The ClearOut

In this episode Dara reflects on a recent conversation he had about where and in what way the self should feature in the pursuit of happiness. One argument emphasises total immersion in self as a mode of psychic excavation and rebuilding, whereas an alternative, more Eastern approach, is a wilful eradication of self as the pathway to radical acceptance of what is. Neither is easily achieved, but t...

In this episode, Dara lets the topic be led by the Will Smith slapping incident at last Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony. He unpacks some of the possible lines of analysis in the current climate of identity politics and culture wars. He also looks at his own history of being slapped and breaks down the gendered implications of the open-hand slap, particularly when it is called a 'bi**h-slap', look...

In this week's episode, Dara is set off by a tweet from a female account that first explicitly requests pictures of beautiful men - 'rides' is the term of desire used - and then disclaims accusations of objectification. Is objectification of men by women better, or less loaded, than objectification of women by men? Dara isn't sure... He reflects on the nature of attraction and thinks back to how h...

In this episode Dara presents his thesis that all sports fans are embroiled in a philosophical engagement with the team or sportsperson that they love. Namely, the relationship of our desire and emotional investment to a higher aspiration - the symbiotic realisation of sporting perfection. Dara argues that this desire is in essence a Platonic impulse to contemplate not only the ideal sporting mome...

It's the dawn of a new era for The Clearout as Dara hosts his first interview on the podcast. Musician and actor Gavin McCaffrey first made money in the arts as a child performer as one of Ireland's legendary Billie Barry kids, gracing stage and screen in professional appearances. Many years later he and Dara shared a dressing room together when they were cast in Shay Healy's The Wiremen, a colour...

In this topical episode, once he's dealt with a Hollywood actor's less than enthusiastic response to Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog, Dara gets straight into the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He discusses Putin and looks at his possible motivations for such aggression, and also considers the larger geopolitical implications of the conflict. He tries to contextualise how people in the west have...

In this deceptively positive episode, Dara is emerging from a fortnight of disruptions and disturbances that have laid him low. Over the course of the show, he examines not only the necessary compromises and recalibrations that must accompany a successful recovery, but also the contradictions that can occur in normally reliable wellness strategies. He discusses the cartography of our inner world a...

This week's episode is all about getting rid of the bad stuff in your life, and it starts with having a good old vomit! Having had that unpleasant experience recently, Dara decides to hang this episode's theme around the body's singularity of purpose when expelling something evil from the gut. He foregrounds the discussion with a scattergun look at poison and how it speaks to a primal dread in us....

In this episode, Dara looks at defiance as a central attitude and strategy of wellness. Understanding defiance as an expression of personal conviction allows it to be utilised in the service of personal autonomy. It can inform and be informed by one's certitude, but that certitude is best deployed with an understanding of imperfection and flexibility. Also discussed is the idea of ownership and au...

In this episode, Dara starts off by looking at our need for light and also our desire for novelty. These ideas are both connected to how we are visual creatures and how the internet has capitalised immeasurably on this aspect of human behaviour. Celine Sciamma's brilliant film Portrait of a Lady on Fire, a film very much concerned with the power of seeing, is discussed in this context, but also pr...

In this episode Dara delves into the places we carry and store our pain. He looks at how unaddressed wounds can wield a disproportionate amount of power over us and how that relates to our fear of uncomfortable places. He wonders if how different generations have evolved with access to different vocabulary and frames of reference for emotional and psychological wellbeing has shaped their resilienc...

I want to write this week's information in the first person because I want to unequivocally own all the ideas and opinions expressed in the episode. As a response to the murder of a young Irish woman in Ireland last week, I discuss at considerable length the topic of male violence against women as an expression of broken masculinity, and I offer a defence of my experience of masculinity. I also lo...

In this week's episode, Dara is very much focused on zones and spaces - not physical ones, but experiential ones. He argues that we are always entering and taking our leave of different states of mind and emotion and how we behave in different spaces depends on where we are at in ourselves at any given time. He looks at how the human brain recognises different zones of behaviour and interaction an...

In this episode of the podcast Dara has a good look at why the arrival of a new year makes us feel change is both possible and something to which we have all been conditioned. He argues that we shouldn't have to wait a whole year before we try to effect change in our lives. He discusses his own relationship with recording time through an almost lifelong diary-keeping habit - a habit that has been...

In this episode Dara takes a very chilled look at the year that was, touching on some specific moments, but being more focused on the end-of-year energy that he considers to be contemplative and calming. He refers to Frank Capra's 1938 movie You Can't Take It With You and discusses some points raised by the movie that seem relevant to this moment. And Dara's tail is wagging and he would like you t...

This week's episode brings you a brand new Christmas story written by Dara. What happens to the little girl who runs away from her mother in a posh department store? Will she be taken away by the in-house security team? Will her mother regain her Christmas spirit? Will she accept the help of a stranger? Find out when you listen to 'Caramel'. The story can also be found in written form on theclearo...

It's an unmitigated movie-fest this week as Dara goes deep into his love of Christmas movies and of watching movies at this time of year. He revisits his childhood exposure to Hollywood classics and reflects on how the unlimited access to content and devices nowadays means that the home movie watching experience has lost its allure for modern children. He argues that the best Christmas movies requ...

In this episode, Dara goes all in on the expression of the female voice and the assertion and reclamation of female identity. He explores his own views of and attitudes to women and speaks honestly about his upbringing and his marriage and how they have informed and enriched those attitudes and views. As the main vehicle for this discussion, he looks in depth at three recent female works of art th...

In this episode Dara has a good look at his own feelings about Christmas and goes on to explore a brief history of Christmas, and why it is something not everybody feels thrilled to celebrate. He wonders if the forced observance of anything is ever a good thing. But ultimately, he can't shake the feeling that a little Christmas magic stirs something very deep in our collective psyche. Reading some...

In this episode Dara is prompted by the recent violent attack in Waukesha, as well as other car and truck attacks and shooting atrocities, to reflect on how we view the individuals who perpetrate such acts. His train of thought takes in cultural stereotyping, systemic social failure, and the expression of pain in both positive and negative ways. Newton's Cradle - the metal ball office toy - is off...

In this episode, before getting to the main topic, Dara observes how disconcertingly warm it is for November, and argues that things being not quite right can be extremely disruptive. He commends teachers for persevering amidst the unending Covid disruptions. The first part of the episode concludes with why his daughter felt the need to say "I hate you" to him. The main meat of the episode revolve...

In this episode Dara waxes lyrical about bridges of many kinds. He starts off with Lloyd, Jeff and Beau Bridges before turning his attention to the usefulness and aesthetic pleasure of actual bridges. But what he really wants to talk about is the idealistic symbolism of bridges and how they help us get to other places and how they help us transcend things we wouldn't otherwise be able to get over....

In this episode, Dara discovers the word 'haecceity', which stems from the Latin word for 'thisness', and is used to describe the quality that makes a thing or a person uniquely themselves. He argues that this is something we cannot hide, no matter what we do. He discusses the vulnerability of state change and how it might inform social anxiety or a dread of being seen. That leads to asking in wha...

In this episode, Dara is inspired by Denis Villeneuve's Bladerunner 2049 (5:55) to go on a wide-ranging exploration of identity, consciousness and origin. He wonders if the leaders of Big Tech inspired Jared Leto's portrayal of the designer in the Villeneuve movie (10:37) before asking what level of thought and feeling is possible for AI entities (14:26). A related digression leads to a heavyweigh...

In this episode, once he's finished breaking down, and being revolted by, the animal dynamics at Hashtag Blessed, Dara launches into a deep dive of conflict (20' 43"), taking as a first reference point an article on anger by A.C. Grayling (27' 31"). From there he ponders the concept of dehumanisation (36' 24") in the context of conflict. He argues for the necessity of truth (45' 37") and its bedfe...