David McWilliams (on the history of money)

2026-01-14 · 95 min · episode 997 · 10 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

→ hosted by Armchair Umbrella person

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Feed author/publisher: Armchair Umbrella
→ hosted by Armchair Expert | Wondery person

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Feed author/publisher: Armchair Expert | Wondery
→ discusses Comedy concept

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→ discusses Music concept

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Feed category: Music

Entities found in this episode

concepts 5

mentioned Comedy concept

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Feed category: Comedy
mentioned TV & Film concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: TV & Film
discusses Comedy concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Comedy
discusses TV & Film concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: TV & Film
discusses Music concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Music

persons 4

mentioned Armchair Umbrella person

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Feed author/publisher: Armchair Umbrella
mentioned Armchair Expert | Wondery person

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Feed author/publisher: Armchair Expert | Wondery
hosted by Armchair Umbrella person

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Armchair Umbrella
hosted by Armchair Expert | Wondery person

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Armchair Expert | Wondery

companys 1

mentioned Money company

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the history of money

Episode description as stored

David McWilliams (The History of Money: A Story of Humanity) is a journalist, writer, and economist. David joins the Armchair Expert to discuss having an unusually calm Irish family upbringing, being practically prescribed to study economics, and the impact that his father being screwed by the system had on him as a kid. David and Dax talk about his early, life-changing realization that no one actually has control over the economy, why economics should be seen as a form of communication about the world, and how the human advent of fire helps us to understand money. David explains the idea that the technology of trading money was an alternative to war, how money amplifies the trust necessary to function in complex societies, and why the reason that money is weird is because we are weird. Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .