Can Europe’s “Hidden Continent” Finally Break Free?

The David McWilliams Podcast

David McWilliams

News & Politics

4.5 • 692 Ratings

🗓️ 26 February 2026

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Broadcast from Serbia, this episode dives into the Balkans, the most misunderstood, most underestimated corner of Europe, and one with the biggest upside if it can ever stop tripping over its own history. We look at why Serbia sits so close to Russia, why Kosovo still blocks the country’s European future, and how war, sanctions, hyperinflation, and decades of bad leadership turned a natural crossroads into an economic cul-de-sac. A new generation is pushing back against corruption and state capture, and culture may be moving faster than politics, from packed derby stadiums in Belgrade to a runaway rom-com hit about a Croat-Serb wedding that’s quietly rewriting the story. If the Balkans can turn rivalry into cooperation, it could become one of Europe’s great comeback economies.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	On the podcast today, we are in the Balkans. We are in Serbia. We're going to be talking about
0:05.1	Russia, Serbia, the European Union, the future of the Balkans, and why this part of the world,
0:13.1	Balkan Europe is one of the great secrets of the continent. And if it could be unleashed,
0:18.4	would be one of the most impressive economies
0:22.2	if they can turn things around after the last 40 or 50 years of bad leadership.
0:27.6	So it's all from the Balkans and I hope you enjoy it.
0:31.9	To understand the economy, you have to understand human nature.
0:38.2	This podcast is powered by ACAST.
0:44.1	How you doing there?
0:45.5	Welcome to the podcast.
0:47.3	This one's going to be a strange hunt because it is coming to you from Serbia.
0:51.8	Well, not actually coming to you from Serbia.
0:53.0	I am just back a couple of hours ago
0:55.5	from a visit to the capital of Serbia, Belgrade, where I did two things. First thing, I was
1:05.0	launching the Serbian version of money, which is now Novats, which is money in Serbian.
1:12.2	And secondly, I took in possibly the most extraordinary sporting event that I have ever
1:21.9	witnessed, which was not Ireland knocking lumps out of England last week.
1:25.7	But it was actually the Belgrade Derby
1:29.2	between Red Star Belgrade
1:30.9	and Partisan Belgrade in the Maracana,
1:34.4	the extraordinary stadium of Red Star Belgrade in Belgrade.
1:40.1	Wow.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from David McWilliams, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of David McWilliams and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.