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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

1:00:05

Yes, Chef! - The Brilliance of The Bear

The ClearOut ·

2024/08/14

In this episode, Dara doesn't know whether to eat the food or make love to it. He talks about all three seasons of The Bear, the brilliant TV show depicting the trials and tribulations of genius chef Carmen Berzatto and the colourful people who populate his messy, damaged world. Like the extraordinary food that leaves viewers in a state of mouthwatering wonder, the other elements of the show are beautifully sourced, prepped and composed.Dara discusses different aspects of the acting and staging of

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1:11:09

Set Down Your Honourable Load - Finding the Clear...

The ClearOut ·

2024/08/07

In this episode, Dara is reflecting on the good fortune of finding a new place to live, but he is wondering how to refer to The ClearOut's new home. His daughter has rejected his suggestions so far as being 'too cringe'. Hashtag Blessed is no more! What to call the new abode...?After a week off to facilitate the house move, it's back down to business. Dara considers the idea of 'rightness' and the natural state that best serves our happiness and fulfilment. He wonders what our lives would look like

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1:05:13

Horizon, Other Recent Movie Turkeys, and Recommended...

The ClearOut ·

2024/07/24

In this episode Dara is giving out about recent bad movies, and not the 'so bad they're good' kind. Kevin Costner's Western opus Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 starts the party with its bloated scale, turgid pacing, and on-the-nose representations of archetypal stories and characters. Far too earnest and self-serious, Dara recommends at least half a dozen alternatives, including Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate and Costner's own Open Range.Ticket to Paradise, the George Clooney-Julia Roberts

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1:08:12

Unifying Events, Sensible Ripples, and What If Trump...

The ClearOut ·

2024/07/17

In this episode Dara is looking at two significant news stories from the big nations to Ireland's east and west. At the weekend just gone, Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate and bete noire of liberals and humane humans everywhere, survived an assassination attempt. In Germany not long afterwards, England's national football team contested the final of the EURO 2024 tournament, and lost. The US and England in recent years have become more and more troubled states with huge social unrest

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55:21

The Existential Toolkit to Approaching the Unknown

The ClearOut ·

2024/07/10

In this episode, Dara is wondering about what comes next. We can never truly know what lies in the future so how do we cope with that uncertainty? Are we willing to step into the unknown without the security of a plan? Do we trust we have the resources to deal with what we find?Contextualising this dilemma in a world that seems to be spiralling out of control, and acknowledging the philosophical belief that the human experience is endlessly and exhaustingly repeated, Dara comes back to elemental

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57:03

Scene from a Garden - Tall Trees, High Kicks, and...

The ClearOut ·

2024/07/03

In this episode, Dara is taking time to express thanks to a place that has served him well over the last few years, and he's so determined to do so in a special way that he moves the podcast to the location he's honouring! At the end, when a certain flying creature appears, it's time to bring things to a close. No, it's not a dragon...Dara sets up to record in his garden and he explains why it has been such a special place for him over the last three and a half years. That said, it hasn't all been

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1:04:44

You're a Man - Do You Care About Women?

The ClearOut ·

2024/06/26

In this episode, Dara looks at the Natasha O'Brien case which saw a young woman beaten unconscious in the street by a young man who wasn't known to her, and that same young man been given a suspended sentence so as not to jeopardise his career as an Irish soldier. There is nothing that isn't problematic about these events, but as ever, there are larger social questions to be asked beyond the ugly specifics of the case in question.Dara considers the messages that are sent by the outcome of the case

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49:50

If You've Nothing Good to Say, Maybe Think About...

The ClearOut ·

2024/06/19

In this hot and bothered episode, Dara tries to address the issue of racism in Ireland in the wake of the hate and racist abuse directed at Rhadisat Adeleke last week after her triumphant performances at the European Athletics Championships. A topic covered on the show before around the Emer O'Neill/Tommy Tiernan story, it seems to need speaking about again.As part of his anti-racism strategy, Dara advocates a very simple policy before going online. It is a rule that would serve everyone well in all

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55:00

Character Identification and a New Short Story: David...

The ClearOut ·

2024/06/12

In this episode, Dara reads a short story that is new to the listener but not to him. The story has a female protagonist and when he shared it with a female friend a few years ago, he was told that not all women felt the same way as the character he'd written. In reply he said he'd never thought that would be the case.In yet another example of the way assumptions and conflations are all too easily made, Dara pushes back against the idea of identifying creators too directly with their creations. He

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1:12:06

What Is a Man, Anyway? Part 5

The ClearOut ·

2024/06/05

In this final part of his series on masculinity, Dara tries to bring things to a reasonable end. He talks about his lifelong attempt to embody a particular type of masculinity that was a direct response to sexist and reductive attitudes to men that he was exposed to in youth and early adulthood.In the context of the current trends in public discourse, Dara once again pushes against the idea of a single person being representative of their designated identifying group. He argues for personal

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1:14:36

What Is a Man, Anyway? Part 4

The ClearOut ·

2024/05/29

In the fourth part of his series on masculinity, Dara tries to point out the hierarchical nature of masculinity when the idea of manhood is being discussed. The legacy of Western European colonial domination has resulted in the idealisation of white, straight, middle class masculinity. In other words, for many people when they're asked to consider men and masculinity, they will default to the aforementioned model. But where does that leave other iterations and expressions of masculinity?Looking

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1:28:41

What Is a Man, Anyway? Part 3

The ClearOut ·

2024/05/23

In this lachrymose episode and further exploration of masculinity, Dara is talking about the benefits of crying. He confesses to being a crier anyway, easily shedding tears over any number of things, but goes on to share an extremely recent loss that knocked him sideways with the tears it provoked. He argues that there is a ranking system that qualifies the when and how much of crying.For Dara there is a strong connection, verging on causality, between problematic iterations of masculinity and male

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1:28:18

What Is a Man, Anyway? Part 2

The ClearOut ·

2024/05/15

Continuing his exploration of masculinity and maleness, Dara turns his gaze to movies and how men's stories, especially but not exclusively, straight men's stories have played out on screen. He looks at three totems of masculinity as the main discussion points - potency, violence, and morality. Dara kicks off with the controversial Straw Dogs, Sam Peckinpah's 1971 examination of neutered masculinity being refused permission to remain inert by sinister and attritional male forces. That movie's star,

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1:12:10

What Is a Man, Anyway? Part 1

The ClearOut ·

2024/05/08

Dara knew when he started recording this one that one episode was never going to cut it. So it is only the beginning of a conversation about being a man and trying to unpack what constitutes a man.Before getting into more specific experiences and perspectives, Dara tries to sketch the current landscape, so heavily influenced by the tech age and social media, in which many men feel they have been pushed aside. There appears to be a huge hole in society, and in the discourse cauldron, that men are

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1:14:37

Caring Enough to Act, or Do I Really Need to Laugh at...

The ClearOut ·

2024/05/01

In this episode, Dara has an update on the fox situation at Hashtag Blessed and admits he views the surviving chickens differently since last week’s attack. Is it just him, or do they seem to be grieving?After thinking he was almost out of fuel during an excursion to the mountains, Dara reflects on the benefits of slowing down and lays out a couple of mindfulness exercises to encourage the illusion of stopping time. He looks at the relationship between care and action and acknowledges his own

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1:01:02

Life Interrupted, the Comfort of the Familiar, and...

The ClearOut ·

2024/04/24

In this episode, Dara is reflecting on the overnight passing of two of the animal members of the Hashtag Blessed family. It reminds him of a key moment from the iconic TV show The Sopranos which centred on the idea of a changing world that couldn't be controlled. The idea of chaos and disorder prompting a desire for control feels like a very present concern.A local death in the community spurs Dara to further examine the idea of the familiar and the habitual, and to look at the strength and

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1:25:25

How To Make a Raspberry Cheesecake - From the Kitchen...

The ClearOut ·

2024/04/17

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

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59:52

Intentionality, Clarity, Self-Care, and The Belief in...

The ClearOut ·

2024/04/10

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

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1:03:02

40 Years of Winning and Grinning - The Tom Cruise...

The ClearOut ·

2024/04/03

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

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1:13:52

Is That What You Believe? The Thoughts That Shape Our...

The ClearOut ·

2024/03/28

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

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228 results

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