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PODCAST

The ClearOut

Welcome to the turbulence!Join Dara Clear, a domesticated Irishman who is trying to work out the best ways to cope with what life throws at him.Husband, father, actor, writer, teacher, karate instructor and sea swimmer, Dara wants to take the wuss out of wellness.Mixing storytelling, philosophy, humour, psychology, and emotional honesty as a recipe for increased wellness, positivity, and resilience.Become a Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

health & fitness mental health

All Episodes

1:12:07

Killers of the Flower Moon - a Haunting Tale of White...

The ClearOut ·

2023/11/02

In this cultural episode, Dara is in awe of two recent Shakespearean recitations he caught on small screens, delivered fifty years apart in almost identical settings by two masters of the form. He makes an effort of his own and is embarrassed by the resulting evidence of his lesser skill.Before that, he briefly shares last thoughts on the final of the Rugby World Cup, which was won by a dogged South Africa last weekend. He expresses particular admiration for the eloquent Springbok captain, Siya

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1:10:30

Getting the Words Out, or The Things We Find...

The ClearOut ·

2023/10/25

In this episode, Dara is exercised by the things we don't say. Why is it so difficult to express how we really feel to those we have known longest? Why do we communicate so tangentially and clumsily? What intricate layering process happens to put truth so far out of easy reach? Dara presents a theory he calls relational dislocation, in which we can find ourselves occupying very different areas of a landscape to someone we think we know intimately. He likens it to moving to a new part of an

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1:11:57

Collective Heartbreak and Tears of a Clown, or How I...

The ClearOut ·

2023/10/18

In this pendulum swing of an episode, Dara is dancing between joy and pain. It is a journey that takes him from Ireland's expulsion from the Rugby World Cup last week to the birth of his daughter 10 years ago.Raking over the rugby loss, Dara tries to understand exactly why it hurts so much. He knows it has something to do with a peculiar mixture of national pride and insecurity. He also discusses the sense of injustice connected to a team that felt so 'right', so destined to succeed. All the good

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1:07:26

The Receptive Mind and Men Who Don't Talk

The ClearOut ·

2023/10/11

In this episode Dara looks at dynamics of giving and receiving in relationships. He argues that having a true exchange with someone is impossible unless that dynamic is present and healthy. Talking about an upcoming project, Dara explains why he has called it The Receptive Mind and concedes he could try to access more of that mindfulness in his parenting.Do men really not talk, or is that just a stereotype that they blithely accept? After a recent conversation with a friend about his troubled son,

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1:09:28

Sins of Omission, or Whose Stories Don't Get Told?

The ClearOut ·

2023/10/04

In this episode Dara is agitated by an interview with a US politician that he has just listened to. He is frustrated by the public representative's combativeness and disingenuous line of argument. He wonders why politicians are so incapable of being honest.Dara looks at Lawrence Kasdan's 1983 film The Big Chill, considered by some to be a key generational text, in a context of racial politics and cultural representation. As fond as he is of the star-studded 80s fest, he concludes it may be the

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1:13:20

A Hat is Not a Personality, or The Fear of Not Being...

The ClearOut ·

2023/09/27

In this episode Dara is looking into the void and trying not to feel frightened. Thinking about the construction of identity and personality, he is curious about how comfortable or not we are with what lies beneath. He asks if you can handle being left alone with yourself.He argues for coming to peace with oneself and entering into a state of acceptance of what he calls the unnamed being that may lurk under the surface. He acknowledges that he is not speaking from a position of blissed-out serenity

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1:28:20

Billy Budd, Russell Brand, and the Dark Corners of...

The ClearOut ·

2023/09/20

In this episode, Dara goes on a deep dive into Peter Ustinov's 1962 film of Herman Melville's Billy Budd. He recalls being struck by Terence Stamp's remarkable performance and beauty when he first saw it over 25 years ago. A naval setting provides the battleground for innocence vs evil, but what was most memorable to Dara was the gay subtext and the grim denouement that it provoked.Staying on that theme, Dara looks at other film iterations of thwarted male desire and especially the depiction of

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1:20:56

Why You Shouldn't Bring an Axe to a Party, or How to...

The ClearOut ·

2023/09/13

In this episode, Dara argues that in the process of 'othering', many are guilty of thinking only in monolithic terms, i.e. attributing unchanging characteristics to all members of the othered party. This reduces people to stereotypes and cliches, and robs them of both their individuality and the presumption of no bias. He wonders if this isn't a huge part of the problem with discourse around identity politics, woke culture and gender wars.Dara equates assumptions and prejudices with weapons and

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1:03:17

Critical Reaction and the Bestowal of Credibility

The ClearOut ·

2023/09/06

In this episode, Dara responds to a confronting conversation about the podcast that raised issues of self-worth, purpose, and the validity of the podcast itself. He looks at the specific criticism levelled at the show and what he does on it and makes a case for the defence. In a broader sense he looks at situations of personal conflict and how to remove emotion from the equation in order to view things more dispassionately.Drawing on his martial arts background, he talks about embracing the

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1:09:22

Chucking Original Sin in the Bin and the Pernicious...

The ClearOut ·

2023/08/31

This power-cut interrupted episode picks up where last week's episode left off - with no clothes on! Dara wraps up his thoughts on nudity by addressing some omissions from last time. He briefly looks at a couple of male movie nudes before talking about his life modelling experience while in acting school in England in the mid-nineties. An article on a new photo exhibition that replaces Helmut Newton's chilly women with male models raises questions of conditioning, objectification, and the dominance

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1:14:45

Naked As The Day You Were Born, or A Question of...

The ClearOut ·

2023/08/23

In this episode, Dara realises he omitted to mention three things in relation to the theme of nudity: shame, Viggo Mortensen's willingness to bare all, and a ridiculous story from his acting school days that featured nudity, singing, and money! Things he may have to return to next week...What you will hear is a discussion of nudity and nakedness in different contexts. Dara thinks the idea of being naked, or exposed, has been a core element of the podcast since it started as he has leaned into being

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1:11:39

Stop Laughing, This Is Meant To Be Good For You!

The ClearOut ·

2023/08/16

In this episode, Dara is perplexed by the moral ending of Jennifer Lawrence's new comedy, No Hard Feelings. What is the purpose of such moralising? Does the audience benefit from the character's personal edification? Should we care about a dissolute character's redemptive arc? He compares the sexual politics of that movie to Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot.A contrasting comedy voice is that of Wes Anderson, whose new film Asteroid City Dara also watched recently. He admires the lack of morality in

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1:16:18

Keeping Up With a Changing World, or Why Seahorse...

The ClearOut ·

2023/08/09

In this episode, Dara shares his thoughts on the late William Friedkin, of whose films he has long been an admirer, particularly The Exorcist and the lesser-loved Sorcerer, his 1977 remake of 1953's La Salaire de la Peur. Those movies are discussed along with a general appraisal of Friedkin's voice and greater artistic significance. Dara considers the changing astronomy of the world as more and more creative giants of that generation appear to be coming to the end of their time.Following a clash

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1:19:29

The Voice of Truth and Anguish - Saying Farewell to...

The ClearOut ·

2023/08/02

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.Before he does that, Dara talks about his own recent mental health skirmishes, including being in the middle of a bad one while recording last week's edition of the

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1:06:39

July Miscellany! Movies, Weddings, and Reading the Signs

The ClearOut ·

2023/07/26

In this episode Dara reviews some recently watched movies, including William Friedkin's To Live and Die in LA (1985), and Sidney Lumet's Prince of the City (1981), two much-lauded cop thrillers that each have their strengths and weaknesses and are very much products of their time.Once again Dara finds himself interrupted by strangers just as he is about to get in water. What exactly is the energy he's giving off? Why can't he repel curious people when he is half-naked?A wrap-up of recent events

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1:20:19

The Importance of Orientation, or Why the Loss of...

The ClearOut ·

2023/07/19

In this episode, Dara's aged cat has gone to the toilet in the wrong place, and the cause is not feline terrorism but dementia and disorientation. The loss of bearings is a very difficult thing to negotiate because it can result in dislocation. Dara argues that as fundamentally relational beings, we need landmarks and touchstones to position ourselves in the world.From institutions to abstract emotions to spiritual concepts, as well as innumerable people, we are rooted in connectedness as a means of

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1:21:46

Riding the Gere-Stick to the Worst Poem in History!

The ClearOut ·

2023/07/12

In this episode, Dara wrestles with the conundrum that is Richard Gere. Self-satisfied narcissus or instinctive, id-driven sex animal? Is he a good actor? Is he just a fantasy figure beloved of Generation X moviegoers? Is he forever the man who rescued Julia Roberts from the streets? Dara examines Gere's legacy through some of his most memorable performances and discusses in detail Breathless, the bizarre 1983 Hollywood remake of Godard's A Bout de Souffle with an uncontainable turn from Gere at his

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1:19:43

Don't Mind if I Do! Helping Oneself to Moral Failure

The ClearOut ·

2023/07/05

In this week's episode Dara is bothered by the current controversy in Ireland's national broadcaster, RTE. He is bothered, but not surprised by it, because it is simply another example of institutionalcorruption and moral complacency. He looks at why people continually fail to rein in their greed and dishonesty.He believes a culture of 'permission granted' must be the default setting in institutions where such blatant abuse of power and privilege takes place. He argues that a grossly distortedsense

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1:24:46

In Pod We Trust! Trying to Find Something to Depend...

The ClearOut ·

2023/06/28

In this week's episode, Dara is trying to work out who he should trust. After watching the current Arnold Schwarzenegger documentary on Netflix, he finds himself unsatisfied with the Austrian bodybuilder's account of past indiscretions, but what would satisfy him? A little more honesty and insight would be a good place to start.The online world, where so many of us spend so much time, is particularly untrustworthy and Dara recognises his own contribution to the charade of 'let me show you', or in

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1:11:42

Blips on the Grid - The Randomness of Human Interaction

The ClearOut ·

2023/06/21

In this episode, Dara considers the randomness and unpredictability of human interaction over a lifetime. He argues that we simply never know what is going on with another person when we encounter them, even if we have had a relationship with them for years. We never know what they're bringing to that particular moment, which means that if anything close to harmony or connection occurs, it is almost miraculous!Inspired by the thought of chance encounters, Dara reads the opening pages of Dostoevsky's

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228 results

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