Latest / The David McWilliams Podcast

Who Killed the Living City?
After travelling through Montreal, Bilbao, and Vilnius, cities alive with colour, sound, and soul, I returned home and felt the contrast sharply. Dublin, like many cities across the developed world, feels hollowed out. Despite booming economic growth and over €150 billion sitting idle in savings accounts, our capital is crumbling. Streets are lifeless, dereliction is everywhere, and policy seems paralysed. So what went wrong? This week, we explore how bad incentives, not bad people, kill cities. Drawing on historical revivals like Temple Bar, we propose bold 21st-century solutions: tax breaks…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.