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The ClearOut

Wellness with attitude!


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  • 197. All the Damaged Boys - Where's the Love At?

    01:05:35||Ep. 197
    In this episode, Dara is trying to get his head around the obnoxious appearance of Conor McGregor at the White House over St. Patrick's Weekend. Trump's presidency seems to function as a magnet for a particular type of male performance, greenlighting as it does a validated version of masculinity that revels in belittling others, trash talking enemies, and leering, swaggering braggadocio. It is definitely connected to a particular understanding of straight maleness as being under attack and needing to reassert itself as aggressively as possible. But is it also a product of the tech age when the perception of consequences has been skewed by the amount of time spent in online spaces?Billy Corgan, the frontman of The Smashing Pumpkins, articulates something very insightful about his personal experience that resonates deeply with Dara and confirms his belief that success and professional fulfilment are no guarantee of contentment. It gets to something extremely important at the heart of masculinity that could go all the way back to infancy and relates to the male need for love, connection and validation.Dara identifies that need in two prominent entertainment figures from the mid-20th century - Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. are the focus of a brilliant podcast series that explores their lives and careers and their proximity to and partnerships with contemporary stars like Frank Sinatra and Jerry Lewis. Men of a certain time and age, they encapsulate a masculinity that permitted little room for manoeuvre, but their frailty and vulnerability was visible in everything they chose not to show. Dara concludes the episode with sharing some love and care input from a group of young boys he is working with at the moment. Perhaps the future of men is in good hands after all...Karina Longworth's You Must Remember This podcast where you can find her excellent treatment of Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin: https://www.youmustrememberthispodcast.com/episodes/2021/12/sammydinoarchive21Billy Corgan being interviewed by Leah Rose on Broken Record: https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/broken-record/billy-corganWebsite: https://theclearout.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theclearoutpodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclearoutpodcast/YouTube: The ClearOut PodcastEmail: theclearoutlive@gmail.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theclearout

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  • 196. Hackman, Ingoldsby, and Toth - Masters and Medium

    01:05:54||Ep. 196
    In this episode, Dara is reckoning with great creative men, two real and one fictional. The world has recently lost the bodily forms of Irish poet Pat Ingoldsby and Hollywood actor Gene Hackman, but their work remains indelibly with us. Ingoldsby was a beloved figure in Ireland whose sparkling and deceptively profound poetry arguably never received the credit it was due, although its accessibility ensured it reached legions of appreciative and dedicated readers, many of whom have expressed their grief and gratitude since he passed.Hackman was a movie icon whose performances always seemed effortlessly real and fully belonging to the world in which they appeared on screen, even when playing comic book villains or the head of a quirky New York family. The unusual circumstances of his death, and that of his wife, seemed a million miles from the litany of fierce characters he played throughout his long and varied career.Dara attempts to pay tribute to both men by sharing a couple of Ingoldsby's poems and by taking a potted journey through the highlights of Hackman's filmography.Brady Corbet's award-winning film The Brutalist, reckons with another unique talent, - the brilliant Hungarian architect Laszlo Toth and his dependency on imperfect patronage from a clumsy and spiteful benefactor. Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce excel in the respective roles in a fictional story that is many-layered and uncompromising in its depiction of artistic compulsion and torment. It is also a commentary on the migrant experience in post-WWII America and the uneasy relationship between the host nation and those it deigned to accommodate. Dara gives his verdict on a film that isn't easy to pin down.Pat Ingoldsby website - https://www.patingoldsby.org/Website: https://theclearout.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theclearoutpodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclearoutpodcast/YouTube: The ClearOut PodcastEmail: theclearoutlive@gmail.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theclearout

  • 195. Underestimating Resilience and the Communication of Important Things

    01:05:02||Ep. 195
    In this episode, Dara is looking at the value of letting others know what's important to you. How else are the people in your life meant to know what you care about? He argues that this can not only help to strengthen the relationships that matter most, but also mitigate against disappointment and unmet expectations. However, it is useful to keep those expectations fair and realistic. Resilience is something Dara frequently cites as being essential to grounded wellness and coping with life's slings and arrows. He equates it with toughness and durability, as well as being a key agent in maintaining a positive outlook. So he was intrigued to hear an extreme athlete dismiss resilience as being one step from defeat. Is that a fair indictment, or just a very different perspective?Finally, Dara has a look at the recent Oscar winners and shares his thoughts on the films and performances he has seen, including Anora, A Real Pain, Conclave, and Emilia Perez.Website: https://theclearout.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theclearoutpodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclearoutpodcast/YouTube: The ClearOut PodcastEmail: theclearoutlive@gmail.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theclearout

  • 194. Abdicating Duty of Care and Living in the Age of Comedy Evil!

    01:01:34||Ep. 194
    In this broadly care-centred episode, Dara moves from inside to out. He wonders about the sense some people have of the world owing you something and decides a more worthwhile and potentially fruitful query is to ask what you might owe yourself. He reckons care, forgiveness and love are a good place to start. But they can be particularly difficult to effectively embed in one's internal landscape.There are highly visible figures in the world who seem to not struggle at all with this dilemma. In fact, it would seem they have such high regard for themselves that it comes with a surgical shutdown of empathy or care for anyone else. Coincidentally, these figures are enormously successful and wealthy businessmen of one stripe or another who behave with an almost medieval impunity when it comes to the adverse impact of their decison-making on those far below them. Dara sees an unsavoury connection with one of the darkest figures of 19th century colonial brutality.Also, the trickiness of finding a moment's peace to stop the madness of overwhelm. How do dogs, daughters and Beethoven feature in this conundrum? Finally, why should Dara not be happy to be called charming? Ask Janet Malcolm!Website: https://theclearout.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theclearoutpodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclearoutpodcast/YouTube: The ClearOut PodcastEmail: theclearoutlive@gmail.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theclearout

  • 193. Reckoning with a Hustler, or What a Lucky Guy!

    01:08:35||Ep. 193
    In this episode, Dara is totting up the wins in his life. There aren't many, considering his age, but maybe more than enough. A cat on a wet shack roof is not one of them. Nor is revisiting 'Bridget Jones's Diary', which he did in stealth mode. But the wins he does list are pretty cool, and some are just about the most important things in his life.Reflecting on the ways in which he could be considered lucky, Dara identifies two things that seemed to just dwell inside him that are definitive proof of his theory. He realises this mode of thinking has been prompted by a recent conference he participated in on Boys in the Making - a long-term masculinity project with which he has become very involved. Just how important is it to listen to boys and men?His daughter has recently changed how she addresses Dara, and he doesn't like it. But another sign of upheaval though it is, he seeks solace in a couple of other podcasts that offer a little tonic to his troubled soul.Dara's post on the Boys in the Making conference - https://theclearout.com/reaction/caring-for-boys-caring-for-men-caring-for-myself/What Does He Need? website - https://www.whatdoesheneed.com/Website: https://theclearout.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theclearoutpodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclearoutpodcast/YouTube: The ClearOut PodcastEmail: theclearoutlive@gmail.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theclearout

  • 192. Speaking for Myself - The Challenge of Maintaining Focus

    55:19||Ep. 192
    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.Website: https://theclearout.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theclearoutpodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclearoutpodcast/YouTube: The ClearOut PodcastEmail: theclearoutlive@gmail.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theclearout

  • 191. Lucky to be Here! Thoughts on Privilege, Doppelgangers, and the Unwieldiness of Emilia Perez

    53:01||Ep. 191
    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.Website: https://theclearout.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theclearoutpodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclearoutpodcast/YouTube: The ClearOut PodcastEmail: theclearoutlive@gmail.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theclearout