Legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins talks with Armand and Dr. Kent Robertshaw, MD, Psychiatrist, about growing up on Sugar Hill, marching alongside his activist grandmother, the role of artists in social change, and the deep grief of losing his wife of 40 years, Lucille. Music and loss intertwine throughout.
Why do couples lose their spark, and can separation actually rekindle it? Armand DiMele and co-host Roberta Maria Atti trace the rise and fall of phenylethylamine in romantic love, argue that emotional distance restores chemistry, and connect childhood neurological gaps to adult attraction patterns and the need for containment.
Can you stay well when someone you love is suffering? Armand DiMele argues that emotional contagion between bonded people is not weakness but chemistry, and that pretending otherwise may be the real pathology. Callers bring raw stories of toxic supervisors, estranged children, and the cost of staying present.
Passion thrives on uncertainty, and too much closeness can kill it. Esther Perel, MA, LMFT, psychotherapist and author of “Mating in Captivity,” joins Armand to explore why desire needs distance, how fantasy differs from perversion, and what surrender, dominance, and the body’s hormonal rhythms reveal about erotic life.
Monogamy is a theory without a practice, argues Armand DiMele alongside biologist Roberta Mariotti. They unpack genetic, sexual, and social monogamy, explore why no species is truly monogamous, and discuss polyamory and the emotional baggage no relationship structure can dissolve.
Men are trained as warriors from birth, and that mission is killing them. Armand DiMele argues that male burnout, emotional numbness, and early death trace back to a broken model of manhood. Author Neil Chetnik joins to discuss his research on father loss and how absent fathers leave sons hungry for male validation throughout their lives.
Do we truly choose our lives, or are we shaped by genes, culture, and forces beyond our awareness? Armand DiMele and co-host Roberta Maria Atti work through fatalism, determinism, and the neuroscience of repeated self-defeating patterns, arguing that understanding these forces can loosen their grip on us.
Magic as a human need, not just a trick. Armand DiMele and co-host Roberta Maria Atti welcome conjurer and actor Eric Walton, who performs an original narrative poem about Houdini before discussing how illusion works by engaging all five senses to suggest a sixth, and why audiences hunger to be astonished.
Some feelings arrive uninvited and refuse to leave. Armand DiMele opens the new year by cataloguing the emotions people most dread, from jealousy and rage to lust and melancholy, and asks why feeding a negative feeling only makes it more real. Callers and live email responses drive the conversation.
Why do we party hard, eat grapes, burn dolls, and bang pots at midnight? Armand traces New Year customs from ancient Babylon and Rome through modern celebrations in Korea, Colombia, Taiwan, and beyond, weaving in listener calls about Puerto Rican, Black American, and other personal traditions.
