New Year’s Eve amplifies the ache of who is or isn’t in your life. Armand DiMele, joined by co-hosts Giullian Gioiello and Ben Starr, examines a Yale study showing people often date out of guilt rather than desire, then unpacks how childhood obligations to a parent or grandparent quietly shape adult romantic choices.
Betrayal almost always involves a choice by the betrayed person, Armand DiMele argues, and the deepest wound is the one we inflict on ourselves by ignoring warning signs. With co-host Giullian Gioiello, Armand traces betrayal from Judas to war to infidelity, and takes calls from listeners working through deception in their own lives.
When is a mild case of a disorder more dangerous than the full-blown version? Armand DiMele argues that the ‘almost psychopath,’ charming and high-functioning but lacking empathy, causes far more harm than the obvious criminal. He connects this to betrayal, neediness, and why the most vulnerable people are most at risk.
Most people, including therapists, cannot define the difference between a feeling and an emotion. Armand DiMele works through that confusion with Lisa Arnone, LCSW, distinguishing feelings (bodily sensations), emotions (outward discharge), and impulses, and showing why conflating them keeps people stuck.
Does sin come from God, culture, or conscience? Armand DiMele and Lisa Arnone, LCSW, survey how Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam each define wrongdoing, weigh intention, and offer paths to forgiveness. Callers share personal takes on adultery, faith, and moral accountability.
Family secrets don’t just hide the truth, they divide families, freeze emotional development, and corrode trust for generations. Armand DiMele and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, walk through four ways secrets damage families and offer practical guidance on breaking destructive triangles, with callers sharing their own experiences.
Protecting others often masks an inability to protect ourselves. Armand DiMele and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, unpack the Enneagram’s three instinctual drives (self-preservation, social, and sexual) as frameworks for understanding why we over-give, and callers share vivid stories of caretaking that costs them.
What does it mean to steal from your employer when the workplace has already stolen your sense of self? Armand DiMele traces how cubicles, microchips, and smartphones eroded worker identity, then opens the question of workplace theft, personal ethics, and what it costs to live with or without integrity.
Triangulation is both a normal developmental step and a source of lasting dysfunction. Armand DiMele traces how children get pulled into taking sides between parents, how gossip and confiding in friends repeat the same pattern, and why splitting the world into all-good and all-bad leaves people stuck. Callers share their own family triangle experiences.
Physical clutter carries emotional weight, and clearing it can unlock broader change in how we live. Barbara Tako, author of ‘Clutter Clearing Choices’, walks through practical methods like the four-box sort and the one-in-one-out rule, while Armand and Stephanie D’Ambra, LCSW explore how clutter connects to guilt, relationships, and self-worth.
