The David McWilliams Podcast cover art

The David McWilliams Podcast

The David McWilliams Podcast

By: David McWilliams & John Davis
Listen for free

Summary

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.

David McWilliams Politics & Government
Episodes
  • China Is Winning, Trump Doesn't Know It Yet

    China Is Winning, Trump Doesn't Know It Yet
    May 14 2026
    China is winning, and Trump doesn't know it yet. As the two leaders sit down in Beijing today, we explain why the Chinese think America is an empire in decline, and why they might be right.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    40 mins
  • Why Your Barista Has a Master's Degree

    Why Your Barista Has a Master's Degree
    May 12 2026
    What happens when a country produces more graduates than it has elite jobs to give them? According to Peter Turchin, the Russian-American thinker behind End Times, that's exactly the moment civilisations start to crack. This week, we get into his theory of "elite overproduction" and ask whether Ireland is staring straight into it. We unpack the stats: most educated population in the EU, master's degrees doubling in 15 years, and nearly one in three graduates working in jobs that don't need a degree. We talk about why the barista with a first-class honours and the barman with an economics master's are not just funny anecdotes, they're leading indicators of political instability. We look at how the public sector is quietly absorbing the overflow that the private sector can't, why AI is about to pour petrol on the fire, and why historically it's not the abject poor who revolt, it's the relatively rich and bitterly disappointed.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    34 mins
  • The UAE, Iran, and the Hostage at the Heart of the Oil War

    The UAE, Iran, and the Hostage at the Heart of the Oil War
    May 7 2026
    The UAE has just walked out of OPEC after nearly 60 years, and the timing is no accident. This week, we head to Abu Dhabi and Dubai to ask what's really going on. Why now? Why leave the cartel in the middle of a war? What does it mean for the price of petrol in your car, for Trump's midterms, and for the geopolitics of the Gulf? We get into the strange tacit alliance between the UAE and Israel, why Iran's real leverage isn't the Straits of Hormuz but the Emirates themselves, and how Saudi Arabia's old swing-producer power is being quietly dismantled. We also draw a much bigger lesson for small countries everywhere, including Ireland: the multilateral world that small states have hidden inside since the 1940s is breaking down, and the UAE's gamble is a glimpse of the hard choices that lie ahead. Oil, war, money, and the end of an era, all in one episode.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    39 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c
All stars
Most relevant
The shows are like listening to your smart mates chatting in the pub. So easily informative 👌

With McWilliams economics is entertaining

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Each podcast full of diverse interesting info, interviews from around the world, liberally smattered with informative chats and jests between David and John. My go to podcasts despite no knowledge/ training in economics or anything related!

Favourite podcast

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Incredible content, so informative and delivered with fantastic energy and humour. A great podcast for anyone interested in Irish, UK and global economics and politics.

Incredibly Interesting and Funny

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.