Cultural differences shape how people experience intimacy, personal space, and even anxiety disorders. Armand DiMele, co-hosts Ben Starr and Giullian Gioiello, and therapist Eliana Banagudo examine culture-bound syndromes, racial profiling in the wake of Baltimore unrest, family secrets, and what fairness actually requires across cultures.
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.
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.
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.
What does a narcissist actually look like up close, and can you change the dynamic without leaving? Wendy Behary, LCSW, Author of “Disarming the Narcissist,” joins Armand to map the traits (entitlement, demeaning behavior, emotional detachment) and offer real strategies for partners who feel invisible.
The Ferguson grand jury decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson sets off a live call-in discussion on race, anger, and systemic injustice. Armand DiMele and co-hosts Ben Starr and Giullian Gioiello take calls from activists, community members, and everyday listeners grappling with grief, outrage, and whether lasting change is possible.
Everyone develops a strategy for getting through life, and most of them form in childhood. Armand DiMele, joined by co-hosts Ben Starr and Giullian Gioiello, maps out the recurring patterns: the beauty-seeker, the easygoing half-asleep type, the controller who trusts no one, the dramatic emotional type. Understanding someone’s strategy, rather than judging it, is the path to genuine connection.
Mindfulness has a dark side: when used to suppress negative emotions rather than process them, it breeds disconnection, stuffed anger, and an inability to be honest in close relationships. Armand DiMele and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, along with co-host Giullian Gioiello, argue that feeling difficult emotions fully is the real path to intimacy and growth.
Playing the victim is a strategy, not just a feeling. Armand DiMele examines how adopting a victim stance recruits allies, deflects accountability, and keeps conflict alive, drawing on callers’ stories of family betrayal, injustice, and the hard work of forgiving those who caused real harm.
Why do human beings turn violent, against themselves or others? Armand DiMele and co-host Giullian Gioiello survey the scope of violence, from suicide and child firearms deaths to intimate partner abuse and collective atrocities like the Cambodian killing fields, urging listeners to look inward rather than only outward at the problem.
