Category: Emotions & Inner Life

↕

Living With Physical and Emotional Pain June 9, 2015

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Ben Starr, Giullian Gioiello
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Grief & Loss

Physical pain and emotional pain feel utterly different, yet both demand surrender rather than resistance. Armand DiMele, joined by co-hosts Ben Starr and Giullian Gioiello, takes calls from listeners navigating broken bones, chronic back pain, heroin withdrawal, and the grief of losing parents, exploring how we sometimes choose painful patterns and what it takes to move through them.

Crazy Making and How It Works April 21, 2015

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Communication & Conflict, Emotions & Inner Life

Why do people deliberately destabilize those they love, and how does it work on different personality types? Armand DiMele walks through the psychology of crazy-making, using the Enneagram to show exactly which pressure points unravel each type, while callers share their own experiences of being worn down by the people closest to them.

The Taxes We Choose to Pay April 15, 2015

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Giullian Gioiello
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Personal Growth & Change

Taxes are a lens for examining every obligation we voluntarily shoulder: the roommate tax, the marriage tax, the price of monogamy or truth. Armand DiMele and co-host Giullian Gioiello use Tax Day to ask callers what dues they have elected to pay in life, and why resentment of authority so often underlies the dread of filing.

The Memory of Smell April 8, 2015

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, The Mind & Neuroscience

Smell is the sense most deeply wired to long-term memory, and Armand DiMele builds a rich hour around that fact. Callers share scents tied to powerlessness, lost mothers, freedom, and home, revealing how a single whiff can collapse decades in an instant.

Resilience and the April Fool April 1, 2015

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Ed Zara
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Personal Growth & Change

April Fool’s Day becomes a lens for examining cognitive dissonance, cruelty disguised as humor, and what it actually takes to bounce back from pain. Armand DiMele, joined by Ed Zara, argues that trust is the foundation of resilience, and that trustworthiness can be established quickly even with deeply damaged children.

Self-Actualization and the Hierarchy of Needs March 11, 2015

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Ben Starr, Charlie Schwinkert, Giullian Gioiello
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Personal Growth & Change

Armand DiMele walks through Maslow’s full hierarchy of needs, from biological survival to self-actualization, with co-hosts Giullian Gioiello and Ben Starr and jazz drummer Charlie Schwinkert. The group explores what drives creative satisfaction, how appreciation vanishes in low moods, and how to move through fear by feeling it fully rather than suppressing it.

Never Stand on Your Side During an Argument January 28, 2015

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Ben Starr, Giullian Gioiello
Category: Communication & Conflict, Emotions & Inner Life

Arguments fail not because people disagree but because each side stays locked in its own perspective. Armand DiMele, with co-hosts Ben Starr and Giullian Gioiello, examines what people really want from arguments (to be understood, not just to win), the difference between constructive and destructive conflict, and why buried anger corrodes intimacy. Callers share stories of dog walks, debt collection, and distant partners.

Pain as a Social Glue January 14, 2015

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Andrea Katz, Ben Starr, Diane, Giullian Gioiello, Oh Sui, Seth
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Identity & The Self

Shared pain may be the most powerful force for human bonding, from civil rights marches to losing sports teams to AA meetings. Armand DiMele and co-hosts Giullian Gioiello and Ben Starr examine why people unconsciously seek painful situations to feel connection, and what happens when calm replaces conflict.

The 36 Dramatic Situations with Jeff Kitchen January 13, 2015

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Anthony, Beverly, Dennis, Dr. Annalisa Erba, Giullian Gioiello, Jeff Kitchen, Jonathan Raskin
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Personal Growth & Change

Human life maps onto just 36 dramatic situations, a framework screenwriter Jeff Kitchen shared with Armand DiMele. Using Georges Polti’s classic book as a lens, Armand and co-host Giullian Gioiello take live calls and show how real struggles, from tyrannical fathers to fear of love, fit ancient dramatic patterns.

The 36 Dramatic Situations in Life with Jeff Kitchen January 13, 2015

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Anthony, Beverly, Dennis, Giullian Gioiello, Jeff Kitchen, Lisa Arnone
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Identity & The Self

All human conflict reduces to 36 dramatic situations, argues screenwriter Jeff Kitchen, and Armand DiMele uses that framework as a live diagnostic tool. Callers work through father wounds, romantic entanglement, and a longing to be loved, revealing how classic dramatic patterns play out in ordinary lives.