identity Archives - The ClearOut

Assembling the Broke Existentialist Army, or Who I Am is Who my Child Is! – Episode 170

In this episode, prompted by his cat and dog, Dara is considering the idea of essentialism. He talks about core dispositions and the perennial pitching of nature against nurture. He argues that there is very little that is not in the mix when it comes to how our identities emerge. He shares his thoughts about his daughter on this stage of her journey and wonders about her essential leaning.

Assembling the Broke Existentialist Army, or Who I Am is Who my Child Is! – Episode 170 Read More »

What Is a Man, Anyway? Part 4 – Episode 158

Leave a Comment / Podcast / Dara Clear

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 »

Maestro! Bradley Cooper’s Bravura Take on Bernstein – Episode 136

Leave a Comment / Podcast / Dara Clear

Following the previous episode’s last-minute production, Dara does another late night recording, this time in the wind and rain, with at least two interruptions from a sleeping dog. He’s determined to maintain his line, and that means he refuses to put out another delayed episode.

Maestro! Bradley Cooper’s Bravura Take on Bernstein – Episode 136 Read More »

Zionist Intransigence, Pop Star Isolation, and the Power of the Originating Wound – Episode 130

Leave a Comment / Podcast / Dara Clear

In this episode, Dara reflects on some Jewish insights into the Israel-Palestine conflict which he found both helpful and inspiring. He posits that in the act of dehumanising Palestinians, Israel ends up dehumanising itself, which is its own kind of tragedy.

Zionist Intransigence, Pop Star Isolation, and the Power of the Originating Wound – Episode 130 Read More »

Don’t Turn Off the Lights! or, Have You Made Room for Romance? – Episode 129

Leave a Comment / Podcast / Dara Clear

In this episode Dara reveals that he is unaccustomed to the comfort of pajamas. This fact is relevant to a very recent late-night incident that he shares. That same incident concluded with an inherent contradiction relating to the presence of both love and rejection.

Don’t Turn Off the Lights! or, Have You Made Room for Romance? – Episode 129 Read More »

Collective Heartbreak and Tears of a Clown, or How I Baptised my Baby Daughter – Episode 126

Leave a Comment / Podcast / Dara Clear

In this pendulum swing of an episode, Dara is dancing between joy and pain. It is a journey that takes him from Ireland’s expulsion from the Rugby World Cup last week to the birth of his daughter 10 years ago.

Collective Heartbreak and Tears of a Clown, or How I Baptised my Baby Daughter – Episode 126 Read More »

A Hat is Not a Personality, or The Fear of Not Being There – Episode 123

Leave a Comment / Podcast / Dara Clear

In this episode Dara is looking into the void and trying not to feel frightened. Thinking about the construction of identity and personality, he is curious about how comfortable or not we are with what lies beneath. He asks if you can handle being left alone with yourself.

A Hat is Not a Personality, or The Fear of Not Being There – Episode 123 Read More »

Why You Shouldn’t Bring an Axe to a Party, or How to Sit Down with Others – Episode 121

Leave a Comment / Podcast / Dara Clear

In this episode, Dara argues that in the process of ‘othering’, many are guilty of thinking only in monolithic terms, i.e. attributing unchanging characteristics to all members of the othered party. This reduces people to stereotypes and cliches, and robs them of both their individuality and the presumption of no bias. He wonders if this isn’t a huge part of the problem with discourse around identity politics, woke culture and gender wars.

Why You Shouldn’t Bring an Axe to a Party, or How to Sit Down with Others – Episode 121 Read More »

The Importance of Orientation, or Why the Loss of Bearings is No Joke! – Episode 113

Leave a Comment / Podcast / Dara Clear

In this episode, Dara’s aged cat has gone to the toilet in the wrong place, and the cause is not feline terrorism but dementia and disorientation. The loss of bearings is a very difficult thing to negotiate because it can result in dislocation. Dara argues that as fundamentally relational beings, we need landmarks and touchstones to position ourselves in the world.

The Importance of Orientation, or Why the Loss of Bearings is No Joke! – Episode 113 Read More »

Foundational Beliefs of Identity and Gender-Neutral Parenting, or How I Got Cool With Being a Girl-Father! – Episode 99

Leave a Comment / Podcast / Dara Clear

In this episode, prompted by Spike Lee’s He Got Game (1998), Dara examines his convictions as a parent, and recalls how an ill-fated Irish journalist helped him get comfortable with the idea of becoming a father to a daughter. He identifies a pillar of his parenting approach that he hopes he will manage to keep intact. He also looks at the idea of gender-neutral parenting, something he tries to adopt with his daughter.

Foundational Beliefs of Identity and Gender-Neutral Parenting, or How I Got Cool With Being a Girl-Father! – Episode 99 Read More »

identity

Assembling the Broke Existentialist Army, or Who I Am is Who my Child Is! – Episode 170

What Is a Man, Anyway? Part 4 – Episode 158

Maestro! Bradley Cooper’s Bravura Take on Bernstein – Episode 136

Zionist Intransigence, Pop Star Isolation, and the Power of the Originating Wound – Episode 130

Don’t Turn Off the Lights! or, Have You Made Room for Romance? – Episode 129

Collective Heartbreak and Tears of a Clown, or How I Baptised my Baby Daughter – Episode 126

A Hat is Not a Personality, or The Fear of Not Being There – Episode 123

Why You Shouldn’t Bring an Axe to a Party, or How to Sit Down with Others – Episode 121

The Importance of Orientation, or Why the Loss of Bearings is No Joke! – Episode 113

Foundational Beliefs of Identity and Gender-Neutral Parenting, or How I Got Cool With Being a Girl-Father! – Episode 99

Support me on Patreon

Privacy Policy