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Oxytocin and the Bonds That Heal July 23, 2009

Host: Armand DiMele

Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Personal Growth & Change

Bonding is the hidden engine of effective therapy, and oxytocin is the hormone that makes it possible. Armand DiMele argues that people leave therapy not for the reasons they give but because they never truly connected, then traces how oxytocin drives love, calms stress, curbs addiction, and can be consciously cultivated through touch and eye contact.

The Need to Trust June 17, 2009

Host: Armand DiMele

Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Personal Growth & Change

Why do we so desperately need someone to trust, and how do we know when that trust is being exploited? Armand DiMele examines the psychology of trust from both sides, dissecting how gurus, doctors, lawyers, and other professionals earn or betray it, then takes a call from a man struggling to quit a long marijuana habit.

Negotiating Fairness in Love with Dr. B. Janet Hibbs June 9, 2009

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Dr. B. Janet Hibbs, Dr. William Peter Atwood

Category: Communication & Conflict, Love & Romantic Relationships

Fairness in relationships is not tit-for-tat bargaining but a deeply learned language from childhood, argues Dr. B. Janet Hibbs, author of “Try to See It My Way.” Armand DiMele and co-host Dr. William Peter Atwood explore how unmet childhood needs quietly poison adult partnerships, and how couples can replace blame with direct claims.

Why We Lie and Why It Works April 28, 2009

Host: Armand DiMele

Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Identity & The Self

Lying is woven into human nature, and Armand DiMele argues it usually traces back to powerlessness, not malice. Drawing on neuroscience (prolactin, oxytocin), animal behavior, and callers’ personal stories, the episode asks why we demand truth from others while punishing them for telling it.

Human Gullibility and Financial Madness with Bernard Starr January 21, 2009

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Dr. Bernard Starr

Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Society, Culture & Current Events

Why do smart people fall for scams, bubbles, and collective delusions? Armand DiMele and Dr. Bernard Starr, PhD, Psychologist, trace the psychology of gullibility from the Dutch tulip mania and the South Sea Company to the dot-com crash and Bernie Madoff, examining how situation, cognition, emotion, and social pressure leave us all vulnerable.

The Human Need to Be Deceived December 23, 2008

Host: Armand DiMele

Category: Emotions & Inner Life, The Mind & Neuroscience

Why do we want to be lied to? Armand DiMele uses the Bernie Madoff scandal as a jumping-off point to argue that humans are wired for deception, both giving and receiving it. Drawing on primate research and brain science, he explores the fine line between healthy trust and paranoid suspicion.

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.

How Close Is Close Enough January 17, 2008

Host: Armand DiMele

Category: Identity & The Self, Love & Romantic Relationships

Fear of intimacy comes down to three wounds: abandonment, betrayal, and rejection learned in childhood. Armand DiMele argues that most people want the right things from the wrong people, that parents trained us to hide our true feelings, and that real closeness begins with releasing judgment rather than demanding honesty.

Inheritance Neurosis with Dr. Tripp Evans September 25, 2007

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Dr. Tripp Evans, Kent Robertshaw

Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Identity & The Self

When wealth replaces love in a family, children grow up rudderless and waiting for their parents to die. Armand DiMele, Dr. Kent Robertshaw, MD, Psychiatrist, and Dr. Tripp Evans examine how inherited money warps identity, poisons relationships, and breeds the particular loneliness of the very rich.

Surviving a Partner’s Affair May 29, 2007

Host: Armand DiMele

Category: Addiction & Compulsion, Love & Romantic Relationships

Infidelity touches nearly every couple at some point, and Armand DiMele breaks down why men and women experience jealousy so differently, tracing both back to evolutionary instinct. He maps the emotional fallout of a discovered affair and argues it can become an unexpected opening for honest reckoning, whether a couple stays together or parts.