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.
Rough childhoods don’t just wound emotionally, they physically reshape the brain, and that is the root of impulse control problems. Armand DiMele and co-host Roberta Maria Atti trace how early neglect stunts neuronal development and drives behaviors from theft and violence to binge eating and self-cutting, with a striking detour into what starvation studies reveal about compulsion.
Men talk to establish status; women talk to build closeness. Armand DiMele and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, unpack why these opposing drives produce so much friction in couples, from the male instinct to solve problems to the female need for consensus, with callers weighing in on real relationship struggles.
Food is not just fuel for many people but a mood-altering drug, and Armand DiMele argues the difference is rooted in brain chemistry and early conditioning. Drawing on research into serotonin, sugar dependency, and stress eating, he shows how grief, anger, and childhood comfort rituals wire us toward specific foods.
Siblings shape us more than we realize. Armand DiMele traces how sibling bonds affect happiness and brain chemistry, explains the Westermarck effect and genetic sexual attraction, and connects the serotonin boost of sister-talk to why women need groups, gossip, and nail salons. Callers share their own sibling stories.
Longitudinal research on 373 couples reveals that shared values matter more than personality, conflict predicts stability better than its absence, and men and women respond very differently to relationship talk. Dr. Terry Orbach walks Armand DiMele through five evidence-based steps for strengthening a good marriage.
