Popeonomics?

The world shifting under our feet and US financial markets remain in turmoil. We explore whether Trump’s economic war with China is backfiring, and might push Europe closer to Beijing, not Washington. We detail a likley monetary scenario for the US over the coming months which will be the backdrop to any geo-political moves. For example, could France, weighed down by debt, turn to China as creditor? Are we entering a new global “Great Game,” where America’s threats drive its allies into the arms of its rivals? If Europe stops financing the U.S. bond market, what happens next? A podcast on grand strategy, with a few French wines, altar boy memories, and Machiavellian moves along the way. Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Broadcasting from Paris, we bring a bottle of wine and a warning: the transatlantic honeymoon is over. As America turns inward under the MAGA banner, Europe, led in thought (and theatre) by France, is starting to ask tough questions: Can we still rely on the US? Should we even try? From Macron’s eerily prescient Sorbonne speech to the wild moves in the US bond market, this episode explores why France feels vindicated, why Ireland might soon have to pick a side, and why the real battlefield isn't Normandy or NATO, it’s the balance sheet. With detours through wine laws, de Gaulle in Connemara, and why Nike’s Vietnamese workforce matters more than you'd think, this is a global economic story told with Gallic flair and geopolitical bite. Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yes has always been more of a worldview than a word. In this episode, we channel the spirit of Molly Bloom’s iconic soliloquy from Ulysses to explore how saying “yes” can reshape economies. From Joyce’s sensual metaphor for self-abandon to the economics of openness, growth, and transformation, we dig into what it means to embrace change. Why does resistance stagnate nations? What happens when a country dares to say yes to innovation, to risk, to the unknown? This isn’t your average econ chat—this is a literary, philosophical, and economic exploration of transition, agency, and the power of possibility. Yes? Yes. Yes! Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do Nike runners, IKEA furniture, and half a million Vietnamese workers have in common? They’re all caught in the crossfire of Trump’s tariff tantrum. This week, we trace the hidden supply chains behind the global economy, from Vietnam’s rise as a manufacturing powerhouse to how a sneaker company now employs more people abroad than Ford and GM do at home. We break down how the MAGA tariff regime threatens to crater entire economies, sour U.S. relations in Asia, and hand China the long game. Plus, what it all means for Ireland, Africa, and the American empire itself. Are we witnessing a pivot, or a pullback from the world stage?  Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we watched the world’s biggest economy base its entire trade policy on a formula so dodgy it wouldn’t pass the Leaving Cert. We break down how Trump’s tariffs are chaotic, as well as economically illiterate, dangerously populist, and could have slammed Ireland with more than a 39% hit if not for the EU. This isn’t just bad maths. It’s billionaires mistaking personal instinct for macro strategy, and a White House mistaking nationalism for economic policy. We’re talking supply chains, tanking markets, flying cars in China, Trump channeling FDR, and why the U.S. might be about to run the world like a family business, forever. Strap in. Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.