The ClearOut

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.

Before he gets to that, Dara revisits Peter Weir's 1985 romantic thriller, Witness, which he rewatched to see if it was appropriate for his 10-year-old daughter to see. He found himself seduced by the chemistry between the two leads, Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis. The film has aged extremely well in its depiction of the culture clash that occurs when Ford's savvy city cop has to hide out in McGillis's old world Amish community. The cultural and sexual tension ratchet up as the stakes get ever higher. Why is that chemistry so hard to find, and why is it often the linchpin of many TV shows?

Dara has been listening to an excellent film history podcast that he just discovered. Listening to its creator and host, the film critic and writer Karina Longworth, discuss erotic movies of the 90s, and quote various contemporaneous publications including Playboy and Gloria Steinem's Ms, it is extraordinary how blatant and unapologetic the sexist backlash was as directed at actresses like Sharon Stone, Demi Moore, Drew Barrymore, Alicia Silverstone and more.

Discussing his own thoughts on casual misogyny and the fear and hatred of women that some men experience, Dara recalls his own experience of watching the movies and performers in question, and tries to understand why the rhetoric of women being the enemy still has little trouble finding a male audience.

After consuming all that bile and chauvinism, Dara turns to a late 90s girl-power movie to provide a cheesy and satisfying antidote...

Karina Longworth's excellent podcast on the history and forgotten stories of Hollywood's first century: https://www.youmustrememberthispodcast.com/

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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.

Dara recognises a certain amount of nominative determinism in his relationship to clarity. Why does he so badly want to be clear? He equates clarity with calmness, both of mind and emotion, but is quick to acknowledge that clarity in his case does not mean brevity, as he demonstrates on a weekly basis! He discusses the place of intentionality in this mix of wellness and self-awareness, identifying the complexity of intentionality that operates on a more subconscious level.

Thinking about his belief in the human capacity for change, Dara tries to accommodate the horror and depravity that humans can visit upon one another. He believes that terrible pain and trauma can be overcome, but only in the presence of patience, time, love, and forgiveness.

Finally, the new series about Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley is looked at in the context of clarity, intention and calmness. Why is that beautiful black and white cinematography so pacifying?

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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?

Dara looks at the Cruise filmography and identifies 1983 as his breakout year. That means it is a neat 40 years to last year's Mission Impossible instalment. So, which half of Cruise's career would you take over the other? The first 20 years, or the second 20? At exactly the halfway mark there is a 2003 film that Dara reckons red-flagged the beginning of a Cruise wobble and save for a few notable exceptions, laid the groundwork for dialled-in performances far beneath the leading man's capabilities.

Dara wonders who would represent Ireland if there were an acting Olympics. He argues it wouldn't necessarily be the best actor, but perhaps the one that does the best job of representing what we want to believe about ourselves. He thinks Cruise would be the US choice and considers representatives from other countries too.

It was in an early Cruise film that Dara responded to two disparate iterations of masculinity - one that he knew was very far from his own natural leanings, and one which he hoped he might one day embody.

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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?

A relevant aspect of self-care is how we indicate healthy habits to ourselves. How we communicate to ourselves that there are habits of wellness in place can insulate us from true despair. Dara reflects on the current Irish government and argues that they are failing to communicate these signs of care to the electorate. He further argues that that is partly the reason the recent referendum was so conclusively rejected.

Speaking of Irish politics, Dara sees a connection between the retirements of Leo Varadkar, the Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) and Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager. There is something in their retirement announcements that clearly validated their inner lives and their emotional energy, something that seems relatively new in male leadership. Having spoken in the UK last week at a male-centred public presentation, Dara talks about the need for the demonstrated care, love and validation of men as a counter to what people identify as 'toxic' masculinity.

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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'.

Having started watching the provocative 2019 series Euphoria, Dara recognises that spending time in the company of beautiful people doesn't do much for his sense of vitality and relevance, but he has a lot of time for the central performance of Zendaya. In spite of her excellence, he wonders about the next generation of Hollywood actors and whether they're all that.

Responding to the scenes of debauchery played out in Euphoria, Dara thinks about parenting fears and what dangers lie in wait for his daughter a few years from now. He shares his approach to preparing for those threats and hopes he isn't kidding himself. He also mentions a recent viewing experience with his daughter that was less than perfect.

At the end of the episode, Dara reads something he has just written in response to a very enjoyable photoshoot he took part in with the excellent Sharon Smith. Sometimes, things just work out beautifully.

Find Sharon's work here: https://hippyandbloom.ie/

Website: https://theclearout.com/

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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.

Before he gets into that, he spares a happy thought for the Oscar success of Cillian Murphy, rewarded for his turn as Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's eponymous film, and recalls seeing the actor in a stunning stage production over 25 years ago. For the benefit of non-Irish listeners, he attempts to break down the unique character and confidence of Cork people.

The character studies that Dara looks at in some detail are mostly biopics, but there is also one documentary and a theatre piece. He shares his opinion about how successful or not he found them, and gives his reasons why. The people in question are as follows:

Leonard Bernstein in Bradley Cooper's Maestro

Enzo Ferrari in Michael Mann's Ferrari

Danny O'Mahony in Brokentalkers' Bellow

Jon Batiste in the documentary American Symphony

Rudolf Hoss in Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest

Five very different approaches to capturing a life or a life's work, or simply a key moment in a life. All very definite and considered, each with its own particular flavour. No spoilers, so feel free to listen if you haven't seen the works in question.

Also, Dara's favourite 'brother moment' from a movie...

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YouTube: The ClearOut Podcast

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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.

In the online space at least, 'bro culture' seems to be thriving, and certainly in the world of podcasting there is a prolific number of shows hosted by male friends and featuring largely male guests. Many of these shows are extremely popular and successful in a market that is over-supplied with options, but in spite of that success, or perhaps because of it, bros and their shows are dismissed with sneering condescension.

Some of that criticism comes from female voices, and Dara wonders if this is a point in history when it has never been more acceptable for women to express their anger, justified or not, at the opposite sex. He argues that the world is changing fast, but that many women of a certain generation have warranted historical anger towards men and patriarchal injustices.

Dara lays out his theory of healthy brotherhood, rooting it in pre-conditions of safety and non-judgement. He believes many men thrive in environments where they feel validated, unthreatened, and free to be open and vulnerable without shame. He proposes that men who can access safe spaces where they can express their fears and struggles and be supported by other men, will be far less likely to take out their anger on their loved ones or the world around them.

He refers to different television and movie iterations of brotherhood, both good and bad, and gives special mention to Sean Durkin's The Iron Claw (2023), which he believes to be one of the most beautiful depictions of brotherhood ever put on screen.

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YouTube: The ClearOut Podcast

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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.

Kenneth Branagh's 'Belfast' garnered a lot of attention and Oscars buzz when it was released in 2021. Having just watched it, Dara offers his own opinion on what does and doesn't work about it. He wonders if the Troubles in Northern Ireland are simply too dark and tragic to be softened by a romantic childhood reverie. He accepts though that it is both Branagh's vision and his life, and he is entitled to represent what he wants.

That idea of representing a life is currently at the forefront of Dara's mind as he is working on a written project that has him looking back at his own childhood. He tries to grasp what is needed to make sense of a life in terms of context, reflection, and intersection.

Also - yet another rainy day, garden-traversing chickens, Colin Farrell brilliance, and the survival of the core self.

Website: https://theclearout.com/

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YouTube: The ClearOut Podcast

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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.

Thinking of the aesthetics of traditional Protestantism puts Dara in mind of the stripped-back design of karate dojos and martial arts training halls. He sees a connection also in the empty spaces of theatres. These spaces accommodate human endeavour and creativity and vibrate with the energy of that collective effort and yearning to make the ideal tangible. AI has no such vibration.

Dara starts the episode with thoughts on the death of Alexei Navalny and the desire of Vladimir Putin to silence his critics. He's not sure how Putin's strong man politics will connect to his critique of AI, but the connection reveals itself before he signs off.

Amongst other things touched on are the honesty of a punch, the benefits of occupying your own space, being a lone traveller in the universe, shark hunts, and trying to move thoughtfully through life.

Article on sea swimming and the vagus nerve by psychotherapist Conor O'Leary: https://conoroleary.ie/sea-swimming-a-refreshing-dive-into-well-being/

Shark Drunk, the book about life, seafaring, and hunting sharks: https://booksfromnorway.com/books/130-shark-drunk

Website: https://theclearout.com/

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YouTube: The ClearOut Podcast

Email: [email protected]

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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.

While away, Dara rewatched for the first time in many years 1968's royal melodrama, The Lion In Winter. A hysterical and historical account of a family Christmas going to hell, it features two fantastic performances from Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn, as well as stalwart turns from Anthony Hopkins, Timothy Dalton and others in their earliest screen roles. But what is it about Hepburn and O'Toole's raging husband and wife that reminds Dara of his own parents?

Also touched on - Valentine's Day thoughts, vagus nerve topicality, departing guinea pigs, Ireland problems, men giving nothing away, and the return of The Receptive Mind!

Website: https://theclearout.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theclearoutpodcast/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/theclearout2

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclearoutpodcast/

YouTube: The ClearOut Podcast

Email: [email protected]

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theclearout

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.