The David McWilliams Podcast Podcast By David McWilliams & John Davis cover art

The David McWilliams Podcast

The David McWilliams Podcast

By: David McWilliams & John Davis
Listen for free

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.

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David McWilliams Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Why Some Countries Create Jobs and Others Export People

    Why Some Countries Create Jobs and Others Export People
    Mar 24 2026
    Broadcasting from South Africa, a country of huge energy, huge potential, and brutally high unemployment, we use that lens to ask what actually creates jobs? From there, we go back to Ireland in 1990, when employment had barely moved in forty years and emigration still felt like the national destiny. So what changed? We unpack the extraordinary shift that turned Ireland from an economy exporting its young people into one of the strongest job creators in Europe: devaluation, falling interest rates, the Berlin Wall dividend, peace in the North, American investment, and a transformed national mood. Politicians love talking about “job creation,” yet jobs are not created by speeches, slogans, or government press releases. Jobs come after demand, after sales, after risk, after somebody decides to build something, sell something, and back themselves. In other words: jobs are derived from entrepreneurship.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    40 mins
  • Shedonomics: Can Europe Survive China’s Manufacturing Machine?

    Shedonomics: Can Europe Survive China’s Manufacturing Machine?
    Mar 19 2026

    In this episode, we unpack the new China shock, as exports to Europe surge nearly 30% in just two months and a €359 billion trade deficit keeps widening. From electric cars to fast fashion, Chinese firms are flooding markets with cheaper, faster, and increasingly better products, and Europe is struggling to respond. The real story is actually stranger. We dive into the rise of the “parcel economy,” where billions of low-value packages bypass traditional retail, and the even more surreal “shed economy,” where informal logistics networks are quietly distributing Chinese goods across Europe. Can Europe still produce anything at all? If one country can make everything cheaper, what’s left for everyone else? And if trade stops being two-way, does free trade itself break down? Was Trump right all along?



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    37 mins
  • St Patrick's Day Special: Who Exactly Are The Irish Americans?

    St Patrick's Day Special: Who Exactly Are The Irish Americans?
    Mar 17 2026
    On St. Patrick’s Day, we go beyond the parades and pints to ask: what does the Irish diaspora actually mean for Ireland today? From the Presbyterian migrants who helped shape revolutionary America, to the famine generation who built the unions, churches, police forces, and political machines of the great US cities, this episode traces the long economic story of Irish emigration and Irish America. However, this is also about the present, is there still such a thing as a coherent Irish America, or has it dissolved into the wider American mainstream? If the old bonds are fading, should Ireland be doing far more to reconnect with the tribe abroad? On a day when Ireland celebrates itself to the world, we ask what the diaspora gave us, what remains of that identity now, and how a small country might think much bigger about one of its greatest global assets.

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    51 mins
All stars
Most relevant
I genuinely love the David McWilliams Podcast. What really keeps me coming back is the way David and his co‑host banter back and forth, it feels relaxed, curious, and sharp without ever being intimidating. They don’t just throw big economic ideas at you; they ask the questions you’re already thinking, then break down the answers in a way that actually makes sense.
I feel like I'm sitting on the couch having a pint listening and learning from these geniuses

Economics explained like it should be

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Excellent perspective from a former central bank ‘chair’. Clearly expressed breadth of knowledge. Excellent interviews

Antidote anecdote

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