Podcast Archives - Page 4 of 19

How To Make a Raspberry Cheesecake – From the Kitchen to a Religious Sect to 90s Hollywood Misogyny – Episode 152

Dara begins this episode by sharing his go-to recipe for making cheesecake, raspberry cheesecake, specifically. Don't ask why - it just felt like the right thing to do. Perhaps he was trying to flaunt his 'new man' credentials in advance of discussing male attitudes to high-profile, successful women in the not-so-distant past.

Intentionality, Clarity, Self-Care, and The Belief in Positive Change – Episode 151

In this episode, Dara is doing what he thinks he should have done last week; namely, reflect on the throughline of one hundred and fifty episodes of the podcast. His mission statement from the original blog iteration of The ClearOut in 2013 remains just as relevant over 10 years later - Decluttering. Clarifying. Connecting. Those three imperatives continue to assert themselves on the weekly attempt to offer something of use to the listener. They, attached to an eye-rolling scepticism about toxic positivity, are at the heart of the podcast's subheading - Wellness with Attitude.

40 Years of Winning and Grinning – The Tom Cruise Episode! – Episode 150

In this 150th episode, Dara decides not to lean into what makes the show what it is, but rather opts for the easy entertainment of the career of Tom Cruise. A recent rewatch of Top Gun Maverick prompted the question - what is it about Tom Cruise that audiences continue to buy? What is it about that smile, and that ever-young body?

Is That What You Believe? The Thoughts That Shape Our Reality – Episode 149

In this episode, Dara once again finds himself considering his mental health battles. Emerging from a very recent depression, he examines the difference in his thinking when he is embattled versus when he is well. Why would he choose to believe one reality and not the other? Why, in spite of very persuasive negative thoughts, does his 'better' self prevail? And why does he compare these differing states and beliefs to acting reviews?

Is It Okay to be Vulnerable? Yes, it is! – Episode 148

In this episode, Dara wants to know what vulnerability looks like. He talks about his own sense of feeling vulnerable at this time in his life and tries to contextualise that feeling in terms of age, time spent, and time left. He also reflects on fear, threat identification, and the conviction that one can be 'got'.

That’s Not My Life! or, The Elusive Human Study – Episode 147

In this episode, Dara is looking at life stories. Prompted by a project of his own that he is working on, he acknowledges the difficulties he finds himself facing before discussing several different lives that he has just consumed in artistic form.

Understanding Brotherhood, or Why ‘Bro’ is not a Dirty Word! – Episode 146

In this episode, Dara is scratching his head over the idea of brotherhood. One of four sons, he feels he has a reasonably reliable perspective on his own experience of brotherhood, one he admits was not, nor continues to be, straightforward.

Was That Absolutely Necessary? or, Keeping Calm in an Age of Chaos! – Episode 145

In this episode, Dara is rolling over some recent themes. He is convinced that cultivated internal calmness is a key part of responding healthily to the chaos of the world. When he talks about the importance of a 'proportional response' to whatever afflicts us, he acknowledges the connection of that idea to the philosophy of traditional martial arts practice. The implication of control is central to that idea and it is why Dara doesn't have a lot of love for UFC competition, where that restraint is often disregarded.

Take Me To Church, or The Honesty of a Good Punch – Episode 144

In this episode Dara tries to understand the connection between the advancement of AI-generated images and his desire for the simplicity and austerity of certain places and practices. There is something about the ornate and ostentatious perfection of AI images that reminds him of the roots of the Protestant movement as a response to the grotesque greed and riches of the Catholic Church.

Identifying The ‘Write’ Voice – The Joy of Creative Luxury – Episode 143

In this episode, Dara reflects on a few days spent at a writers' retreat and his attempts to slip into a writing flow. Among other things, he talks about identifying his preferred voice, the subject matter he finds himself drawn to, and trusting that his own process would reveal to him what he should be trying to write. He describes as luxurious the gifts of headspace and optimal conditions for creativity.

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How To Make a Raspberry Cheesecake – From the Kitchen to a Religious Sect to 90s Hollywood Misogyny – Episode 152

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Intentionality, Clarity, Self-Care, and The Belief in Positive Change – Episode 151

Read More »

40 Years of Winning and Grinning – The Tom Cruise Episode! – Episode 150

Read More »

Is That What You Believe? The Thoughts That Shape Our Reality – Episode 149

Read More »

Is It Okay to be Vulnerable? Yes, it is! – Episode 148

Read More »

That’s Not My Life! or, The Elusive Human Study – Episode 147

Read More »

Understanding Brotherhood, or Why ‘Bro’ is not a Dirty Word! – Episode 146

Read More »

Was That Absolutely Necessary? or, Keeping Calm in an Age of Chaos! – Episode 145

Read More »

Take Me To Church, or The Honesty of a Good Punch – Episode 144

Read More »

Identifying The ‘Write’ Voice – The Joy of Creative Luxury – Episode 143

Read More »

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