The ClearOut

In this episode, Dara looks at the unwitting victims of a biblical exorcism before cruising through Michael Cimino's 1978 masterpiece, The Deer Hunter, with particular focus on Robert De Niro's performance in it. A case for greatness is made and De Niro is pitted against Lionel Messi, the Argentinian footballing genius.

The anthemic God Bless America - the song used in the concluding scene of The Deer Hunter - is discussed along with its attendant controversies, both for the song and the singer Kate Smith, who made it her own through the mid-20th century.

Reflecting on both America's Vietnam War and revisionist history aspect of cancel culture, Dara concludes with a reflection on the usefulness of revising our own personal histories.

Website: https://theclearout.com/

Social: https://twitter.com/DaraClear

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

In this episode Dara tries to unpick the puzzle of presence. He draws a line between perceived safety and protecting the precious parts of ourselves. He argues for integrity and wholeness as the pathways to self-acceptance and the tools for calm and confident presence. He also shares a very personal story to illustrate the power of unexpressed emotion.

Along the way, he predicts a poor end for his chickens, discusses his hippie upbringing, talks about ear piercings and homophobia, and references several actors, but fails to remember David Fincher's name. But throughout it all, he is present. He thinks he is, anyway.

Website: https://theclearout.com/

Social: https://twitter.com/DaraClear

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

This episode is all about stars! Dara discusses at length the many versions of A Star Is Born and their relative strengths and weaknesses, as well as their gender politics. He also uses those movies to look at trauma and the dire male response to trauma and addiction by one of the central characters that is the penultimate act of each version of the story.

That leads to briefly touching on alcoholism and the centrality of drink in Irish culture.

He concludes by talking about Jocelyn Bell Burnell, a brilliant Northern Irish astrophysicist who belatedly got the recognition she deserved.

Jocelyn Bell Burnell film: https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000007768850/the-silent-pulse-of-the-universe.html

Lucinda Williams 'Sweet Old World': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0KuZZZjR_M

Website: https://theclearout.com/

Social: https://twitter.com/DaraClear

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

In this episode, Dara reveals some naming issues regarding the animals in his life and takes the opportunity to slaughter his production team in the process.

He wanders into the wilderness of ignorance and wonders if we cannot become comfortable with what we don't know. Part of the discussion involves a gentle juggle of the concepts of knowledge and understanding which takes Dara back to his university days and a particular philosophy lecturer he once had.

Along the way there is time to touch on an Irish heatwave, an aversion to cigarettes, and a few references to heat and sacred cows in cinema - I'm looking at you, Fred Rogers and Abraham Lincoln!

Website: https://theclearout.com/

Social: https://twitter.com/DaraClear

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

In this episode, Dara has a long hard look at the notion and reality of madness and places it in a context of conflict.

The world of karate and traditional martial arts and the codified dynamics of attack and defence therein is a key reference point.

The Joker, as featured in Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's 1988 graphic novel 'The Killing Joke', also contributes to the conversation.

It is a meeting of worlds and a place where some worlds will never meet. It's meaty, and 'meety' stuff!

The Massachusetts hospital and its insane asylum - https://worcesterhistorical.com/the-treatment-of-insanity/

The Killing Joke - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_The_Killing_Joke

Social: https://twitter.com/DaraClear

Website: https://theclearout.com/

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

In this episode, Dara talks about how listening to another podcast stimulated all of this episode's talking points.

He discusses the casting and similar subject matter of three very recent movies, at the end of which discussion Kevin Costner's butt puts in a brief appearance.

A guest's voice from that other podcast reminds him of a friend who put down a very clear boundary.

He talks about issues of identity and representation and who gets to tell whose story. He wonders about the subjective nature of experience.

Throughout the various points is an attempt to dip a toe into, and make sense of, the muddy waters of identity politics, culture wars and wokeness, and an R. Crumb solution to the impossibility of it all.

Finally, he looks at the French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau and a thought-provoking notion of his.

The other podcast: https://edithbowman.com/2021/06/episode-252-harry-macqueen-keaton-henson-on-the-music-of-supernova/

The R Crumb t-shirt: https://www.crumbproducts.com/Mr-Natural-Work-On-It-Tee-Shirt_p_459.html

Social: https://twitter.com/DaraClear

Website: https://theclearout.com/

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

In this episode Dara revisits his relationship with hats and head coverings and recalls a distinctive haircut from his teens that he took with him to a summer job in the USA in 1990.

He also discusses a piece he wrote about a recent period of anxiety he was going through, the reaction it got, the value of articulating our pain, and an element of his coping mechanism that he didn't write about. This leads to a brief analysis of how choosing to respond to stressors rather than reacting to them is preferable, and the value of looking at how different aspects of ourselves can co-exist.

Along the way there are references to John Huston's Key Largo, a Canadian theatre festival, dodgy British light entertainment TV, the Lucky Luke comic books, M. Night Shyamalan, and human cat food dispensers.

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

In this episode, Dara explains why he has a little cold and reflects on the not so great behaviour we tolerate in ourselves towards those closest to us. He takes the discussion further to reflect on the legacies of family trauma and how the challenge of not passing that trauma to subsequent generations should be embraced. Included in this section is a reflection on his own relationship with depression.

He concludes with a look at the Man Cold phenomenon, and how it might be more dangerous than anybody realises - it may be funny, but does it invalidate male suffering? Aaa...Aaa ...Aaa-choo!

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

In this episode, Dara can't remember what a theremin is called. He talks about playing cricket with his daughter and then recalls watching the Detroit Tigers baseball team in Detroit 31 years ago. A discussion of the American baseball novel The Natural, its Arthurian roots, and Robert Redford's acting in the 1984 movie adaptation follows. Finally, sentimentality and resentment are discussed as oppositional and equally unhelpful forces in relationships.

The two actors from The Natural that don't get a shout out and should, are Wilford Brimley and Richard Farnsworth, whose easy and playful chemistry is a joy to behold. May they rest in thespian peace.

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

In this episode, Dara relives some acting experiences he'd rather forget. He admits that clowns inspired him to want to become an actor and goes on to argue that clowns have a lot to teach about human wonder and vulnerability. Along the way he discusses being the owner of an interesting chin, a significant first date with his wife, and something fun to do with a blender!

Dostoyevsky and Shakespeare get shout outs, although the wrong Shakespeare play is referenced - it should be Two Gentlemen of Verona, not All's Well That Ends Well. Oh well.

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