Podcast Archives - Page 10 of 19

Assassination Fascination and the Gun as Symbol of Cultural Psyche – Episode 92

Inspired by a podcast about Julius Caesar, Dara realises he has long had a fascination with assassinations, particularly those that have played out in movies. In this episode he looks closely at the celluloid executions that most impacted him, paying close attention to Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde and Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, amongst others.

Bent On Being Happy: Interview with Musician, Singer, Songwriter, and Music Therapist, Chiara Clear – Episode 91

In this episode, Dara finally achieves a long-term goal of the podcast - he gets his wife to sit down for an interview at Hashtag Blessed!

Pillars, Pathfinders, and Dodging Space Trash – Episode 90

Dara is not in the mood for this week's episode. He simply doesn't have the headspace. But he talks himself into it and soon warms up as he mentions how a recent football podcast planted the seed for what he wants to talk about - touchstones. What are the reference points that help us negotiate the world in which we find ourselves? Who are the pillar-like figures that we feel we can lean on? Who remains unchanged?

Stirring the Masculinity Pot and Countering Dubious Male Voices – Episode 89

In this episode, Dara is all stirred up as a result of the theatre production he is currently working on. The subject of the work is masculinity and the nurturing and shaping of boys into men. Dara admits that the process of examining this subject closely is leaving him exhausted but also inspired and full of almost uncontrollable thought processes and emotional impulses around what masculinity means to him

Laughing at the Wrong Things, or Why Cat Stevens is So Funny to Me – Episode 88

In this episode, Dara looks at a couple of recent news stories in Ireland that have raised some confronting questions about where we're at as a society.

The Attraction of Certain Instruments, or Oh, What a Lovely Wand! – Episode 87

After hearing his wife listening to a selection of different piano pieces in preparation for a class, Dara realised he wanted to talk about motifs. He discusses motifs in the work of film score composers before warming to the idea of motifs in one's life - what themes and fascinations have recurred over a lifetime? What has been circled back to? What has been underscored and reiterated?

Notes From a Funeral, or The Power of the Collective Experience – Episode 86

In this episode Dara shares his experience of a recent family funeral that seemed to succeed in channelling a profound communal expression of love and grief. Because of his role in the service, he had to wait to express his own feelings.

Goldfish Memory and the Things We Get Used To – Episode 85

If last week was the wrap-up of the year, this week is assessing the landscape of the year to come. Dara acknowledges the generic themes he has embraced for the moment that's in it and tries to contextualise his own attitude to the beginning of another year. Part of that attitude is informed by his birthday falling in January, something that has helped him cultivate a lifelong affinity for the month and what it can represent.

A Year of Watching – Reviewing 2022 from The Beatles to The Ring to Rule Them All – Episode 84

An attempt to wrap up the year that was becomes a review of stand out movies and TV taken in over the last twelve months. Somewhat symmetrically, Dara realises he began and ended the year watching the work of Peter Jackson - he took in Jackson's Beatles documentary in January and is finishing the year by revisiting The Lord of the Rings trilogy. There have been plenty of other memorable productions along the way.

The 2022 Christmas Special! – Episode 83

Dara ain't gonna lie - this was a monster effort to produce! A little recital with his wife, an unexpected but most welcome interview with his daughter, and a new story for the season that's in it, all pulled together on the day of the episode. And done while sick.

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Assassination Fascination and the Gun as Symbol of Cultural Psyche – Episode 92

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Bent On Being Happy: Interview with Musician, Singer, Songwriter, and Music Therapist, Chiara Clear – Episode 91

Read More »

Pillars, Pathfinders, and Dodging Space Trash – Episode 90

Read More »

Stirring the Masculinity Pot and Countering Dubious Male Voices – Episode 89

Read More »

Laughing at the Wrong Things, or Why Cat Stevens is So Funny to Me – Episode 88

Read More »

The Attraction of Certain Instruments, or Oh, What a Lovely Wand! – Episode 87

Read More »

Notes From a Funeral, or The Power of the Collective Experience – Episode 86

Read More »

Goldfish Memory and the Things We Get Used To – Episode 85

Read More »

A Year of Watching – Reviewing 2022 from The Beatles to The Ring to Rule Them All – Episode 84

Read More »

The 2022 Christmas Special! – Episode 83

Read More »

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