Podcast Archives - Page 16 of 21

Stepping into the Breach, or The Quandary of Heroes – Episode 51

In this episode Dara is thrust back to his childhood by a concert of John Williams music, and specifically the music of the Star Wars films. That event, and his recent watching of Matt Reeves's The Batman, gets him thinking about fictional heroes and what role they fulfil in our lives, and why in his late forties he is still happy to consume these heroic tales.

Conscience and the Stand Against Puritanism, or The Journey from Dip-Dabs to Hitler – Episode 50

Episode 50 is here and we're going long! It is an absolute whopper of big ideas and small confessions. Dara informs on himself and his lifelong relationship to sugar and how a recent flashpoint with his daughter raised for him ideas relating to addiction and puritanism and the absurdity of righteousness.

Life Above and Below the Surface, or Listening to the Deep Respondent Self – Episode 49

In this mental health-focused episode, Dara reflects on a recent spell of bad form and speaks openly about some of the personal trickiness he has faced over the last couple of years. He talks about his marriage and his skirmishes with depression and presents an argument for being okay with a range of emotions and perceptions that are conventionally considered to be negative.

The Cartography of a Small World, or It’s Lovely to be Here! – Episode 40

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.

The Merits of Tolerance, or The Wisdom of the Two Johnnies – Episode 48

In this episode Dara is prompted by a recent homophobic hate crime in Ireland to examine tolerance in a social context. He wonders whether the moral good of tolerance is as effective as the moral good of intolerance. He asks if the dogmatisation of the good can succumb to conspiracies of silence, and looks back at Ireland when it was in the grip of Catholic authoritarianism.

The Four Agreements of Don Miguel Ruiz – Episode 47

In this episode Dara has a good look at the bestselling 1997 New Age text, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, the Mexican spiritualist and New Age thinker. The four agreements in question relate to how we speak or use language; how we receive the actions of others; the limitations of what we can know about anybody else; and the commitment to always trying to use the best of ourselves. Easier said than done, but Dara tries to examine them in a context of personal responsibility and everyday behaviour, and recognises how they can be applied in his own life.

The Attraction of Protagonists: Three Singular Selves on Screen – Episode 46

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 the discussion is worth having.

The Slap That Wasn’t Mine, or The Puppetry of Persona – Episode 45

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', looking at how it can be used as a tool of emasculation.

Where the Magic Happens, or Winning in the Empty Spaces – Episode 44

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...

Platonism and Sport, or The Impossible Pursuit of Perfection – Episode 43

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 moment, the physical and psychological expression of something exquisite that elevates fan and player alike, but also to be part of the collective good character of a club. When realised, therein lies the possibility of a moral edification.

Listen to Podcast Episodes

Latest Episodes

Stepping into the Breach, or The Quandary of Heroes – Episode 51

Read More »

Conscience and the Stand Against Puritanism, or The Journey from Dip-Dabs to Hitler – Episode 50

Read More »

Life Above and Below the Surface, or Listening to the Deep Respondent Self – Episode 49

Read More »

The Cartography of a Small World, or It’s Lovely to be Here! – Episode 40

Read More »

The Merits of Tolerance, or The Wisdom of the Two Johnnies – Episode 48

Read More »

The Four Agreements of Don Miguel Ruiz – Episode 47

Read More »

The Attraction of Protagonists: Three Singular Selves on Screen – Episode 46

Read More »

The Slap That Wasn’t Mine, or The Puppetry of Persona – Episode 45

Read More »

Where the Magic Happens, or Winning in the Empty Spaces – Episode 44

Read More »

Platonism and Sport, or The Impossible Pursuit of Perfection – Episode 43

Read More »

About the Podcast

Subscribe

Discover AURA

Over 30,000 subscriber listens!

Support me on Patreon

Privacy Policy