Episódios
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In this episode, Dara reacts to the re-election of Donald Trump to the US presidency. Did the Democrats and Kamala Harris once again fail to take seriously Trump and the Republican voter base? Whatever the cause, politicians of the liberal centre or centre-left have not been convincing enough to get themselves back into power. Four more years of Trump is a worrying prospect for the larger wellness of a very divided nation.
Admitting the limitations of his own political analysis, Dara turns to an incisive commentator of yesteryear - the brilliant Gore Vidal, whose sardonic voice spoke comprehensively on American public life, among other topics. In 1968, the liberal Vidal memorably featured in televised political debates with the conservative William F. Buckley, which descended into a barely controlled slanging match by their conclusion, choice epithets being volleyed back and forth with ever increasing venom.
Dara reads in full two of Vidal's pieces of writing on the US presidency. The first, The Real Two-Party System, is a short article written before the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. It questions the very idea of representation in US politics. The second, Armageddon? was written at the end of Reagan's second term and is a skewering of the president's shared and widely-publicised belief in a Christian end-of-the-world consummation. The unforgiving cynicism on display is a testament to eyes that were in no danger of having the wool pulled over them, especially by an 'Acting President'.
Vidal vs Buckley documentary, Best of Enemies - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3518012/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_5_tt_4_nm_4_in_0_q_the%2520best%2520of%2520enemies
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In this episode, Dara considers violence against women and the recent clear-eyed responses to it by Hollywood regulars Anna Kendrick and Saoirse Ronan, as seen in Kendrick's impressive directorial debut 'Woman of the Hour', and as heard in Ronan's bulletproof interjection on the Graham Norton show. After reviewing Kendrick's chilling movie and contextualising Ronan's comments, he recalls a key moment of Rachel McAdams' character in the second season of True Detective which laid out with absolute clarity the power differential between men and women.
Dara anticipates self-defence instruction for his daughter in the future and talks about the significance of power and strength imbalances in karate when a male and female practitioner face each other, which was often the case between him and his last instructor. He looks at the male responsibility to think about how they are perceived by women in different contexts and how easy it is to make small changes in behaviour to minimise negative assumptions. Regarding how he thinks of himself as a male of the species, he revisits memories of boyhood and adolescence where he certainly was not seen as threatening!
A key corollary of women being preyed upon is how often they are not listened to, ignored, blamed for their own misfortune, deliberately misinterpreted or otherwise dismissed. It begs the question - when will sexual or violent assaults of women be treated with the seriousness they warrant? And how is it, almost 50 years after the harrowing ending of 'Looking for Mr. Goodbar', that a female treatment of violence against women is still somehow niche or novel? As Marina Hyde in The Guardian said, women are no longer in the mood for joking about this stuff.
Marina Hyde on Saoirse Ronan's comment: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/oct/29/chatshow-saoirse-ronan-graham-norton-women
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In this episode, Dara talks about the characters we respond to in the art we consume. Having been very stirred by 'Joker: Folie a Deux', he stays in the world of movies and finds himself thinking about Jungian archetypes and the shadow self we can see reflected at us from the big screen. Speaking about that film, which has heavily promoted Lady Gaga as the joint draw of the story along with Joaquin Phoenix's compelling title character, he argues that it is what transpires between the Joker and Brendan Gleeson's prison officer that really unlocks the film and its grim depiction of human damage.
Further to that, Dara reasons that the film is really a stealth social realism movie in the style of Ken Loach or Mike Leigh, exposing as it does systemic failure and the impotent rage of the discarded. 1991's 'The Silence of the Lambs' is also discussed in psychological terms with particular reference to the 'daddy issues' of Clarice Starling as brilliantly played by Jodie Foster in her relationship with Anthony Hopkins' devious Hannibal Lecter. What makes Lecter such an attractive character to us, and why did audiences not feel the same way when Brian Cox played him five years earlier in 'Manhunter'?
Dara talks also about meeting earlier versions of yourself and whether change is just a nice story we tell ourselves. Part of that line of enquiry includes coping mechanisms and calming measures connected to seeking insights and encouraging curiosity, and importantly for him, resisting fatalistic thinking. Finally, there's time to quickly mention a moment of public sharing in connection with masculinity and demonstrated vulnerability and openness that was hopefully a moment of value.
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In this episode, Dara is still reeling after watching Coralie Fargeat's astonishing film 'The Substance', a scarifyingly vicious body-horror satire on the pressure that results from the extreme demands of celebrity and the beauty expectations inflicted on women. The film is centred around a TV fitness personality whose middle-age renders her undesirable in the eyes of the network. In a ferocious performance by Demi Moore we bear witness to the lengths a woman will go to to preserve her looks and corresponding status.
Dara argues that the film is not really there to ask questions. Fargeat is a director with an extraordinary visual style and a willingness to assault the viewer's taste and senses, witnessed both in 'The Substance' and in her earlier film 'Revenge', which also uses female sexuality and the male gaze as the key ingredients in her tinderbox. As a female director who has no problem objectifying the female body, it arguably changes how we view her protagonists.
Also in this episode, thoughts on 'The Sisters Brothers', a quirky 2018 Western with two unlikely cowboy brothers negotiating their fraternal bond; hen night t-shirts to make a parent blush; and the dubious equivalence of clothes and character.
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In this episode, Dara considers the elements that contribute to our resentment buckets and shoulder chips. He believes time and the ease of others are two key ingredients in the mix. He confesses to giving voice to some very uncharitable resentfulness around the time he became a father. He also speaks carefully around a significant source of resentment in his marriage.
Prickliness can accompany resentment, and Dara recalls someone he knew who disinvited everyone from his party because they hadn't RSVP'd in time! He considers his attitude to parties and hosting and shares how it's connected to the management system in his childhood homes and why his kitchen overflowed with goodies once he got out in the big bad world.
Also in this episode, an analysis of an 18th century painting of Penelope, she of Greek myth, and a review of the documentary Will & Harper, which Dara found to be a beautiful testament to friendship, and to male friendship in particular.
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In this episode, Dara shares his gripes about the utterly mediocre buddy movie Wolfs, starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt as two fixers reluctantly obliged to work together through a night of yuk-filled capers (SPOILER: THERE ARE NO YUKS!). The film is an ode to laziness, self-satisfaction, complacency and vanity, and has the gall to pay tribute in its final shot to a truly great buddy movie of yesteryear, the inference clearly being that Clooney and Pitt are a contemporary equivalent of two past greats. No such luck.
Dara offers a selection of alternative movies that deal with successful partnerships in terms of their chemistry, as well as sharing a thematic link of ageing disgracefully. The first film that comes to mind is another flimsy reunion of two leading stalwarts from Hollywood's golden age - do you remember Tough Guys (1986) with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas? It might not be worse than Wolfs!
Other more credible offerings are the original movie that gave us "I'm too old for this s**t!", as well as possibly the best ever version of the outlaw picking up their gun later in life. Robert Redford and Paul Newman teamed up memorably for two very successful outings, both over 50 years ago, but Newman had another screen partner with whom he acted much more - his wife, Joanne Woodward. Dara shares his thoughts on Ethan Hawke's excellent docuseries about the legendary couple and their complex lives.
Also, unfit security guards, lived-in love, reasons to be grateful, and autumnal restoration.
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In this episode, Dara reflects on a weekend spent with an old friend and his resultant fatigue, both psychological and intellectual. It prompts an interrogation of his belief and value systems and whether they are more or less valid than those of his friend's. He argues that it is healthy, and perhaps even necessary, to have someone you regard challenge you with love.
Dara shares his response to a wonderful interview with the fantastic Miriam Margolyes and confesses to finding her an absolute tonic after the combative intellectual jostling he engaged in with his friend. He is full of admiration for her unapologetic sincerity and forthrightness. It leads to a consideration of what he frames as 'heart and gut' versus 'facts and figures'. Is either better than the other, or are they just different comfort zones for different types of people?
A recent job interview resulted in no job offer, but Dara still regarded the experience as a great success. For a couple of weeks he lived with altered energy as he anticipated a changed future and the positive challenges it would bring. Digesting the disappointment of rejection, he recalls another bittersweet memory of a much more personal nature.
Also in this episode, considering the joys of ASMR, Dara is hopeful listeners won't be bothered by the very audible raindrops that fall throughout the episode. And a couple of minutes on the dreadful 1998 action movie, 'Armageddon'.
Adam Buxton interviews Miriam Margolyes: https://www.adam-buxton.co.uk/podcasts/rhwkafw2z2x3xe6-6ysb3-pfp9n-6xxa2-jnpn5-2cacw-6cz8f-gx8fb-nkb87
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This episode is all about the presence of absence. How are your comfort levels with empty space and dead air? Do you struggle when the void isn't filled with something to stimulate? And more importantly, with what do you fill empty spaces and awkward silences?
Dara reflects on his own tendency to default to anxiety and negative beliefs when uncertain spaces make themselves felt. He wonders how difficult it would be to project confidence and calm as alternative fillers. Examining his own hardwiring is definitely part of the solution.
Considering the pitfalls of comparison, Dara argues that more space is involved when we look at what others have that we don't. He sees a connection between presence and contentment on one hand, and disconnection and the perception of lack on the other.
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In this episode, Dara is looking for a pulse. After he and his daughter watched Adam Sandler's 2004 romcom, 50 First Dates, Dara was reminded why he wasn't a fan of the comedian's factory line movies - there were too many moments and gags that were completely devoid of life.
He found something similar in the character played by Nicole Kidman in this year's A Family Affair, a film in which Zac Efron's manchild action star falls for his personal assistant's mother, with 'hilarious results'.* The insistence on Kidman being presented as a middle-aged woman who could be mistaken for being twenty years younger was more than Dara could bear. And why does Kidman's upper lip epitomise the problem of the Female Beauty Industrial Complex?
Seeking a life-force elsewhere, Dara found it in two other films, both strong genre offerings. The first was Ti West's retro slasher movie 'X' (2022) which was bursting at the seams with character and vibe and horrific thrills. The second was a brand new Netflix release, Rebel Ridge, a tasty corrupt cops thriller with two really good central performances from Aaron Pierre and Don Johnson, who gets better and better with age.
Dara continues pitting life against death in a concluding reflection on the connective tissue between acting and teaching. He wonders about the stakes, the idea of service, and the pain of 'losing the room'.
*(Not hilarious at all. Dara forgot to mention Efron and Kidman's first onscreen pairing in 2012's The Paperboy, a much more successful serving of gaudy southern carnality and madness from Lee Daniels.)
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A very simple and straightforward episode this week - Dara reads a lengthy unabridged extract from Marlon Brando's autobiography - Songs My Mother Taught Me, published in 1994. Brando's voice is frank and accessible and he shares his thoughts on acting, fame, and various female lovers during the time of his emergence as America's most captivating actor. He also speaks about being a damaged child and the difficulty he had trying to shake off feelings of worthlessness.
Another distinctive male voice is that of the Irish poet Paul Durcan. Perhaps most commonly connected to his comic surreality, there's still an unmistakable humanity to Durcan's writing, especially in his confessional and vulnerable masculinity and his no-nonsense rebuttals of Catholic hypocrisy. Dara delights in concluding the episode by reading three of his poems.
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In this episode, prompted by his cat and dog, Dara is considering the idea of essentialism. He talks about core dispositions and the perennial pitching of nature against nurture. He argues that there is very little that is not in the mix when it comes to how our identities emerge. He shares his thoughts about his daughter on this stage of her journey and wonders about her essential leaning.
Along the way, Dara reflects on trauma and demons, the relativising of same, and the importance of doing the work early on to save trouble later. He wonders about the relationship between material gain and credibility and presents his case for the value of the examined life, self-understanding, and bringing the most resolved version of yourself to bear on life's challenges.
As for his own essential inclination - is it defiance? Dara thinks it might be, because it requires a certain bloody-mindedness to stay on a path whose material rewards have been so few! But that's part of the pact he has made with himself. He reveals the pact he has made with his daughter - and the clause he hasn't shared with her...
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For the second time in the show's history, Dara is considering the questionable value of nostalgia. While allowing that there are wellness benefits to understanding the connection between nostalgia and loss, and the stark reality of nostalgia's relationship to ageing, there is something offensive about a particular brand of generalised nostalgia that regularly raises its unoriginal head on social media.
Prompted by the palpable fragility of the new recording location for the podcast, and the coincidence of this week's episode taking place during stormy conditions, Dara's mind is cast back to a scene from The Blues Brothers (1980) in which Elwood's apartment is shaken within an inch of its life because of its proximity to a city train track. Considering that movie, he reckons it belongs to a special trinity of favourite childhood comedies that were untouchable. But is that just his nostalgia talking? How well have they aged, really? He tried to show his daughter one of them and she walked away after five minutes!
Dara also takes a moment to accuse the positive living/wellness sector of quackery while arguing once again for his own understanding of self-care, something that involves the real work of personal inventory and facing one's historic demons.
The first nostalgia episode from August 2021: https://theclearout.com/podcast/the-nostalgia-shark-is-coming-for-my-squirrels-episode-14/
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In this episode, Dara doesn't know whether to eat the food or make love to it. He talks about all three seasons of The Bear, the brilliant TV show depicting the trials and tribulations of genius chef Carmen Berzatto and the colourful people who populate his messy, damaged world. Like the extraordinary food that leaves viewers in a state of mouthwatering wonder, the other elements of the show are beautifully sourced, prepped and composed.
Dara discusses different aspects of the acting and staging of key scenes and episodes and expresses admiration for the cast, amongst which there are no weak links. Special mentions are reserved for Jeremy Allen White as the titular Bear, Ayo Edibiri as his frustrated No.2, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as emotional cousin Richie, and Jamie Lee Curtis for her exceptional work as the demented and haunted Donna Berzatto, as realistic a portrayal of toxic maternity as you will ever see.
At the top of the episode, Dara reflects on his own connective tissue to The Bear in the form of self-doubt, being wrong, and avoidance of the uncomfortable.
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In this episode, Dara is reflecting on the good fortune of finding a new place to live, but he is wondering how to refer to The ClearOut's new home. His daughter has rejected his suggestions so far as being 'too cringe'. Hashtag Blessed is no more! What to call the new abode...?
After a week off to facilitate the house move, it's back down to business. Dara considers the idea of 'rightness' and the natural state that best serves our happiness and fulfilment. He wonders what our lives would look like if we never faced any obstacles on our path. What would that self look like? And can our true self still emerge and thrive in the face of life's tribulations, rejections and other expressions of adversity?
The Buddhist position of life being suffering flies against Dara's proposition of unbridled advance. Do the contradictory positions have something valid to offer in tandem, or are they mutually exclusive? How do you consider the burdens that you carry - do you have the opportunity to put them down, or are they perpetually obscuring your field of vision?
To conclude the episode, Dara presents some core concepts from the philosophy of karate-do that pertain to larger wellness strategies including, self-respect, integrity and evocative images of mindfulness.
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In this episode Dara is giving out about recent bad movies, and not the 'so bad they're good' kind. Kevin Costner's Western opus Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 starts the party with its bloated scale, turgid pacing, and on-the-nose representations of archetypal stories and characters. Far too earnest and self-serious, Dara recommends at least half a dozen alternatives, including Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate and Costner's own Open Range.
Ticket to Paradise, the George Clooney-Julia Roberts rom-com is next and its generic and self-congratulatory tone are a painful reminder of the earlier Clooney-Roberts crimes as seen in Ocean's 12 when we were all meant to be tickled by their being in on the joke of Roberts' celebrity. Dara advises a revisiting of Pretty Woman instead where Roberts' screen presence and beauty were not to be denied.
The recent animated movies IF and Inside Out 2 are compared - one of them had Dara squirming in his seat, but not for the reason you might think.
Finally there's a word for the execrable The Beekeeper and the joyless gurning of its muscular star, Jason Statham.
And in case you're worried it's all doom and gloom, there are at least three recent movies that Dara is more than happy to recommend for their aesthetic pleasures and assuredness of tone.
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In this episode Dara is looking at two significant news stories from the big nations to Ireland's east and west. At the weekend just gone, Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate and bete noire of liberals and humane humans everywhere, survived an assassination attempt. In Germany not long afterwards, England's national football team contested the final of the EURO 2024 tournament, and lost.
The US and England in recent years have become more and more troubled states with huge social unrest and unconvincing politics and leadership, leaving their respective citizenry highly agitated and discontented. Dara wonders if both countries would have benefited measurably more if the outcomes of both news stories had gone the other way. Would Trump's removal and England's triumph become unifying events for their embattled nations?
Exploring both alternate realities, different things are considered: how can an Irish person be okay with their old oppressor enjoying sporting glory? Why does the England team's uncertain identity reflect that of the country it represents? What dark spell would be broken if Trump was no more? In what way would his supporters awaken and greet the new dawn? Wouldn't people rather get on with their neighbours? Or never hear them?
Further to that last question Dara knows he would much prefer if the US and England were quietly and boringly going about their business.
Also in this episode, doing your best, the ripple effect, the sensitive human race, and the ugly egos of powerful men.
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In this episode, Dara is wondering about what comes next. We can never truly know what lies in the future so how do we cope with that uncertainty? Are we willing to step into the unknown without the security of a plan? Do we trust we have the resources to deal with what we find?
Contextualising this dilemma in a world that seems to be spiralling out of control, and acknowledging the philosophical belief that the human experience is endlessly and exhaustingly repeated, Dara comes back to elemental grounding and deep listening as key components of the existential toolkit.
Part of this approach includes knowing what to let go of and knowing what to let pass through us. Holding onto things for too long can define us in ways that leave us trapped and unable to grow. We have to step out of suffering and give ourselves permission to be free. If the keys to our liberation are placed in the hands of others, we might be waiting a long time.
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In this episode, Dara is taking time to express thanks to a place that has served him well over the last few years, and he's so determined to do so in a special way that he moves the podcast to the location he's honouring! At the end, when a certain flying creature appears, it's time to bring things to a close. No, it's not a dragon...
Dara sets up to record in his garden and he explains why it has been such a special place for him over the last three and a half years. That said, it hasn't all been plain sailing. Just ask his chickens! It makes him wonder about the duration of a moment. Can a moment really last a lifetime?
Once the natural world part of the pod is over, Dara discusses a couple of shows he watched in relation to the radically different iterations of femininity they present and prioritise. One of them, a sports documentary about the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, is troubling in the version of womanhood it valorises. The other, True Detective Season 4, has at its heart two ferociously tough and uncompromising female cops who don't care who they offend. They're remarkably unapologetic characters who make clear how seldom women on screen are written like that. Written like what? Like men!
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In this episode, Dara looks at the Natasha O'Brien case which saw a young woman beaten unconscious in the street by a young man who wasn't known to her, and that same young man been given a suspended sentence so as not to jeopardise his career as an Irish soldier. There is nothing that isn't problematic about these events, but as ever, there are larger social questions to be asked beyond the ugly specifics of the case in question.
Dara considers the messages that are sent by the outcome of the case. Why isn't a higher price put on women's suffering? Why are violent men rewarded by the courts with their careers being prioritised over their abhorrent, life-ruining behaviour? Is the law a male-centric instrument, designed to protect male interests? Is the average man in any way benefiting from this adjudication?
Dara argues that both men and women are done a huge disservice by the ruling. A victimised woman is cast aside by the law, and all men are implicated in a decision that normalises male violence by giving it a pass. It prompts the question - if you're a man, do you care about women? Do you care about those who historically hold less power in society? Do you care about the assumption of male violence? How do you demonstrate that care?
Also covered in the episode - the relationship between fear and hate, the need for positive rites of passage, the importance of men doing deep work on themselves and more.
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In this hot and bothered episode, Dara tries to address the issue of racism in Ireland in the wake of the hate and racist abuse directed at Rhadisat Adeleke last week after her triumphant performances at the European Athletics Championships. A topic covered on the show before around the Emer O'Neill/Tommy Tiernan story, it seems to need speaking about again.
As part of his anti-racism strategy, Dara advocates a very simple policy before going online. It is a rule that would serve everyone well in all areas of their lives, and one that is antithetical to everything the internet wants us to do. If you put this rule front and centre before jumping into the online cess-pit, a lot of harm could be prevented.
Thinking less reactively to the situation, Dara considers issues of anger and the sense of being owed something and how they might feed into the hatred of others. If a wellness lens is to be applied to the expression of hate, it surely connects to personal suffering of some kind, and possibly the unwillingness to take responsibility for it.
Also in this episode, the magic of Irish summer green, hate for hipsters (again), and exhausted puppies!
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