The ClearOut

In this episode, Dara reflects on abandoning his recording session last week and admits to a loss of faith in the podcast. He reminds himself of a couple of the motivations behind starting the show 4 years ago and cites Bob Rafelson's brilliant New Hollywood film of 1972 - The King of Marvin Gardens - as being one of his sources of inspiration.

Currently back in therapy for the first time in over two decades, Dara is feeling a bit stirred up as he submits to the process. All things point to a reckoning and he considers the centrality to his life of creativity and performance. He shares his thoughts on 'Sing Sing', the excellent 2024 movie about a real-life theatre program that runs in the U.S. prison system. The film features several ex-prisoners who participated in the rehabilitative work and their performances carry something deeper than mere acting.

Karla Sofia Gascon, the trans actor who plays the title character in 'Emilia Perez', has found herself mired in controversy over some offensive social media comments she made in the past. What are the implications for being the face of representation? How realistic are the expectations placed on a person who becomes the symbol of a specific identity and experience? And are we living through a time of peak intolerance of imperfection?

Also, chaotic movie characters, Jack Nicholson's best mode, and ageing acting pals.

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In this episode, once he has sorted one Deirdre from another, Dara is reflecting on the idea of privilege after attending the Holocaust Memorial Day event recently held in Dublin. He reckons it has something to do with gratitude and being permitted entry to a special group at a special time, even if it is just as a visitor.

The film Emilia Perez is on Dara's mind after it received a huge number of Oscar nominations for this year's awards ceremony. He is a bit mystified by this level of acclaim and talks about how the movie has not been received especially well in Mexico, where it is set. It also raises some questions about the depiction of transition stories and whether representation is a good thing when the experience is over-simplified or romanticised.

Finally, Dara has to accept he has nothing to say. And that is okay. In fact, it might be an excellent existential approach to the shrill screeching of the Digital Age.

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In this episode, Dara has an in-depth conversation with Eilish Fisher, the author of the brilliant 'Fia and the Last Snow Deer', a novel for older children. Written in blank verse, Fisher says it's the story she wrote for her ten-year-old self. A gripping adventure that sets the young Fia on a dangerous quest to save her small tribe from endless darkness and hunger, the closer she gets to success, the more she realises her triumph might cost her her closest friend - Solas the Snow Deer. Mythical, haunting, and beautifully written and illustrated, the book is a compelling read.

Dara and Eilish discuss her background in medieval Irish history and how that informed the writing of the book. They talk about the hero's journey and the ubiquity of certain archetypes across different mythological traditions, and the examination of ancient authorship in a context of patronage and religious influence. Regardless of origin, they agree that the archetypes still prevail that inform the heroes and villains of many contemporary stories.

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In this episode, Dara recounts a series of unexpected events, incidents and coincidences that all occurred in a relatively compressed period of time. Something was obviously in the ether.

Amongst other things, he talks about a key moment in the journey of What Does He Need? - the long-running community arts work exploring masculinity with which he has been very involved. An exhibition of a key strand of the work - Boys in the Making - has just opened in the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. Being there gave Dara a chance to enjoy a quarter of the city that is a welcome contrast to more popular areas in the capital.

The episode ends with some thoughts on the appeal of Pamela Anderson and Colin Farrell at this stage of their respective journeys.

Only one question remains - who sent Dara the mystery postcard? He thinks his daughter doth protest too much...

Website: https://theclearout.com/

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In this episode, Dara is reflecting on the year that was and acknowledging the tendency many have to do New Year's accounting. For him it is not only the start of a new year, but also his birthday - another prompt to do a stocktake. 2024 wasn't kind, and as he looks down the road of 2025 he wonders what tools are going to serve him best.

Last year felt like a negation of many of Dara's principles of wellness and life philosophy, so he considers what he might do differently from here. Even though the last twelve months left him reeling, he realises he has a body of evidence that offers a counter narrative to how he feels - did somebody mention 'units'?

Ultimately, while there are areas of his life that need confronting levels of reexamination, he has to conclude there are a few positives that are probably more important than anything else. Which is no small thing.

Website: https://theclearout.com/

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To kick off the new year, Dara starts with a 'listy' episode, recalling his top 10 movies of 2024. He follows this with a list of his top old or previously seen movies, including 1954's Rear Window and 1982's Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

His favourite TV experiences involved a stunning central performance by the Irish actor Andrew Scott, and an actress who featured in two of his top movies of the year - can you guess who it is? Here's a clue, her name rhymes with 'Senbaya'!

Documentaries next, all movie or entertainment related, followed by podcasts, which ranged in theme from movies and TV to murderers, economists and Oxford philosophers.

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It's the 2024 Christmas Special!

Pulling it out of the bag at the eleventh hour, Dara presents a very short, but somehow shaggy interview with his daughter Maeve, who gives a shout-out to Harry Styles, of all people.

This is followed by this year's new Christmas story, 'Arrivals'. It follows a father who tries to honour his faith in his missing son by being at a certain place on a certain day every year. Will his faith be rewarded? A quiet and quietly rewarding story for the season that's in it.

Finally, the episode plays out with an acapella version of a traditional Christmas carol. Listen, if you dare!

Website: https://theclearout.com/

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

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

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Email: [email protected]

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

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In this episode, Dara is speaking from a position of powerlessness thanks to the after-effects of Storm Darragh, which ripped through many parts of Ireland last week with an unforgiving ferocity.

Dara wishes there was more unforgiving ferocity for FIFA, the football organisation that continues to embrace sportswashing with disturbing immorality. In other areas of concern, he celebrates Arundhati Joy’s indictment of Israel’s ongoing perpetration of war crimes in Palestine. Not for the first time, Dara argues that to be critical of Israel need not make one anti-Semitic.

Moving on to more cheery subjects, Dara relates the story of how he met his sister for the first time only eighteen months ago. Coincidences abound as he recalls their first moment of contact and the ensuing sharing of information. Most memorable was their first meeting and a hug that will never be forgotten.

Also, yet another making of the case for 1944’s ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’ being the ultimate template for the sitcom format that would become ubiquitous in the years to come.

The ClearOut episode on Ann Lovett and Joanne Hayes - https://theclearout.com/podcast/the-cost-of-neglect-or-for-whom-will-you-wear-a-yellow-flower-episode-101/

Guardian review of Dan Stone's The Holocaust: An Unfinished Story - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jan/15/the-holocaust-an-unfinished-history-by-dan-stone-review-a-timely-corrective-to-a-shifting-narrative

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In this episode, Dara is warming up for the festive season by acknowledging how stress-inducing it can all get and how it really isn't for everybody. In his own household a new permutation is longed for by some, which doesn't entirely suit him.

He's also concerned for his daughter, who has reached the age where the magic of Christmas and Santa Claus is no longer as real to her as it once was. He is not planning to shatter her illusions any further and in fact will lean in even more to prop up the suspension of disbelief. And where better to start than with a box of snowballs! Not those ones, the other ones...

Speaking of other ones, Dara selects three left-of-centre Christmas poems for something a bit different. They each have their own qualities to recommend them, but he particularly liked the poem that featured 'squamous' and 'mingeless'. Where else would you get it?

Mollie Guidera's brilliant Irish advocacy - https://www.instagram.com/irishwithmollie/

Conchobhar Ruadh's beautiful mix of Irish language, history and culture - https://www.instagram.com/sli_na_ruadh

Website: https://theclearout.com/

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

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YouTube: The ClearOut Podcast

Email: [email protected]

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

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

In this episode, Dara looks at the idea of psychological defeat and the metaphorical hills we are determined to die on. Fundamentally an issue of faith in one's own psyche and worldview, what happens when our confidence in that vision begins to crumble? Can faith be restored?

A recent interview with Isabella Rossellini raised the spectre of women who no longer need men. Dara feels like he has been encountering this notion more and more and wonders if it is related to women's post-fertility years. Without reducing the female of the species to menopausal cliches, he asks if men and women swap sensibilities as they age - do women become more masculine, and men more feminine? He also pushes back against the idea of women being 'such emotional creatures', as he recently heard them described - yes, by a man.

After acknowledging his own emotional fluency, and that of many of his male friends, Dara shares thoughts on two Hollywood documentaries he just watched - one on Elizabth Taylor and one on Christopher Lee. He is caught out by a connection with Taylor that leaves him a bit uncomfortable. He also reviews The Apprentice - the story of Donald Trump's emergence as a major player in 80s New York - and We Live In Time, the full throttle romantic drama starring an exceedingly charming Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield.

Finally, the show is interrupted by a very unexpected guest just before wrapping up...

Website: https://theclearout.com/

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

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.