The Art Bell Archive

Art Bell welcomes back science journalist Charles Seife for a wide-ranging second installment covering the origins of the universe, the nature of consciousness, and the future of genetic science. Seife discusses what scientists know about the Big Bang, explaining that while they can simulate conditions microseconds after creation using particle colliders, the actual moment of origin remains perhaps permanently beyond the reach of science.The conversation shifts to the possibility that our universe was spawned by a collider experiment in another reality, creating an infinite chain of universes giving birth to universes. Art and Seife explore whether human consciousness could someday be uploaded to silicon, with Seife explaining that quantum properties of the brain may prevent perfect copying due to the observer effect. He introduces quantum teleportation as a method that transfers quantum information perfectly but destroys the original in the process.The final hours tackle genetics, with Seife revealing that ancient retroviruses called HERVs hijacked human DNA long ago and still force our cells to produce their proteins. He and Art discuss the implications of discovering genes linked to sexual preference, the ethics of genetic modification, and his conviction that information, like energy, can never truly be destroyed.

Art Bell speaks with retired electronics engineer and mental health counselor John Jay Harper about the approaching Solar Cycle 24 and its potential impact on climate, consciousness, and civilization. Harper, who spent 25 years working at top-secret Department of Defense facilities including the Naval Weapons Center at China Lake, draws on both his scientific background and his research into near-death experiences to paint a picture of converging threats.Harper explains that NASA scientist David Hathaway predicts Solar Cycle 24, expected to peak around 2010 to 2011, could be the most intense in 400 years of recorded observation. He connects historical solar flare activity to flu pandemics, citing the 1918 outbreak, and warns of cascading failures if a massive coronal mass ejection were to disable satellite infrastructure. The recent Chinese anti-satellite missile test adds urgency to his concerns about space-based vulnerabilities.The discussion expands into the Mayan calendar, galactic core explosions, and electromagnetic pole shifts. Harper presents his worst-case scenario of a multi-layered event coupling energy from the galactic core through the sun and into Earth, triggering undersea volcanic eruptions and catastrophic weather changes that could lead to mass starvation and migration.

Art Bell interviews science journalist and mathematician Charles Seife about the nature of information as a fundamental property of the universe. Seife explains how Claude Shannon's mid-20th century discovery of the laws of information created a third great scientific revolution, revealing that information behaves according to rules as strict as those governing thermodynamics and energy.The conversation takes a deep look at quantum entanglement, the phenomenon Einstein called "spooky action at a distance," where paired particles respond to each other instantaneously regardless of the distance between them. Seife explains why, despite this apparent faster-than-light connection, scientists have proven it impossible to send actual messages through entangled particles. He and Art discuss how information theory connects to Einstein's relativity and quantum mechanics, providing a unifying framework for understanding the cosmos.Art presses Seife on parallel universes, the origins of the Big Bang, and the possibility that our universe was created by a particle collider in another reality. Seife acknowledges that an intelligent designer cannot be ruled out by science and shares how physicist David Deutsch theorizes that quantum computers may one day tap computational resources from parallel universes.

Art Bell is joined by crop circle researchers Ed Sherwood and Kris Sherwood, who bring more than 30 years of combined experience studying the worldwide crop circle phenomenon. The couple, based in Santa Monica, California, report having videotaped over 40 daylight UFO sightings above their apartment since June of the previous year, capturing spheres, tubular white objects, and formations of bright orbs on camera.Ed describes filming a large white opaque object for 30 minutes as it moved against the wind before dissolving into multiple bright spheres that flew away in formation. The Sherwoods explain their practice of synchronized global meditation, during which they invite benevolent extraterrestrial intelligences to participate in Earth healing visualizations. They note that many of their sightings occur during or shortly after these meditation sessions, raising questions about whether consciousness plays a role in initiating contact.The discussion also covers UFO sightings reported over Iranian nuclear facilities, with Art speculating these could be secret American surveillance technology. Callers share stories including a ghost encounter in Las Vegas, dolphin beachings along the Atlantic coast, and observations about the ready.gov preparedness campaign.

Art Bell welcomes journalist and author Lynne McTaggart to discuss her groundbreaking research into the science of intention. McTaggart explains how her investigation into the zero-point field led her to discover a quantum web connecting all living things, and how frontier scientists across the globe are overturning conventional laws of biology, chemistry, and physics with their experiments.The conversation centers on published scientific studies showing that human consciousness can affect matter, from single-celled organisms to complex biological systems. McTaggart describes evidence of remote healing, where individuals in one part of the country successfully influenced the health of people thousands of miles away. She details how living beings constantly transmit and receive light, creating an ongoing information exchange that provides a mechanism for intention to work.Art and Lynne explore the implications of quantum physics for understanding phenomena like spiritual healing and homeopathy. McTaggart shares her findings that directed thought registers across every aspect of a receiver's body, affecting heart rate, brain activity, and skin conductance. The program also features open lines with callers discussing near-death experiences, hollow Earth theories, and the Area 51 caller incident.

Art Bell opens with listener calls covering topics from the Travis Walton abduction case to the Spiricom device that allegedly enabled real-time communication with the dead. He also discusses a Colorado avalanche, record January warmth across the East Coast, and the anniversary of Ramona Bell's passing before welcoming Dr. T. Lee Baumann.Dr. Baumann, an internal medicine physician and former religious skeptic, describes how his journey toward spirituality began when he pronounced a patient dead only to have them revive 30 minutes later. He discusses Raymond Moody's near-death experience research and shares accounts of patients returning from clinical death angry at being resuscitated, having experienced profound peace on the other side.The core of the interview centers on Baumann's thesis that God and light are literally connected, not merely metaphorically. He explains the double-slit experiment, in which light appeared to alter its behavior before reaching modified endpoints, suggesting an awareness that physicists themselves described using the word consciousness. Baumann argues that since time stops at the speed of light, as Einstein proved, light operates outside the boundaries of time, placing it in a realm consistent with how every major world religion has described the divine.

Art Bell welcomes author Whitley Strieber to discuss the accelerating pace of extreme climate change. Before the interview, Art replays the legendary recording of a man who flew his homemade Long-EZ airplane directly into restricted Area 51 airspace in 1997, narrating the encounter live as an F-16 scrambled to intercept him.Strieber explains that what the media calls global warming is more accurately described as sudden climate change, the phenomenon they predicted in their co-authored novel Superstorm. He points to January tornadoes in Louisiana, record winds in Montana reaching 167 miles per hour, snowless Alps, and 70-degree temperatures in New Jersey as evidence that weather systems have become chaotic. Strieber reveals that 10 of the 12 great ocean currents driving the Gulf Stream have stopped flowing, with only two remaining active.The conversation turns to Peruvian glaciers where scientists found temperate plants quick-frozen in under five minutes, still green 5,200 years later, suggesting sudden catastrophic climate shifts have occurred before. Strieber also discusses his personal experiences with the Greys, noting that the encounters stopped when he moved from New York, and considers the possibility that these beings may be visitors from humanity's own future.

Art Bell hosts the second night of listener predictions for 2007 on New Year's Eve as midnight sweeps across the continent. He tightens the rules from the previous night, warning that anyone attempting to slip in a second prediction will have their first one canceled. Only on-air predictions are recorded, and Art reminds listeners that all calls are documented so there can be no dispute about what was said.The evening's news backdrop includes the American death toll in Iraq reaching 3,000, the burial of Saddam Hussein, and yet another powerful snowstorm burying Colorado under 10-foot drifts. Art reflects on the rapidly changing weather patterns and notes the stark contrast between freezing desert winds and unseasonably warm temperatures in the Midwest and East Coast, where callers report needing to mow their lawns in late December.Predictions from callers span politics, natural disasters, and the unexplained. Listeners forecast events including tornadoes touching down in Los Angeles, Congress attempting to pass a North American Union, major UFO sightings that produce irrefutable evidence, and dramatic shifts in the Iraq War. Art keeps the pace brisk, enforcing his one-prediction rule while ringing in the new year with his audience.

Art Bell hosts the first night of his annual predictions show for 2007, broadcasting once again from the high desert after returning to the United States with his wife Airyn, who has officially immigrated. He opens by reviewing the accuracy of previous years' predictions and establishes the ground rules: one prediction per caller, and only on-air predictions will be recorded. Art notes that 2006 predictions were heavily influenced by the lingering impact of the tsunami, skewing results.Before opening the phone lines, Art shares predictions from 50 eminent British scientists and a University of Alabama professor, covering topics ranging from hybrid car sales to presidential hopefuls dropping out of the race. He also reports on a massive earthquake off Taiwan that severed all communications to the Philippines, an event that would have prevented him from broadcasting had he remained there.Callers offer a wide range of predictions touching on politics, natural disasters, technology, and the paranormal. Topics include the North American Union, global warming intensifying, regime change in North Korea, and continued unusual weather patterns. Several callers also take the opportunity to welcome Art back to American soil, expressing genuine surprise at his unannounced return home.

Art Bell welcomes author and researcher Graham Hancock from Great Britain to discuss his book Supernatural and the hidden dimensions of human consciousness. The conversation opens with an examination of the Great Pyramid, including new evidence suggesting some limestone blocks may have been poured like concrete, though Hancock notes that fossils inside broken blocks challenge this theory. The 70-ton granite blocks of the King's Chamber remain unexplained.Hancock argues that ancient civilizations possessed a technology rooted not in mechanical advantage but in spiritual dimensions of the mind. He draws connections between megalithic structures worldwide, from Baalbek to Tonga, suggesting a forgotten seafaring culture carried this knowledge across the globe. The destruction of the Amazon rainforest serves as a bridge into his central thesis about humanity's severed connection to spirit.The discussion turns to DMT, the compound produced naturally by the human pineal gland. Hancock describes Dr. Rick Strassman's research showing that volunteers given DMT reported encounters with entities strikingly similar to those described by UFO abductees and ancient shamans. He proposes that these plants are not creating visions but opening doorways to other realms, and that governments criminalize them precisely because they threaten state control over human thought.

Art Bell welcomes filmmaker and researcher David Sereda for a Christmas Eve discussion about UFOs, extraterrestrial contact, and the future of humanity. Sereda describes his own close encounter with a triangular craft in Berkeley in 1968 and outlines a theory connecting the Phoenix Lights to Pythagorean mathematics and the Great Pyramids, noting that the massive triangle hovered near the Estrella Mountain Range, whose name traces back to the Greek for star child.The conversation turns to whether extraterrestrial visitors are benevolent or hostile. Sereda divides alien encounters into categories, from spiritually evolved beings who travel through what he calls the singularity to more troubling entities associated with abductions and implants. Art presses him on the contradiction between claims of helpful aliens and the forcible nature of most abduction accounts. Sereda acknowledges the darker side but points to religious apparitions and luminous phenomena as evidence of higher contact.Sereda also addresses the environmental crisis, citing a professor who believes humanity has only five to ten years to transform its energy infrastructure or face extinction. He argues that zero-point energy and anti-gravity technology may already exist in classified programs and that withholding them represents a profound crime against the planet.

Art Bell welcomes investigator Wm. Louis McDonald for an alarming discussion about the explosive rise in autism rates. McDonald presents statistics showing autism went from 1 in 10,000 births in 1996 to 1 in 166 by 2006, numbers confirmed by the Autism Society of America. Speaking as both a researcher and father of an autistic child, he shares his experience navigating the challenges of pervasive developmental disorder.McDonald traces autism through his own family, revealing that his father, a top government scientist who worked on classified satellite imaging, was likely an undiagnosed autistic savant. He argues that electromagnetic bombardment from modern telecommunications has driven genetic changes responsible for the surge, pushing back against the popular myth that mercury in vaccines causes autism. He explains that autistic children simply lack the ability to metabolize heavy metals as efficiently as other children.The conversation takes a provocative turn when McDonald connects autism to alien abduction research. Drawing on 248 credible abductee interviews over 14 years, he theorizes that gray aliens may represent a future branch of humanity that evolved from autistic populations, lost the ability to reproduce, and now travels back in time seeking to repair their genetic line.

Art Bell opens the phone lines for a special Christmas edition of Open Lines, asking callers to share the best and worst days of their lives, inspired by Dean Koontz's novel Life Expectancy. Broadcasting from Manila, Art shares his own story of a military doctor who falsely told him he had six months to live before revealing a tumor was benign.Callers deliver deeply personal accounts that range from heartbreaking to strange. A terminal cancer patient in Idaho describes finding peace through her answered novena prayers. A woman in California recounts discovering her Vietnam veteran husband dead from carbon monoxide poisoning, then years later experiencing a three-day spiritual transformation after standing up to her emotionally abusive father. A caller in Kansas claims his best day involved a late-night gas station encounter with someone he identified as Jim Morrison.Other callers describe harrowing near-death experiences, including a woman whose brakes failed on a steep Arizona highway and who was guided to safety by a mysterious voice. Art also deals with a painful tongue injury throughout the broadcast, prompting a nurse to call in with treatment advice. The evening captures the full spectrum of human experience during the holiday season.

Art Bell welcomes astrophysicist Dr. Bernard Haisch for a thought-provoking exploration of the intersection between science and spirituality. Haisch, who has over 130 scientific publications and led multiple NASA research projects, presents his theory that the universe was created by a transcendent intelligence whose thoughts became the laws of physics. He argues this view occupies a middle ground between religious fundamentalism and the materialist claim that existence is purely accidental.Haisch draws on the work of autistic savants to support his case that the brain functions as a filter of consciousness rather than its source. He cites extraordinary examples including Leslie Lemke playing Tchaikovsky after a single listen and Daniel Tammett reciting pi to over 21,000 decimal places. These abilities, he suggests, point to a universal consciousness that most humans can only access in fragments.The discussion extends into reincarnation, the zero-point energy field, and the crisis facing modern physics through its overreliance on unverifiable string theory. Art challenges Haisch on the social consequences of abandoning organized religion, while Haisch maintains that a scientifically grounded concept of God could unite humanity without the divisiveness that traditional religions often produce.

Art Bell welcomes Dr. Nick Begich for a wide-ranging discussion on electromagnetic technologies and their potential for misuse. Begich details his years of research into HAARP, revealing that the project went dark around 2003 when it transferred to DARPA, cutting off public access and outside scrutiny. He describes testifying before the European Parliament, which subsequently passed a resolution calling for a global ban on weapons capable of manipulating human behavior.The conversation shifts to modern surveillance capabilities, including the ability of law enforcement to remotely activate cell phones as listening devices through roving wiretaps. Art and Begich wrestle with the tension between national security needs in a post-9/11 world and the erosion of Fourth Amendment protections. Begich argues that existing legal frameworks already provide sufficient latitude for intelligence gathering without mass surveillance of ordinary citizens.Begich also examines RFID technology and its growing integration into consumer goods and potentially currency itself. He explains how cell phones could serve as activators for RFID tags, creating a comprehensive tracking system that monitors every purchase and movement. The discussion raises urgent questions about where convenience ends and total surveillance begins.

Art Bell welcomes Jim Sparks, a former real estate developer who claims to have experienced 18 years of alien abduction with near-total conscious recall. Unlike most abductees, Sparks says he remembers roughly 90 percent of his encounters and describes the beings, their technology, and their methods in vivid detail. Art opens the show with news of the Space Shuttle Discovery's dramatic nighttime launch before introducing this extraordinary guest.Sparks recounts how his experiences began in 1988 with recurring dreams of being walked through a window and into the woods, only to discover physical evidence the next morning, including footprints and honeysuckle flowers embedded in carpet where no opening existed. He describes what he calls alien boot camp, a terrifying six-year period of isolation, paralysis, and forced learning sessions involving monitors and telepathic communication with grey beings and taller mantis-like overseers.Over time, Sparks says he shifted from resistor to cooperator as the beings revealed an environmental message about humanity's destruction of the planet. He discusses their warnings about deforestation, pollution, and the urgent need for conservation, and explains why he believes these beings are invested in the long-term survival of Earth's ecosystems.

Art Bell opens with a killshot update from remote viewing expert Major Ed Dames, who reports alarming findings about a cosmic cycle threatening Earth. Dames describes gravitational waves from beyond the solar system that are intensifying solar activity, heating planetary cores, and driving extreme weather. He warns that fresh water shortages will precede the worst solar events and advises listeners to settle near large bodies of fresh water or glaciers.Dames reveals that his remote viewing team has identified a contact point in the American Southwest where interaction with a non-human intelligence may occur. He discusses plans to document this event with a prominent filmmaker and shares his belief that an exodus from Earth, facilitated by an outside agency, may be the only survival path for humanity. Art presses him on timelines and the nature of the gravitational force approaching our solar system.The show then opens to callers, who discuss the growing propagation of evil and why seemingly prosperous nations produce individuals willing to kill innocent civilians. Art reflects on whether removing religion from public life has contributed to the rise of senseless violence, and listeners weigh in with theories on the moral direction of humanity.

Art Bell welcomes Sean Carroll, senior research associate in physics at the California Institute of Technology, for a wide-ranging discussion on the nature of time, space-time, and the possibility of time travel. Carroll explains that time has multiple definitions in physics, from the universal clock that labels events to the personal time measured by individual observers, a distinction Einstein revealed through relativity.Carroll walks through the science of black holes, describing evidence for a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy with a mass millions of times that of the sun. He explains why real time travel, if possible, would resemble space travel rather than the Hollywood version of stepping into a machine and vanishing. The discussion covers upcoming experiments at CERN, why creating a small black hole there would pose no danger, and how gravity is really the curvature of space-time caused by mass and energy.The conversation also addresses dark energy, the accelerating expansion of the universe, and the mystery of entropy and the arrow of time. Art and Sean explore why time appears to move in only one direction and what the low-entropy state of the early universe tells us about the origins of everything.

Art Bell welcomes filmmaker and explorer Peter von Puttkamer, whose decades of documentary work have taken him into remote jungles, ancient caves, and the deep wilderness in search of creatures that science has yet to catalog. Broadcasting from the typhoon-ravaged Philippines, Art opens the show with a firsthand account of Typhoon Durian's devastating near-miss of Manila and the catastrophic mudslides it triggered on the slopes of Mount Mayon.Von Puttkamer shares stories from his extensive fieldwork, including tracking the Jersey Devil through the Pine Barrens with experienced hunters and investigating Bigfoot sightings with legendary researchers like Peter Byrne and Grover Krantz. He discusses how indigenous cultures worldwide preserve remarkably consistent accounts of wild, hair-covered humanoid creatures in their masks, dances, and oral traditions. The conversation examines why credible witnesses, including state troopers and wildlife officers, continue to report encounters with unidentified creatures despite the professional risks of doing so.Art and Peter also explore the reality of lost worlds in places like the Congo and Southeast Asia, where vast unexplored regions could still harbor unknown species. Von Puttkamer describes his search for the Mokele-mbembe and other cryptids reported by local populations across multiple continents.

Art Bell welcomes Professor Jim Bell, associate professor of astronomy at Cornell University and lead scientist for the Pancam color imaging system on NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers. Broadcasting from Manila as another typhoon approaches the Philippines, Art connects with Professor Bell to discuss the remarkable longevity of the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, which have survived over 1,000 days on Mars despite being designed for just 90.Professor Bell describes the daily operations of the rovers, from recharging solar panels to navigating treacherous crater rims and steep slopes. He explains how lucky gusts of wind have cleared dust from the solar panels, extending the missions far beyond expectations. The conversation covers discoveries of mineral evidence suggesting ancient water on Mars, the mysterious blueberries found by Opportunity, and what these findings mean for the possibility of past life on the red planet.The discussion also touches on the upcoming Mars Science Laboratory mission, the importance of eventually sending humans to Mars, and why robotic exploration remains essential for preparing the way. Callers ask about quantum entanglement, time travel, and the implications of radical evolution for the future of humanity.

Art Bell welcomes Joel Garreau, reporter and editor at the Washington Post, to discuss his book Radical Evolution, which examines how genetics, robotics, information technology, and nanotechnology are converging to alter human nature within two decades. Garreau explains that for the first time, technology is aimed inward at modifying minds, memories, and metabolisms rather than outward at changing the environment.Garreau outlines three scenarios for humanity's future. The heaven scenario envisions conquering disease, aging, and death through exponential progress. The hell scenario warns that these same tools in the wrong hands could end civilization, citing the Australian mousepox experiment where one genetic tweak created a virus fatal to every lab mouse. The prevail scenario suggests human social innovation can keep pace with technological change, as the printing press once led to the Renaissance and democracy.The conversation covers DARPA-funded research including a telekinetic monkey at Duke University controlling a robotic arm six hundred miles away using brain signals, memory pills expected within three years, and military programs to burn body fat at will. Art raises concerns about blurring the line between human and machine, while Garreau argues that humanity has historically adapted just fast enough to survive its own inventions.

Art Bell opens with world news including Henry Kissinger's declaration that military victory in Iraq is no longer possible and the poisoning of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London. The scheduled guest, NASA Mars rover camera scientist Jim Bell, cannot connect from his New York hotel due to poor phone infrastructure, leading Art to note that the Philippines has superior telecommunications.Open lines bring a wide range of callers. Art reads a detailed article on cattle mutilations in Montana, where a rancher found his cow surgically carved with no blood, no footprints, and no predator activity. He discusses Uri Geller's claim that a remote viewer helped locate Saddam Hussein in his underground hiding place. A caller from New Jersey describes making a mental deal with the devil during a difficult period, after which his luck with gambling and relationships improved.Art solicits more callers who have struck deals with the devil and speaks with a self-described Satanist from Iowa whose wife introduced him to Anton LaVey's philosophy. Throughout the evening, Art debates the Iraq war with callers, arguing that while the U.S. has the military power to win, the political will is lacking, drawing parallels to the Vietnam experience.

Art Bell welcomes Dr. James Canton, futurist and CEO of the Institute for Global Futures, for a wide-ranging discussion on the trends shaping the coming decades. Canton, freshly returned from Asia and jet-lagged, covers the looming end of affordable oil and forecasts breakthroughs in hydrogen fuel cells, solar voltaics, and nanotechnology-based energy within five years. He shares insights from private meetings with Saudi officials about global energy shortfalls.The conversation shifts to human enhancement and longevity medicine. Canton predicts cancer will become a managed disease within a decade, similar to how AIDS is treated today. He outlines three phases of enhancement: fixing existing conditions, augmenting capabilities like memory and cognition, and ultimately designing human evolution. He points to fertility clinics, psychopharmacology, and medical devices as evidence this transformation is already underway.Canton warns that the United States risks falling behind unless it reverses anti-science policies and reinvests in education and research. He notes America cannot fill over a million high-tech jobs today and argues that without renewed commitment to science, quality of life will decline within a decade. The discussion also touches on climate change, the carrying capacity of the planet, and the economic linkage between the U.S. and China.

Art Bell welcomes Professor Ronald Mallett, a theoretical physicist at the University of Connecticut, who presents his research on building a time machine grounded in Einstein's general theory of relativity. Mallett explains that his quest began at age ten when his father died suddenly, and reading H.G. Wells inspired him to pursue physics with the hope of traveling back in time.Mallett walks through the science methodically, explaining how both speed and gravity slow time according to Einstein's two theories of relativity. He reveals his key discovery: circulating light beams can twist space, and if twisted strongly enough, time bends into a loop allowing movement from the future back into the past. He uses vivid analogies, comparing curved space to a rubber sheet bent by a bowling ball and stirred coffee in a cup.The discussion addresses time travel paradoxes through parallel universe theory from quantum mechanics. Mallett explains that arriving in the past creates a split, placing the traveler in a new universe where changes affect only that timeline. He notes one critical limitation: the machine only permits travel back to the moment it was first activated, explaining why no time travelers have yet appeared among us.

Art Bell welcomes adventurer and author Robert Young Pelton to discuss his book on the world's most dangerous places. Pelton describes his transition from marketing executive to professional adventurer, recounting how he recorded interviews with Taliban leadership in 1995 and embedded with U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan after September 11. He explains the complex relationship between Pakistan, the Taliban, and the Afghan tribal regions.The conversation turns personal as Art asks about the Philippines, where he is broadcasting from. Pelton confirms Manila's dangers, revealing how police there operate as hired killers for as little as two hundred dollars. He shares harrowing stories from Chechnya, where he witnessed Russian forces bombing civilian apartment buildings during the siege of Grozny, surviving as one of only two Westerners inside the city.Art and Pelton find common ground on the value of experiencing the world firsthand. Both argue that Americans would hold fundamentally different views on foreign policy if every citizen traveled to a developing country. Pelton draws parallels between tribal walkabout traditions and the modern loss of personal testing that once defined the transition from childhood to adulthood.