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 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.Want to join our crew? Join at davidmcwilliams.ie/crew, where you can enjoy ad-free listening, as well as exclusive bonus content such as premium episodes, our macroeconomics course, early access to episodes and pre-sale access to tickets for Dalkey Book Festival & Kilkenomics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 7, 2021 • 37min
134 - Lessons from the Great Depression
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it - or so the saying goes. This week, with the help of IG, we’re looking at what happened in the Great Depression and comparing it with Biden’s current economic approach to see if we’ve learned anything from the past economic cycles… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 6, 2021 • 36min
133 - The beauty of discovering numbers
Some argue that great civilized societies are measured by culture, literature or art but what about the idea that real sophistication is statistics? Truly self-confident societies reveal, expose, shine a light and measure. Calculation is purity. Data matters and to fully understand anything it’s often essential to understand numbers. Why do we use a base 12 for months? 60 for seconds? How do we make sense of the latest political stats? The answer: it's all about context. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 4, 2021 • 38min
132 - Pulling up the drawbridge
The biggest barrier to progress is the contented class, driven by their C.A.V.E philosophy: Citizens Against Virtually Everything, they want things to slow down now that they have risen up. they object to almost everything, gumming up the planning process, driving up house costs and house prices. These Cavemen, consumed by the anti-social behavior of serial objecting, are lifting the ladder behind them it in an attempt to further their economic status at the expense of the next generation. We contrast this static, dysfunction with the thrusting dynamic of the tech sector which is creating the future in front of our eyes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 29, 2021 • 46min
131 - What will your Spotify Moment look like? Learning from the music industry
The music industry has been the most iconic example of disruption in the modern age, but if Will Page is right (former chief economist of Spotify) - it might only be the tip of the iceberg for what’s to come. Join us as we explore what happened to the music industry and how the same disruption is coming for many more categories, maybe including your own! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 27, 2021 • 46min
130 - The end of Neo-Liberalism & economic super-cycles explained with Dario Perkins
Through the super-league we look at what might be the impending end of neo-liberalism: it's all about the background noise!. From there we tease out what economic super-cycles are, why they might be a breath of fresh air for the next generation and how we’ve come to an inflection point in macroeconomic thinking Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 22, 2021 • 40min
129 - No one is safe until everyone is safe
Yesterday was the worst day to day for new cases of COVID 19 globally since the pandemic started. WE may feel safer, but the world is a dangerous as ever. To combat it, and any future variants, we must respond as a united planet: the reality is we can only open if rich countries pay for the vaccines of poor countries. In 1918 after WW1 we had the League of Nations, in 1948, after WW2 the UN, World Bank, Marshall Plan and the WHO. Maybe this crisis will provide the catalyst for a global response, because vaccine nationalism isn't the answer. Planetary response to a planetary pandemic. Money is not the problem, vision is. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 20, 2021 • 49min
128 - Clinging to power, what's the next move?
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 Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 15, 2021 • 39min
127 - By 2030 there will be more female millionaires in the world than men. Change is coming.
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 of Sex in the City, remarked that, "Women with money is a notion that our society is uncomfortable with". Well we'd better get used to it. In the global south, it's a different story; as Marla Dukharan reminds us, the fight is far from over Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 13, 2021 • 38min
126 - The end of the road for the Irish corporate tax advantage?
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 Biden administration wants to harmonize global corporation tax - do we need to come up with a new strategy? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 8, 2021 • 40min
125 - When China flexes. Is Taiwan Asia's Berlin wall?
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 information.
