The ClearOut

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...

In this episode Dara stays firmly in mental health territory and discusses at length our fear of the dark side of ourselves. He talks about the unexpressed and the uncomfortable and argues for disciplined, non-hysterical acceptance of the parts of ourselves that make us turn away. He reflects on the aspects of his own behaviour and personality that concern him and falls back once more on embedded...

In this episode Dara explores the American father as captured in TV sensations The Sopranos and Breaking Bad. He also looks at Arthur Miller's theatre masterworks Death of a Salesman and All My Sons before briefly visiting old Hollywood depictions of idealised fathers, both with and without collars! He resists the sentimentalisation of fatherhood and critiques his own patterns of behaviour as a fa...

In this episode Dara explores the concept of character and how its uncovering might lie at the heart of true strength, happiness and resilience. He places it in firm counterpoint to the litany of reductive names, labels and titles and other identifiers we have put on us. That prompts a reflection on the tyranny of the word 'Mother'. Drawing inspiration from Joan Didion and a key principle of tradi...

In this episode Dara asks the question - what movies really do it for you? Before giving his own answer, he explores the types of masculinity that he has been attracted to on the big screen since he was a child. From the days of Spencer Tracy, through the Star Wars and Indiana Jones era, to the modern emotional landscape of 'men's movies', he covers a lot of ground and a lot of movies that all cap...

In this episode, Dara reflects on body image and the objectification and commodification of female beauty and sexuality. He discusses the sexist rhetoric and dynamics that he has always found pervasive among many of the men he has known. Along the way, he revisits his own introduction back in the day to the sexualised female iconography of Playboy magazine. He talks about the destructive and warpi...

In this episode, Dara gets stuck into expectations and how imposing they can be if they are too rigid. He draws a connection between unmet expectations and the loss of control, and the anger that results from that. He points out the flawed thinking of anthropomorphising the family chickens, who have been giving him a particularly annoying day. A moment is taken to acknowledge two actors who recent...

In this episode Dara touches on sugar consumption and gut health and warns of the danger of big lunches if your afternoons are going to be demanding. He talks about using social media to promote his stuff and realises he can barely remember how his points of view evolved, which leads to him confessing an inability to retain information. Finally, he looks at the soiled package of middle age which b...

In this episode Dara walks the corridors of nostalgia and explores the underpinning emotion that informs that longing for the past. The journey takes him to the movies of his childhood and starts him thinking about when childhood ends and adulthood begins. He confesses an affinity with Ernie from Sesame Street and admits a boyhood crush on a short-haired Helen Slater in The Legend of Billie Jean!...

In this episode, following some thoughts on Afghanistan and the Taliban, Dara reflects on conflict in his own life and looks particularly closely at his marriage and the diverging paths that have emerged there. He wonders if we can access anybody's internal landscape, and what that unknown element does to our expectations. This leads to a discussion of disappointment, hurt and resentment buckets....

In this episode, Dara looks at the unwitting victims of a biblical exorcism before cruising through Michael Cimino's 1978 masterpiece, The Deer Hunter, with particular focus on Robert De Niro's performance in it. A case for greatness is made and De Niro is pitted against Lionel Messi, the Argentinian footballing genius. The anthemic God Bless America - the song used in the concluding scene of The...

In this episode Dara tries to unpick the puzzle of presence. He draws a line between perceived safety and protecting the precious parts of ourselves. He argues for integrity and wholeness as the pathways to self-acceptance and the tools for calm and confident presence. He also shares a very personal story to illustrate the power of unexpressed emotion. Along the way, he predicts a poor end for his...

This episode is all about stars! Dara discusses at length the many versions of A Star Is Born and their relative strengths and weaknesses, as well as their gender politics. He also uses those movies to look at trauma and the dire male response to trauma and addiction by one of the central characters that is the penultimate act of each version of the story. That leads to briefly touching on alcohol...

In this episode, Dara reveals some naming issues regarding the animals in his life and takes the opportunity to slaughter his production team in the process. He wanders into the wilderness of ignorance and wonders if we cannot become comfortable with what we don't know. Part of the discussion involves a gentle juggle of the concepts of knowledge and understanding which takes Dara back to his unive...