Explore every episode of the podcast The David McWilliams Podcast
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peak Humans: Modernity Vs. Tradition | 20 Oct 2026 | 00:41:55 | |
Broadcasting from the Aran Islands, where the population has crashed from 48,000 to 3,000, we look at what may be the biggest data point of 2026: for the first time ever, the human race is shrinking. The global fertility rate has dropped to 1.8, below the 2.1 needed to replace ourselves, and of 236 countries studied, 219 are in decline. The twist is that it’s happening fastest among poorer, less-educated women in poorer countries, which wrecks the old rule that you have to get rich before you get old. So is modernity itself the culprit, and could tradition stage a comeback? Plus, why AI scepticism sent investors rushing back into bonds this week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| A View From NYC: The Diaspora and the Midterms | 15 Oct 2026 | 00:39:38 | |
Live from New York, with a radical idea: treat the Irish diaspora as our greatest soft power asset. Every Irish child costs the state about €500,000 to educate, and America pockets the return when they emigrate. So scrap tax for two years for anyone coming home, and give citizenship to a third generation of Irish Americans. Then the midterms, four weeks out. Trump is on 33%, the lowest of any midterm president since 1974, petrol is back above $4, and markets give Democrats a 65% shot at both chambers. A blue wave makes him a lame duck. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Tiramisu Budget: Is Ireland West European or West African? | 13 Oct 2026 | 00:43:49 | |
Ireland’s budget surplus is €9 billion, but the Department of Finance reckons €23 billion of the €34 billion in corporation tax is transient AI-boom money. Strip it out and we’re looking at a €13-14 billion deficit, heading for €20 billion by 2029. Meanwhile we’ve just pumped €7.4 billion of tax cuts and handouts into an economy already at full employment. Recorded live from New York, where financiers are getting twitchy about an AI bubble: US long-term rates are creeping towards 6%, and superscalers now gobble up 17% of the capital the Treasury needs. We ask whether Ireland is Norway or Nigeria when it comes to managing a windfall, why a hard budget focuses the mind, and why a rotating Taoiseach and a split Department of Finance add up to ordering two tiramisus because the voucher is free. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Mr 5%: The Armenian Who Invented the Oil Industry and Gave It All Away | 08 Oct 2026 | 00:43:47 | |
Calouste Gulbenkian never drilled a well, never owned a rig, and still died the richest man in the world. We follow the Armenian fixer from Constantinople who took 5% of everything: the Turkish Petroleum Company, Royal Dutch Shell, even a deal with Stalin paid in Hermitage art. His maps shaped modern Iraq and left the Kurds sitting on top of the oil, and his split of upstream, refining and distribution still defines Big Oil today. Plus why diesel is spiking, what a 100 million barrel release really does, and why this misanthropic networker gave his fortune to art while today's billionaires build spaceships. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The End of The Housing Crisis? | 06 Oct 2026 | 00:33:58 | |
Dublin prices have fallen 5.2% last year, the biggest drop since 2014, and the buyer's strike is real. The premium over asking has shrunk from 7% to 2.6%, and the average couple on €108k can borrow just enough for a €484k home when a three-bed semi in Dublin asks €635k. We break down why: young people are maxed out, we're still building 1980s houses for a 2020s population, and the force driving prices this time is people, not credit like in 2008. Plus the Spanish eviction story that had Madrid in uproar, and why "the cure for high prices is high prices." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Are Teenagers Getting Dumber? | 01 Oct 2026 | 00:39:55 | |
15-year-olds across the OECD are now testing at levels last seen among 14-year-olds a decade ago, we've lost a full year of cognitive ability in ten years. One in five teenagers in the rich world would struggle to read their own phone bill. We dig into why: screens, AI shortcuts, the death of patient reading, and a "snowflake-isation" of education that's swapped hard exams for soft assessment. Ireland's own numbers aren't pretty either, with reading and maths both sliding since 2015. Is this really decline, or have we simply hit a natural ceiling on middle-class intelligence, meaning the real gains left are among poorer kids? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Welfare State vs Immigration: What Ireland's Numbers Actually Say | 29 Sep 2026 | 00:34:05 | |
Can a generous welfare state and large-scale immigration coexist? Fresh research says it depends on who arrives and what kind of welfare state they arrive in. In the UK, an average migrant couple needs a primary earner in the 55th percentile to pay their way. In Germany, it's the 28th. In Ireland, our back-of-envelope sums say the 65th, or about €62,000 a year. We break down why Ireland's tax and welfare system, where someone on €27,000 gets €11,000 back from the state and someone on €104,000 pays in €40,000, changes the whole debate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Xi vs Trump: Inside the Chinese Economic Machine | 24 Sep 2026 | 00:42:32 | |
Trump and Xi sit down in Washington today, but the real story is how China actually built its economic juggernaut. China expert Yanmei Xie breaks down the "catfish in the sardine tank" strategy behind China's EV dominance, why Chinese carmakers compete profit margins down to 3-4% just to win market share, and how a Leninist system mobilises household savings to fund it all. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Ed Sheeranisation of Irish Economic Policy | 22 Sep 2026 | 00:39:04 | |
This episode provides a midterm assessment of the Irish economy, exploring the disconnect between record-breaking macroeconomic data and the lived experience of the public. We analyse the "Ed Sheeranization" of Ireland,the delicate balance between American corporate reliance and European political identity, and the systemic risks posed by the global AI arms race. From "Dutch disease" to the challenges of economic gluttony, we examine why Ireland’s future is now entirely in its own hands. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Pacing the Frontier: Global Capital, Bond Markets, and the AI Pivot | 17 Sep 2026 | 00:41:38 | |
There has been a transition from a world of abundant capital to one of scarcity. With the rising interest rates across the US, UK, and France, we discuss the economic implications of Donald Trump’s "fairway diplomacy" in Ireland, the structural fragility of European bond markets, and the sudden shift in rhetoric from AI leaders calling for regulation. Is the move to "pace the frontier" is a moral awakening regarding existential risk or a strategic play for state protection in a tightening financial landscape? NYC Tickets: https://irishartscenter.org/event/an-evening-with-david-mcwilliams-2026 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Death of the Night-Time Economy: Why Ireland is Closing Down After Midnight | 15 Sep 2026 | 00:37:55 | |
This week, we analyse the collapse of Ireland's night-time economy, noting that 2,205 pubs, one in four nationwide, have closed since 2005. With regional closure rates hitting 37% in Limerick and 33% in Cork, the discussion highlights how high excise duties and archaic licensing laws are strangling a $4 billion industry that supports 92,000 jobs. The episode explores why a country that markets itself on fun is systematically shutting down its social infrastructure. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Fairway Diplomacy: How Golf Became Ireland's Secret Weapon Against Trump | 10 Sep 2026 | 00:40:40 | |
Donald Trump touches down in Doonbeg this weekend for the Irish Open at his own golf course, and we're asking whether Ireland should protest or play along. We unpack the extraordinary Irish-American relationship: 40 daily flights to the US, $1.3 trillion in American investment, 300,000 jobs, and a bond built more on kitchen tables than diplomacy. We're joined by Donal Casey, former CEO of Rory McIlroy Inc., to talk golf's economics, why LIV Golf failed despite Saudi billions, and how the fairway - not the barricades, might be Ireland's smartest move with America's most unpredictable president. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Germany’s Seismic Shift: The Rise of the AfD | 08 Sep 2026 | 00:42:28 | |
A deep dive into the AfD’s 44% victory in Saxony-Anhalt and its implications for the European Union. We analyse the collapse of Germany’s political center, the demographic divide among young voters, and the historical tensions between East and West that are reshaping the continent’s future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The AI Culture Wars | 03 Sep 2026 | 00:37:15 | |
We explore the new ideological divide between Silicon Valley’s techno-optimists and institutional economists like Daron Acemoglu. Will AI drive shared prosperity or concentrate wealth among a new technocratic elite? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Ireland's Immigration Numbers Don't Add Up And Housing Is Paying the Price | 01 Sep 2026 | 00:36:56 | |
Our population's just hit 5.5 million, and 72% of that growth is migration, not births. Five years ago 57% of work permits went to doctors, nurses and scientists. Now it's just 30%. We crunch the CSO numbers and ask the question nobody wants to: how many migrants can Ireland's housing market actually take before something breaks? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Jackson Hole Reckoning: The $40 Trillion Debt Crisis and the End of Fiscal Exceptionalism | 27 Aug 2026 | 00:36:18 | |
As global central bankers convene for the Jackson Hole symposium, the interrogation of American fiscal credibility takes center stage. With US national debt surpassing $40 trillion and interest payments now exceeding the defense budget, the Treasury faces a critical standoff with the bond market. This analysis explores the limits of yield manipulation, the threat to the dollar’s role as global collateral, and the inevitable market-driven correction facing a politically paralyzed Washington. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| How A Massacre Created Modern Capitalism: The Huguenot Legacy | 25 Aug 2026 | 00:35:53 | |
On the anniversary of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, we explore the extraordinary economic impact of the French Huguenots. Discover how these religious refugees pioneered the merchant class, redefined the relationship between faith and finance, and built the foundations of modern capitalism. From the streets of Paris to the boardrooms of the Bank of Ireland, this episode uncovers the hidden history of the people who transformed the global economy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 20 Years Since the Celtic Tiger: Why the Irish Banking System is Still Broken | 20 Aug 2026 | 00:35:15 | |
August 2006 marked the beginning of the end for the Celtic Tiger, but the legacy of that crash continues to stifle the Irish economy today. We explore how the refinancing game collapsed, why Irish banks have become safe deposit boxes where money goes to die, and how the Central Bank’s over-regulation is forcing the state to take over the construction industry. Discover why Ireland is fighting with one arm tied behind its back and what it will take to get credit flowing to small businesses again. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Chief Rule Breaker: David Gardner on Beating the Market | 18 Aug 2026 | 00:44:57 | |
I first came across The Motley Fool while working in the "bulge bracket" banks of the late 90s, where the goal was often to keep the public out. Sitting down with David Gardner, the man who helped break those walls down, was a masterclass in financial sovereignty. We discuss his six-trait framework for identifying world-beaters, the psychological grit required to ignore "overvalued" labels, and why the most powerful move an investor can make is simply to keep holding. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Caveman and That Dunsinking Feeling | 13 Aug 2026 | 00:35:17 | |
We mark Mack's 60th birthday by tackling the systemic paralysis of the Irish housing market. We examine the "CAVE" phenomenon: Citizens Against Virtually Everything, and how local objections are stalling massive developments like Dunsink. We'll walk you through why the state succeeds at attracting foreign investment but fails at building homes, and what this means for the next generation of Irish citizens. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Yen Dollar Euro Salad | 11 Aug 2026 | 00:34:11 | |
We explore the US Treasury’s unprecedented decision to prop up the Japanese Yen by selling Euro assets, a move that bypassed the ECB and shattered decades of diplomatic norms. This episode breaks down how America’s $1 trillion debt service is driving aggressive financial maneuvers and what the erosion of the global rules-based order means for the future of the Eurozone. We analyse the structural fragility of the US economy and the potential for a European retaliation that could reshape global geoeconomics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| AI Deflation: The New Railway Crash? | 06 Aug 2026 | 00:36:13 | |
Tech bros promise a miracle, but history warns of a bubble. We explore how AI-driven deflation could trigger a global debt meltdown, starting with the warning signs in South Korea. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| What Does The Ceuta Incident Mean For Europe? | 04 Aug 2026 | 00:35:21 | |
This week, we’re diving into a story that wasn't on anyone’s bingo card: 50,000 people breaching one of the most fortified borders in the world in a single weekend. We’re talking about "demographic warfare," the new reality where migration is weaponised to pull the strings of global politics. From the lanyard class in Brussels to the average dude on the street, the gap over immigration is turning into a chasm, and the European Union is starting to fray at the seams. We look at the geopolitical axis between Washington, Tel Aviv, and Rabat, and ask the big question: can the European project survive when its borders become the ultimate battlefield? To understand the economy, you have to understand human nature. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Prometheus Abides | 30 Jul 2026 | 00:36:46 | |
Is 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The €133 Billion Black Hole: Why Ireland Can’t Track Its Spending | 28 Jul 2026 | 00:39:25 | |
Theoretical 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Rich Country, Broken State | 23 Jul 2026 | 00:44:47 | |
Ireland 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Spain Won Again, 500 Years Later | 21 Jul 2026 | 00:41:19 | |
Spain 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Is AI About to Crash the Global Economy? | 16 Jul 2026 | 00:40:37 | |
History 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Mbappé vs Le Pen: The Battle for France | 14 Jul 2026 | 00:42:37 | |
On 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| England V Norway: A Tale of Two Oil Discoveries? | 09 Jul 2026 | 00:41:22 | |
Norway 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Alexander Hamilton: How a Caribbean Orphan Built America | 07 Jul 2026 | 00:38:22 | |
250 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Ireland's Silent Sell Off and the Employee Ownership Solution | 06 Jul 2026 | 00:31:41 | |
Every 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Death of the American Dream | 02 Jul 2026 | 00:32:53 | |
SpaceX just IPO'd, surged, and torched billions of small investors. It's the new American economy. From prediction markets to crypto to day-trading teens, we look at how the US quietly turned itself into the world's biggest casino, and why young Americans are gambling because they've given up on working. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Man Who Broke the Global Economy | 30 Jun 2026 | 00:41:45 | |
Alan Greenspan just died at 100, and he might be the most consequential person of the last 30 years that nobody talks about. We unpack the wild story of the jazz clarinettist turned Fed chairman, the Ayn Rand cult he came from, the "Greenspan Put" that quietly rigged Wall Street, and why his fingerprints are all over Ireland's 2008 crash. Plus a strange historical twist: was Alan Greenspan related to the Jewish teenager whose shooting triggered Kristallnacht? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Why Did Brazil Never Make It? | 24 Jun 2026 | 00:35:04 | |
The country of the future has been stuck in the future for 100 years. We dig into Brazil's wild economic story; slavery, the secret "whitening" immigration policy that sent millions of Italians south, and why Brazilian football carries the weight of a whole nation's identity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The EU Is Cracking | 23 Jun 2026 | 00:40:04 | |
Europe just got overtaken, and it knows it. From a bar in Brussels, we unpack the ancient fault line tearing the EU apart, why China's rise has spooked the continent more than anyone admits, and why the "European way of life" might already be slipping away. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| World Cup Series: Haiti | 18 Jun 2026 | 00:44:24 | |
Haiti just qualified for its first World Cup in 50 years, and they come from the poorest country in the Americas, a place where gangs run the capital and the average person earns $45 a month. We trace how the world's first successful slave revolution ended up here: French gunboats, a 120-year debt, ecological collapse, and an island where one half (the Dominican Republic) is racing ahead while the other is forgotten. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Could Canada Have A Brexit Moment? | 16 Jun 2026 | 00:42:35 | |
Mark Carney is being hailed as the new leader of the free world. While he's facing down Trump abroad, his real headache is at home, Alberta, Canada's Texas, is gearing up for a referendum that could split the country in two. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Inside the World Cup's Narco State | 11 Jun 2026 | 00:40:31 | |
We head down Mexico way to unpack the country hosting the World Cup, a $1.8 trillion economy living side by side with one of the most powerful criminal networks on earth. Drugs, guns, avocados, and the politics tying Trump and Sheinbaum together whether they like it or not. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Why Social Democracies Win World Cups | 09 Jun 2026 | 00:40:44 | |
The FT's Simon Kuper joins us to kick off our World Cup series, on why tiny social democracies keep producing the best football teams, why FIFA is laundering reputations for dictators, and why this tournament will say more about geopolitics than any leaders' summit this year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Coming Water Crisis | 04 Jun 2026 | 00:29:21 | |
Forget oil. The real fight is over the world's most precious and least understood commodity; water. We're joined by Paul O'Callaghan of BlueTech Research to explain why two billion people still can't get safe drinking water, why Saudi Arabia is quietly draining Colorado, and why Ireland's biggest strategic advantage might just be the rain we love to complain about. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Why Trump Is About to Come for Ireland | 02 Jun 2026 | 00:41:02 | |
Made in Kinsale, sold in America, the Ozempic boom is making Ireland rich and dangerously exposed. We unpack how three companies now pay nearly half our corporate tax, and what happens when Trump finally notices. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| How Trump Could Kill the Dollar | 28 May 2026 | 00:48:29 | |
Monetary historian Brendan Greeley explains why the dollar's power has nothing to do with the Fed, why crypto is just a bank in disguise, and why politicising the dollar might be the fastest way to end its reign as the world's reserve currency. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Why Nobody's Having Babies Anymore | 26 May 2026 | 00:50:33 | |
Birth rates are collapsing, not just in rich countries, but everywhere from Mexico to Tunisia. The FT's John Burn-Murdoch joins us to unpack the surprising culprit, why young people aren't just having fewer kids, they're not even coupling up, and what it means for the future of work, wealth, Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Britain Is Broke | 21 May 2026 | 00:36:03 | |
Britain is running out of money, in a currency it prints itself. We unpack the gilt market panic, Starmer's impossible bind, and why the UK is starting to look more like 1970s Italy than the country that invented modern finance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Immigration: What's The Plan? | 19 May 2026 | 00:44:20 | |
No policy. No plan. No housing. Sinead O'Sullivan is back to explain why Ireland took in more immigrants per head than any country in Europe, and why the middle class is about to feel what the working class has been shouting about for years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| China Is Winning, Trump Doesn't Know It Yet | 14 May 2026 | 00:39:45 | |
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. | |||
| Why Your Barista Has a Master's Degree | 12 May 2026 | 00:34:22 | |
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. | |||
| The UAE, Iran, and the Hostage at the Heart of the Oil War | 07 May 2026 | 00:38:37 | |
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. | |||
| The Failure Premium: Where is the Money Going? | 05 May 2026 | 00:42:10 | |
This week, Sinead O'Sullivan is back, and she's got an answer that official Ireland really doesn't want to hear. We dig into the "failure premium", the staggering cost of a state that knows how to hand out subsidies but has forgotten how to coordinate, build, or own anything. We follow the money: why HAP quietly inflates the rent into the landlord's pocket, why housing a refugee costs €99 a night here and €13 in the Netherlands, and why we're paying premium prices for second-rate outcomes across housing, health, and infrastructure. We look at how a country adapts to dysfunction, sheds in back gardens, hollowed-out city centres, kids emigrating, until we stop noticing it's not normal. What happens when the multinational money slows down and we're left holding the infrastructure deficit we never fixed? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||