In this episode, Dara is responding to three films he recently watched that all touched on themes of the expression of the individual, sovereign identity, iterations of 20th century masculinity, and the concept of success and failure implicit in those performances.
In this strong and dominant episode, Dara shares his muscular response to Louis Theroux’s new documentary exploring the dreaded manosphere. As Lori Petty said in 1991’s Point Break – “too much testosterone around here for me”.
Holding Space for the Manosphere Confusion Vortex! – Episode 245 Read More »
In this episode, Dara is thinking of the old men. Well, two old men specifically – Robert De Niro and Harrison Ford, both of whom just had very public displays of emotion. De Niro started crying on a chat show as he reflected on the state of the world and hoped for a better future. Ford made a very eloquent and emotional speech as he accepted a life time achievement award in Hollywood.
Dry Your Eyes, Mate – The Tears of Octogenarians – Episode 242 Read More »
In this episode, Dara has thoughts on December coming round so quickly and the accompanying temptation to collapse in a heap. Does the festive season differ in any significant way from the rest of the year? Christmas really did used to be something special and genuinely indulgent – but does that still land when the rest of the year seems to involve frequent indulgence too?
In this episode Dara is reflecting on masculinity for a couple of reasons. One is the continuing aftershock of the death of Pepper the dog, the other is because of the continuing presentation of a narrow version of masculinity that seems somewhat inadequate for purpose.
Surprised by Beauty, or The Art of Piercing Armour – Episode 217 Read More »
This week’s episode is all about men and their flawed humanity. Reflecting on his childhood and adolescence, Dara is struck by the fact that he cannot identify a single serious, or substantial man. He wonders if this is a reflection of his unrealistic idealism or whether it is an indication that men embrace a certain model of infantilisation that is tantamount to self-sabotage.
The Assumption of Imperfection, or Where Are the Serious Men? – Episode 213 Read More »
Dara kicks off this episode celebrating the extraordinary story of Tina Turner and how she overcame the worst adversity to reinvent herself as an iconic figure of 80s and 90s popular music. Having recently seen the astonishing stage musical based on her life, he has renewed enthusiasm for Tina’s inspirational girl power narrative.
The Intimacy of Male Connection, or What Do Men Need to Talk? – Episode 208 Read More »
In this week’s show, Dara talks about his experience of fatherhood and his ever-evolving relationship with his daughter. He continues to fall at the same hurdle on a regular basis – will he, or can he change? He shares a personal father moment that made him cry and wonders why it can be so difficult to cry for oneself.
Fathers’ Day Episode – Stopping the Rot and Staying in the Lovelight – Episode 207 Read More »
This episode has something for everyone. Dara kicks off with an acknowledgement of the show’s 4th birthday before breaking down his fandom of Tottenham Hotspur in the wake of their recent Europa League triumph – the trophy monkey is finally off the collective backs of long-suffering Spurs fans. Thanks be to the Gods of Football!
Monkey? What Monkey? – Catharsis, Fandom, and the Owning of Self – Episode 206 Read More »
In this episode Dara is thinking about challenging moments and situations and the places we put them to help us cope better. After a very unpleasant accident that sent him to hospital, Dara laughs at the way men can fail to offer care, depending on their assessment of the urgency involved – everything can be laughed at until it can’t.
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