Keyword: genetics

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Nature Versus Nurture in Parenting September 7, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Stephanie D'Ambra
Category: Family & Parenting, Identity & The Self

Can good parenting overcome bad genes? Armand DiMele and Stephanie D’Ambra, LCSW, dig into the nature versus nurture debate through real cases: a mother baffled by her troubled teen, a neuroscientist who carries a psychopath’s genetic profile yet lives normally, and callers including an adoptee who found her musical gift written in her DNA.

Healing the Addicted Brain with Dr. Hal Urschel December 15, 2009

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Dr. Hal Urschel
Category: Addiction & Compulsion, The Mind & Neuroscience

Addiction is a physical brain disease, not a failure of willpower. Dr. Hal Urschel, author of “Healing the Addicted Brain,” explains how alcohol and drugs injure the limbic system, why talk therapy alone fails, and how proper nutrition and extended sobriety can actually reverse the damage.

Attachment Styles in Love with Dr. Iris Reiner March 26, 2008

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Dr. Iris Reiner
Category: Identity & The Self, Love & Romantic Relationships

Secure, dismissing, preoccupied: researcher Dr. Iris Reiner breaks down the three attachment styles and what they look like in real relationships. Armand and Reiner explore why opposites attract, how genetics shape emotional patterns, and why understanding your style is the first step toward compassion for yourself and others.

The Loneliness of Men October 3, 2007

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Identity & The Self

A genetic study finding hereditary loneliness traits opens a wide-ranging conversation about the hidden inner lives of men. Armand DiMele argues that male depression and isolation run far deeper than society acknowledges, buried under stoicism, workaholism, and the pressure to never appear weak. Callers share their own struggles.

Free Will Versus Determinism January 10, 2007

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Roberta Maria Atin
Category: Meaning, Spirituality & Philosophy, The Mind & Neuroscience

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.

How Genes Shape Who We Are December 13, 2006

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Roberta Maria Atti
Category: Identity & The Self, The Mind & Neuroscience

Some people are wired to seek more risk, more novelty, more intensity, and it comes down to gene length. Armand DiMele and co-host Roberta Maria Atti break down how dopamine receptor efficiency, inherited through long or short gene sequences, shapes attention, risk-taking, sexuality, and vulnerability to addiction, and how stress hormones can actually switch genes on and off.

The Genetics of Resilience May 2, 2006

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Kevin O'Donoghue
Category: Depression & Mood, The Mind & Neuroscience

Why do some people bounce back from trauma while others stay broken? Armand DiMele traces resilience to genetics, specifically the 5-HTTLPR serotonin transporter gene, exploring how allele variations shape depression risk across individuals and racial groups, with callers sharing their own struggles to recover.

Maternal Depression with Tracy Thompson Undated

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Tracy Thompson
Category: Depression & Mood, Family & Parenting

Maternal depression affects millions of mothers yet remains largely hidden behind the stigma of admitting struggle. Tracy Thompson, author of “The Ghost in the House,” joins Armand to discuss how depression intersects with motherhood, the genetics of vulnerability, what a mother’s typical day actually looks like, and why men need to understand this too.