and what could be a possible way forw...

Irish elections and the differences between Fine Gael & Fianna Fáil

14 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

With an election coming and the RIC debate still raging, we examine the deep differences between FF and FG, what our grandfathers did in 1920, the cla...

USA, IRAN and the 3 M’s that precede wars

07 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week has been dominated by news of the rapidly escalating conflict between Iran and the United States - today we breakdown where it came from, wh...

Special episode: Welcome to the Third Decade of the 21st century

31 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This week we’re going to be taking a look at our 2019 episodes, trying to find out what you liked best and touch on what is coming from the podcast ...

The economics of love

24 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Money, assets, yield and dividends - all table stakes of economics, but what if there was something underlying all these? This week we talk about the ...

Boris Johnson, the last PM of the UK?

17 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The elections are over, Boris Johnson has won a massive and the UK is changed utterly. What does it all mean for all of us, where are we now heading a...

Why the British election is about so much more than who will be the next PM. It’s about the very fabric of British society - explained with FT chief political commentator Robert Shrimsley - one is the sharpest political minds covering the UK right now

10 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On Thursday the United Kingdom will vote once again - and its choice will have a drastic impact on the future of the country, most notably with Brexit...

Populism and the evolution of Ireland - Live From Vicar street

03 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Here it is! Our first ever live show tackling the rise of populism around the world, the evolution of Ireland and so much more, hope you enjoy! Hosted...

Impeachment explained and the polarization of US politics with professor Bill Black

26 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This week in a break from tradition, John and David are joined from the States by Prof Bill Black, scourge of the white collar criminal, to explore im...

A hard look at the human impact of the housing crisis

19 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Rising housing costs are not new news - but all too often the human element of the problem is overlooked. Today we discuss the very real human aspect ...

Economics and the law of unintended consequences

12 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Economics rarely behaves the way decision makers intended it to - From the Berlin wall to the rise of populism we look at the unintended consequences ...

What does a post-meat world means for society and the economy?

05 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When Burger King goes veggie - you know something whopper is stirring. This week we take a look at the rapid shift in global meat consumption, how dif...