The David McWilliams Podcast

By: David McWilliams & John Davis
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  • 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.


    If you would like to support the show, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/DavidMcWilliams.

    Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    David McWilliams
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Politics & Government
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Episodes
  • Casement, Congo & the Comeback of Empire: Is Trump Reviving Imperialism?

    Casement, Congo & the Comeback of Empire: Is Trump Reviving Imperialism?
    Mar 6 2025
    Neo-imperialism is marching, loud and proud, straight into the heart of global politics. Between Trump’s quiet dealmaking in Riyadh, to his open musings about annexing Canada, the last few weeks have shattered the illusion that the age of empire is behind us. The world order of the last 70 years is crumbling, replaced by raw, transactional power. Trump and Putin are set to carve up Ukraine, billionaires are circling mineral-rich territories like vultures, and Washington’s foreign policy has been reduced to a simple equation: If you have resources, we’ll take them. This episode draws an eerie parallel between Trump’s tactics and one of the most brutal imperial heists in history; King Leopold’s reign of terror in the Belgian Congo. Just as European powers once justified plunder with the rhetoric of “civilization,” today’s resource grabs are wrapped in the language of “economic deals.” And at the heart of exposing that brutality was Roger Casement, a man who paid with his life for revealing the truth.

    Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    34 mins
  • The King’s Gambit: DIY Declan, Trump’s Market Meltdown & Musk’s 18th-Century Twin

    The King’s Gambit: DIY Declan, Trump’s Market Meltdown & Musk’s 18th-Century Twin
    Mar 4 2025
    What do DIY stores, French financial bubbles, and Elon Musk have in common? Kicking off with a detour into The Pope’s Children and the perils of being a DIY impostor, we quickly shift gears to the real story: the Trump Dump. As financial markets recoil from the chaos of MAGA economics, we dive into history for a striking parallel: John Law, the 18th-century financial mastermind who convinced France to bet everything on his wild vision of a new economic order. Law promised a dazzling future, just as Musk does today, but his empire of speculation collapsed, taking the French monarchy down with it. What happens when the richest man in the world gets inside the head of a leader hungry for power? Are Trump and Musk unwittingly following the script of Law and the Duke of Orléans? Are we on the brink of a modern-day financial reckoning? With markets tanking, Bitcoin crumbling, and the spectre of stagflation looming, we explore the dangerous dance between speculative hype and economic reality. Will history repeat itself, first as tragedy, then as farce? Buckle up.

    Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    41 mins
  • Deutschland Dilemma: Voting Blocs, Power Shocks & the Bundeswehr Rocks with Katja Hoyer

    Deutschland Dilemma: Voting Blocs, Power Shocks & the Bundeswehr Rocks with Katja Hoyer
    Feb 27 2025
    Germany’s latest election has sent shockwaves across Europe. The CDU has reasserted itself, but the far-right AfD continues to gain ground, fuelled by economic anxieties and social media echo chambers. Meanwhile, younger voters are breaking in radical new directions, young men shifting right, young women embracing the far left. With NATO under strain, America’s global leadership in question, and the war in Ukraine forcing Germany to confront its historical reluctance to lead, Berlin is at the heart of an unfolding geopolitical realignment. As German arms manufacturers see their stock prices soar, the Bundeswehr prepares to fill the security vacuum left by the U.S. withdrawal from Europe. Will Germany finally embrace its role as the continent’s dominant power, or is it doomed to remain an economic giant but a political pygmy? Historian Katja Hoyer joins us to break down the election results, the shifting tides of power in Berlin, and what it all means for the future of the European project. Is this the moment Germany finally steps up, or is Europe heading for a deeper divide?

    Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    42 mins

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