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We’ve Been Waiting Such a Long Time, and It’s Still Not Here – Ireland’s Eurovision Drought – Episode 103

In this week’s episode, Dara looks at Ireland’s storied relationship with the Eurovision Song Contest, a competition in which Ireland were once utterly dominant but has long since become an arena in which they are serial losers. He recalls his own experiences of watching the event as a child and how it was a source of great national pride and fascination. Ireland was a different country then, a different entity in a very different stage of its development and one that was about to change beyond all recognition.

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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.

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Honing the Eye, the Hand, and the Mind: Interview with Illustrator and Sculptor, Alan Clarke – Episode 68

In this choc-a-bloc inteview, Dara enjoys being taken to art school by the accomplished illustrator and sculptor, Alan Clarke. Alan and Dara were in primary school together a million years ago and this is their first time to sit down for a proper chat since then.

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Acting Out in the Extreme, or When Private Pain becomes Public Tragedy – Episode 27

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 offered as a metaphor for profound pain and alienation finding its equal and opposite expression in extreme acts.

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