Keyword: perception

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Discernment and Passive Aggression in Relationships December 28, 2010

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Communication & Conflict, Emotions & Inner Life

Why do couples end up screaming about toothpaste? Armand DiMele argues that the real fight always happened days earlier and went unnoticed. He traces how unspoken irritation builds into passive aggression, how unmet needs distort perception, and why infidelity is often just an exit from a conversation nobody knew how to have.

In Pursuit of Silence with George Prochnik May 5, 2010

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: George Prochnik, Lauren Sykes, Sherri Siegel
Category: Society, Culture & Current Events, The Mind & Neuroscience

Noise is everywhere, but what does silence actually mean? Author George Prochnik joins Armand DiMele and Dr. Sherry Siegel, M.D. to explore how mechanical noise damages us cognitively and physically, why people fill quiet with sound out of fear, and how the pursuit of genuine silence can expand attention and deepen connection.

How the Brain Fills in the Blanks December 16, 2009

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Sherri Siegel
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, The Mind & Neuroscience

The brain is wired to fill in gaps, and that drive shapes everything from vision to dreams to romantic longing. Armand DiMele and Dr. Sherry Siegel, M.D. trace the neuroscience of synapses and blind spots outward to nightmares, compulsive thinking, and why an excited amygdala conjures danger from thin air.

Reading People Between the Lines July 2, 2009

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

Armand DiMele argues that the small, offhand things people say reveal far more than we let ourselves notice, especially when loneliness or desire clouds our judgment. The episode moves from reading red flags in new relationships to the nocebo effect, body dysmorphia, and culture-bound psychiatric syndromes from Haiti to India.

Reading People When You First Meet Them June 23, 2009

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Personal Growth & Change

What are you actually doing when you size someone up? Armand DiMele breaks down the unspoken calculus of first encounters, from appearance and energy to eye contact and attitude, then invites callers to reveal themselves through animal, color, and water imagery.

Becoming Real October 21, 2008

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Kevin, Stephanie D'Ambra, Tony, Yasmeen
Category: Depression & Mood, Identity & The Self

What does it mean to be real, and how do we lose touch with it? Armand DiMele opens with a reading from The Velveteen Rabbit, then ranges from Prozac’s cultural impact to managed care, specialist bias, and the patient’s right to question treatment. A caller shares his experience of bipolar disorder, addiction, and the numbing effects of lithium.

Color Perception and the Brain July 8, 2008

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, The Mind & Neuroscience

Color isn’t just aesthetic, it’s neurological. Armand DiMele traces how sharp shapes trigger the amygdala’s danger response, why color preferences vary by culture and temperament, and how personal history, like a caller who stopped wearing red after her grandmother’s death, shapes what we can and cannot stand to see.

What Your Clothing Says About You November 14, 2007

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Identity & The Self, Society, Culture & Current Events

Fashion is never just fashion. Armand DiMele traces clothing choices from 7,500-year-old figurines to sagging jeans, arguing that what we wear signals identity, power, and rebellion, and that our snap judgments about others’ dress reveal uncomfortable truths about ourselves. Callers share their own stories.

The Heart Has Its Own Brain September 27, 2006

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Roberta Maria Atti
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, The Mind & Neuroscience

The heart is not just a pump. Armand DiMele and co-host Roberta Maria Atti dig into neurocardiology research showing the heart has its own neuronal network, produces neurotransmitters, and sends signals the brain obeys, meaning the heart perceives and decides before conscious thought begins.

The Psychology of Umami January 24, 2006

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Love & Romantic Relationships

What if the mysterious quality that makes a person or relationship feel just right is the psychological equivalent of umami? Armand DiMele maps the five taste sensations onto human personality types and romantic chemistry, arguing that savory wholeness, not sweetness or intensity alone, is what makes love and life satisfying.