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…?
Set Down Your Honourable Load – Finding the Clear Path Ahead – Episode 167 Read More »
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.
Horizon, Other Recent Movie Turkeys, and Recommended Alternatives – Episode 166 Read More »
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.
Unifying Events, Sensible Ripples, and What If Trump Had Been Taken Out? – Episode 165 Read More »
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?
The Existential Toolkit to Approaching the Unknown – Episode 164 Read More »
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…
Scene from a Garden – Tall Trees, High Kicks, and Low, Low Wages – Episode 163 Read More »
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.
You’re a Man – Do You Care About Women? – Episode 162 Read More »
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.
If You’ve Nothing Good to Say, Maybe Think About Shutting Up! – Episode 161 Read More »
In this episode, Dara reads a short story that is new to the listener but not to him. The story has a female protagonist and when he shared it with a female friend a few years ago, he was told that not all women felt the same way as the character he’d written. In reply he said he’d never thought that would be the case.
Character Identification and a New Short Story: David Has Been Great – Episode 160 Read More »
In this final part of his series on masculinity, Dara tries to bring things to a reasonable end. He talks about his lifelong attempt to embody a particular type of masculinity that was a direct response to sexist and reductive attitudes to men that he was exposed to in youth and early adulthood.
What Is a Man, Anyway? Part 5 – Episode 159 Read More »
In the fourth part of his series on masculinity, Dara tries to point out the hierarchical nature of masculinity when the idea of manhood is being discussed. The legacy of Western European colonial domination has resulted in the idealisation of white, straight, middle class masculinity. In other words, for many people when they’re asked to consider men and masculinity, they will default to the aforementioned model. But where does that leave other iterations and expressions of masculinity?
What Is a Man, Anyway? Part 4 – Episode 158 Read More »
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