Keyword: authority

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The Positive Side of Rebellion September 21, 2011

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Alex, Lauren Sykes, Linda Vanella, Ramey
Category: Family & Parenting, Personal Growth & Change

Rebellion is not a problem to suppress but a developmental skill to celebrate. Armand DiMele argues that children who push back against parents are building the same muscle they need to resist dominating peers and dangerous strangers. Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, shares how raising four children taught her to read defiance as a bid for independence, and callers add vivid stories of rebellion, loss, and trust.

The Art of Confrontation July 1, 2009

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Sherri Siegel
Category: Communication & Conflict, Emotions & Inner Life

Confrontation can connect or destroy depending on how it is used. Armand and co-host Dr. Sherry Siegel, M.D., a neurologist, trace confrontation from childhood power dynamics to workplace disputes, examining what makes it skillful or destructive, how body chemistry fuels anger, and why finding common ground often works better than open conflict.

The Qualities of a True Leader April 30, 2009

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Identity & The Self, Personal Growth & Change

What makes someone a genuine leader? Armand DiMele examines the qualities that define effective leadership, from integrity and humility to assertiveness and creativity, then traces how birth order and family dynamics shape the way people relate to power and authority throughout their lives.

The Symbols We Live By April 29, 2009

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Identity & The Self, Love & Romantic Relationships

Every person becomes a symbol to someone else, and that projection shapes desire, conflict, and love more than most people realize. Armand DiMele traces how childhood wounds turn strangers into father figures, mother figures, or pain symbols, and invites callers to examine the symbols they embody and chase.

The Human Need for Punishment September 12, 2007

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Roberta Maria Atti
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Society, Culture & Current Events

Why do humans punish, seek punishment, and punish themselves? Armand and co-host Roberta Maria Atti survey punishment across criminal justice, religion, family, and finance, arguing that withdrawal of love is the most powerful punishment of all and that defiance in children is really a plea for love.

Authority Figures and the Father Wound with Shreya Mundal August 2, 2006

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Shreya Mundal
Category: Communication & Conflict, Identity & The Self

Why do some people clash with every boss, landlord, or police officer they encounter? Armand DiMele and Shreya Mundal, a forensic social worker and mitigation specialist at the Legal Aid Society, trace recurring authority conflicts back to early parental relationships, arguing that unresolved powerlessness keeps people locked in the same losing dynamic.

The Father Inside You Undated

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Family & Parenting, Identity & The Self

Father’s Day triggers deep, often denied wounds that shape careers, relationships, and self-worth. Armand DiMele maps the landscape of absent, frightening, and emotionally dead fathers, argues that most men’s self-hatred traces back to unacknowledged need for their fathers, and fields calls from listeners grappling with unavailable dads and its lasting fallout.

What Makes an Effective Leader Undated

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Personal Growth & Change, Society, Culture & Current Events

Real leadership is not about dominance or charisma but about entering the world of the people you lead. Armand DiMele traces the shift from command-and-control models to empathetic, follower-centered leadership, drawing on politics, parenting, and the workplace to show why hidden authority often works best.