What makes a desire toxic? Armand DiMele takes listener calls to explore how ordinary wants become compulsions, tracing the fears and suppressed anger underneath behaviors like compulsive exercise, procrastination, and the need to be desired. Co-host Deborah Hillman joins throughout.
When does a child’s weight become a matter of parental neglect, even criminal liability? Armand DiMele and co-host Dr. Sherry Siegel, M.D. talk with Molly Carmel, eating disorder specialist at the Wilkins Center, about the biology of obesity, the limits of food policing, and what parents can actually do to help.
Food is not just fuel for many people but a mood-altering drug, and Armand DiMele argues the difference is rooted in brain chemistry and early conditioning. Drawing on research into serotonin, sugar dependency, and stress eating, he shows how grief, anger, and childhood comfort rituals wire us toward specific foods.
Turning on the TV after work is a chemical event, not just a habit. Armand and co-host Roberta Moriarty trace how screen watching shifts the brain from the neocortex to the limbic system, floods the body with endorphins, and makes media figures feel like family members. They also argue that the current younger generation, raised on interactive media, is escaping the passive hypnosis that shaped baby boomers.
Why are so many people medicating their own physical and emotional pain, and what are the risks? Armand DiMele and Dr. Kent Robertshaw, MD, psychiatrist, trace the shift from doctor-dependent care to self-treatment, covering everything from nutrition to Vicodin abuse among teens, and explore when self-care empowers and when it becomes a dangerous substitute for professional help.
