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The Voice of Truth and Anguish – Saying Farewell to Sinead O’Connor – Episode 115

In this episode, Dara takes his time to say goodbye to Sinead O’Connor and speaks of her relevance to him from the early days of her career right up to more recent times when life presented her with a terrible burden to bear. He includes a clip from Ep 34 of the show when he spoke about the death by suicide of her son in January 2022.

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Survival, Transcendence, and the Myth of Whatever Doesn’t Kill You – Episode 108

In this episode, Dara talks about the affection for survival narratives and considers the respective legacies of the recently deceased singers and songwriters Tina Turner and Christy Dignam. He wonders whether we should be defined by what we’ve overcome in life. He also questions the value of legacy and argues for the need to be more concerned with our present-tense impact.

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Safety First! – The Benefits of Safe Places, Safe People, and a Safe You – Episode 105

In this episode Dara looks at the idea of safety as a keystone of wellness. In particular he concentrates on environmental and interpersonal safety. This pertains to the places we live and the people we share our lives with. Are they safe? How do we understand and recognise safety? And why is it so important, anyway?

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The Vulnerable Idealism of Living With an Open Heart, or There’s One Born Every Minute! – Episode 96

In this episode, Dara examines the centrality of heart to his own personal philosophy. He recognises that his concept of the metaphorical heart is suffused with his natural idealism, and how that can lead him into situations where he can be easily wounded. He argues against the interpretation of open-heartedness being equal to naivete.

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The Insanity of Being Unable to Tolerate a Different Opinion to Your Tribe, or What Exactly Did JK Rowling Do Wrong? – Episode 74

In this episode, Dara wades into the murky waters of the discourse around transgender identity and language, and who is or isn’t a woman. The focal point for the discussion is the recent Twitter row that erupted in the wake of Graham Norton’s framing of cancel culture, the support he got from Billy Bragg, and the anger it inspired in JK Rowling.

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