The David McWilliams Podcast

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 on Russia, we look at the geo-strategic options for Russia, including a tacit alliance with the USA against China in Siberia. Also, there's a Russian/American summit coming up, why doesn't Ireland host it and use out neutrality actively? Hosted on A...

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 battles- contraception, free and inclusive education, divorce, abortion. Finally, in the West, woman are catching up with men, in income and wealth. This trend will profoundly affect the society and the economy. Candice Bushnell, writer o...

Over the last few decades Ireland has been growing by leaps & bounds, catching up with most of our European neighbours in almost every measurements, social and economic. Part of that story has been the dramatic improvement in the countries' capital base as a result of US MNC investment. Ireland has received more US corporate investment that China, Russia, India and Brazil combined! Now the Bid...

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 global economy for decades to come. We head to Taipei for an explosive local view of regional and global. Also what doe the US's new 20% corporation tax mean for Ireland and the world economy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...

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 the UK explain far more about Ireland and Covid than we care to admit? Plus, it's all changed in the USA. Paul McCulley talks about the tectonic shift in economic policies that is shaking up the United States - how Biden calls time on Reagan's...

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 and people are starting to awaken to the inter-connectivity of our global lives. Join us as we talk with the brilliant historian Mr Silk Roads himself, Peter Frankopan about what all this will mean for the future of globalization. Hosted on Acast. Se...

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 prices instagram page it seems that buyers are going to start taking major steps to change the course of the housing market, in Ireland and globally! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All European countries have seen increases in far-right parties in the last decade. This political affiliation will not just disappear as most people hope it will. This week we look the far-right straight in the eyes and try to understand the underlying sentiments & motives behind the political affiliation. History has shown us the risk of letting it run free. Withe the help of Kevin Cunningha...

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 take part in this madness - at least until the supply comes back to its pre-pandemic levels. In the same vein, it’s important to consider how the world is changing as people look to buy new homes. We break down five major urban trends with Simon Kuper....

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 - and we are on our way to MMT (Modern Monetary Theory). We talk to the main proponent of MMT: Professor Stephanie Kelton about this brave new world. We are in a transformative age. Welcome to the future! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mo...

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 be the key to unlocking the innovators within our youth? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 talking with Robert Shrimsley of the Financial Times on Boris Johnson’s surprising resurgence in popularity Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 up a better way to enrich a violent criminal class, it would be impossible to find a better way.  We explain the economic case for the legalization of drugs, tax them and use the proceeds to help those small amount of recreational drug tak...

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 and the big shift in global policy is the bias now is towards inflation not deflation for the first time since the 1970s. Plus, the brilliant economist Noah Smith from San Fransisco on three brilliantly practical ideas to make housing work better for...

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 deal. We speak to renowned economic heretic and former Fed economist, Claudia Sahm about Biden's New Deal, being bullied by 1970's thinking and America creating 10 million new jobs. Also, we talk about economic heresy. When only one Federal Reserve e...

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 stadium - where deals are done. This corporate finance 101 podcast breaks down the likely carve-up of Ulster Bank amongst the Insiders, and explains why as long as the banking system is joined at the hip to the property market, Ireland will always be a b...

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 Creative Cities about what next for our cities. We also outline three "must do's" for cities. The first is a directly-elected Mayor with proper taxation/spending powers, second a tax on land hoarding to make land useful again and third, cities need to...

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 m...

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 A...

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 fa...

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/pri...

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...

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 publi...

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 re...

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...