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The David McWilliams Podcast
Is America The Richest Third World Country?
Is the US drifting into Peronism? We trace the playbook, tariffs and import substitution, national champions, censorship-by-intimidation, and a war on independent institutions, and map it onto Trump’s America: sacking a Fed governor, menacing J-Powell, firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, deploying the National Guard, and the Treasury taking a slice of Intel. Along the way, we tell the family story that makes the point better than any chart: two Italian brothers leave Lombardy in 1950, one goes to Argentina (then the world’s 7th-richest country), the other to the US. Eighty years later, identical genes, opposite outcomes. Why? Institutions. We uncover why “markets” aren’t a moral compass; why an emerging-market test now applies to America; what Turkey teaches about politicos capturing central banks; and how a weaker, politicised dollar would rattle Bretton Woods, push allies away, and turn a stock market priced for perfection into kindling. It’s part musical, part macro: from Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina to Don’t Cry for Me, Oklahoma. We’ll explain how it starts, how it ends, and what the rest of us in Europe should do while the richest third-world country in history experiments on the global monetary system.
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62. Prometheus Abides
36:46||Season 2026, Ep. 62Is AI our new Prometheus, or have we just opened Pandora’s box? We dive into the risks of "techno-feudalism," why the "middleman" being replaced by robots is actually just us, and why 3,000 years of Greek wisdom might be more useful than a Silicon Valley algorithm. It’s a bit of mythology, a bit of economic history, and a reminder that while intelligence is great, wisdom is what keeps the social fabric from fraying. As the Big Lebowski says, the dude abides. Join us.61. The €133 Billion Black Hole: Why Ireland Can’t Track Its Spending
39:25||Season 2026, Ep. 61Theoretical physicist Matt Fenlon joins the podcast to expose the systemic lack of transparency in Irish public expenditure. As the state budget doubles to €133 billion, Fenlon discusses the black hole in procurement, the surge in opaque consultancy fees, and how a Golden Thread of data could finally bring accountability to government spending. This conversation explores why the Irish state struggles to measure value for money and what happens when a bureaucracy becomes larger than the political class meant to manage it. Check out the spending tracker discussed in the episode at: statespend.ie.60. Rich Country, Broken State
44:47||Season 2026, Ep. 60Ireland has cash coming out of its ears, and nothing to show for it. Sinead O'Sullivan is back to expose the wild dysfunction inside the Irish state: no one is accountable, nothing gets finished, and the same problems get "solved" over and over again.59. Spain Won Again, 500 Years Later
41:19||Season 2026, Ep. 59Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in a scrappy, dirty World Cup final, in what felt like 500 years of history playing out on a pitch in New Jersey. We use the final as an excuse to ask the big question: why did Spain's colonies end up poor and England's end up rich? Silver, slavery, the Inquisition, and the invisible thread that still connects a Buenos Aires slum to a New Jersey kitchen.58. Is AI About to Crash the Global Economy?
40:37||Season 2026, Ep. 58History says yes. We rewind to 1873, when a stock market wobble in Vienna triggered a global railway crash that took down banks, empires and 80% of world lending in a matter of months, and ask whether we're staring straight at a rerun. AI spending is now bigger than the entire US defence budget, the same handful of companies are quietly funding each other in a circle, and China is quietly open-sourcing the whole thing to undercut Silicon Valley. If it pops, it'll pop between now and October.57. Mbappé vs Le Pen: The Battle for France
42:37||Season 2026, Ep. 57On this 14th of July, as Les Bleus face Spain in the semi-final, France is heading into a political crisis that could reshape Europe because where France goes, Europe usually follows. We dig into why Marine Le Pen is now the favourite for the presidency, why the French football team has become her loudest critic, and, with France on the brink, why a World Cup win might yet influence politics in a way that few sporting achievements have ever done before.56. England V Norway: A Tale of Two Oil Discoveries?
41:22||Season 2026, Ep. 56Norway turned North Sea oil into $2 trillion in the bank. Britain turned it into tax cuts, unemployment cheques and a housing bubble. We unpack the tale of two oil finds, why one country nailed it and the other blew it, and what it says about how nations really make, and lose, their fortunes.55. Alexander Hamilton: How a Caribbean Orphan Built America
38:22||Season 2026, Ep. 55250 years on, we ask the question: would America even exist without Alexander Hamilton? We tell the story of the French-speaking outsider who created the dollar, faced down the states, and set the world's biggest economy in motion, before being murdered in one of history's strangest duels.54. Ireland's Silent Sell Off and the Employee Ownership Solution
31:41||Season 2026, Ep. 54Every day that the Irish Financial Service Centre is open, they're selling an Irish business into foreign ownership. Since 2018, overseas acquirers have spent over €100 billion buying up Irish companies. I'm joined by Alan Coleman to look at why this is happening. We look at employee ownership trusts as a solution already working in the UK and Canada, the tax barriers holding it back in Ireland, and the surprising historical Irish precedent for the idea.