The Art Bell Archive

Art Bell opens this Thanksgiving eve broadcast with a sweep through the day's headlines and listener calls. He reports that the U.N. AIDS agency has dramatically revised its global infection estimate upward to 30 million people, one-third higher than previous figures, with 16,000 new infections occurring daily. A new California study on declining sperm density also draws his attention, showing an average annual decrease of 1.5 percent per year across Western countries.Listeners call in to react to the previous night's program with Major Ed Dames, offering their own theories about the discontinuity. Art shares news items including Defense Secretary William Cohen's statement that more than 25 nations have or may be developing nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. He also discusses a Duluth research team's confirmation that UV radiation is causing widespread frog deformities, and reports on a deer in Ohio found with an extra leg growing from its back, noting the mutations are moving up the food chain.The broadcast features lighter moments as well, with Art describing his newly adopted stray dog and the outpouring of name suggestions from listeners. He recounts the saga of the dog stealing tools from construction workers and caching them in her doghouse. Callers weigh in on topics from two-foot mutant rats in Chile to the lovable qualities of pet rats, and Art previews his unconventional 4 AM Thanksgiving dinner of roast beef instead of turkey.

Art Bell welcomes Major Ed Dames of PSI Tech for a program that builds toward a long-anticipated revelation about what remote viewers call the discontinuity. The first hour covers current events including the Iraq weapons crisis, with Dames drawing on his background as a former biological warfare case officer to explain the realities of weaponizing chemical and biological agents. He notes that while Saddam Hussein possesses dangerous stockpiles, effective deployment requires sophisticated science that limits their actual threat.Dames provides updates on several PSI Tech projects, including remote viewing the botched Mossad assassination attempt on a Hamas leader, which he says traced back to a bacterial toxin produced at a facility within Israel. He also discusses the company's finding that the next nuclear weapon used in anger will involve North Korea launching a missile-mounted device. Art presses Dames on the Kardashev civilization scale and the risks facing humanity's transition from Type 0 status.The program culminates with Dames revealing the nature of the discontinuity, the barrier past which remote viewers could not perceive the future. After extensive cross-checking, his team concluded it is a catastrophic solar event, a massive discharge from the sun that will scorch the exposed surface of the Earth. Dames explains that the event felt like death to remote viewers attempting to perceive it, which is why they initially could not identify its nature.

Art Bell opens the program with Dr. Joseph Gold of the Syracuse Cancer Research Institute to discuss hydrazine sulfate, an inexpensive compound he has researched for decades as a cancer treatment. Dr. Gold explains that the drug works by inhibiting an enzyme in the liver that drives cachexia, the wasting process responsible for up to 70 percent of cancer deaths. He reports that controlled clinical trials worldwide have shown positive results, while the National Cancer Institute's negative studies were later revealed to have used tranquilizers in 94 percent of patients despite knowing the drugs were incompatible with hydrazine sulfate.The second half presents a detailed investigation into the TWA Flight 800 disaster. Aviation expert Capt. William S. Donaldson, a retired Navy commander, challenges the official center fuel tank explosion theory. He notes that in the entire history of U.S. civil jet aviation, no fuel tank has ever spontaneously exploded. Two eyewitnesses join: Major Fred Myers, a decorated helicopter pilot who observed what he describes as an ordnance-type explosion, and Richard Goss, who watched a bright object rise from near the surface and make a sharp left turn before a massive explosion.Donaldson presents forensic evidence including a six-inch through-hole in the fuselage and debris field analysis showing pieces displaced thousands of feet from the aircraft track, patterns he says are inconsistent with a fuel tank explosion and consistent with a proximity-detonating missile warhead.

Art Bell sits down with theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku of the City University of New York for a wide-ranging conversation about the frontiers of science and the future of space exploration. The discussion begins with NASA's announcement that astronomers have observed a black hole dragging space and time around itself, confirming a 1918 prediction from Einstein's general relativity. Dr. Kaku explains gravity not as a force but as the bending of space itself, using vivid analogies of marbles rolling in funnels and ants walking on crumpled paper.The conversation turns to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, where Dr. Kaku argues that SETI's approach of scanning single frequencies is fundamentally flawed. He suggests advanced civilizations would use spread spectrum technology to communicate, smearing signals across all frequencies, meaning the galaxy could be full of conversations we simply cannot detect. He introduces the Kardashev scale of civilization types and explains why the transition from Type 0 to Type 1 is the most dangerous period for any civilization, estimating only one in ten makes it through.Dr. Kaku also discusses the future of propulsion technology, from ramjet fusion engines to the theoretical possibility of monopole-based travel through galactic magnetic fields. He addresses the greenhouse effect, El Nino, and the looming depletion of fossil fuels, advocating for a transition to solar hydrogen energy.

Art Bell welcomes author Whitley Strieber for an evening of extraordinary reports from the world of UFOs and close encounters. The program opens with Peter Davenport of the National UFO Reporting Center providing a detailed update on the mysterious lights seen streaking across Pacific Northwest skies the previous week. Davenport reveals that witness accounts and trajectory data contradict the official explanation of Russian space debris, noting that objects appeared to maintain formation and travel in the opposite direction from what NORAD reported.Strieber then shares the remarkable story of Glenrock, Wyoming, a small town with an astonishing concentration of UFO sightings and unexplained phenomena. Residents describe sequences of three powerful knocks heard throughout town in 1988, matching an identical experience Strieber documented at his New York cabin in 1986. Witnesses Jamie Eager and Marla Hendrix recount their own encounters, including a strange amber-colored fog that blanketed the town and an episode of missing time during which they unknowingly videotaped a UFO emerging from a rainbow-colored cloud.The program also features discussion of alien implants, with Strieber recounting how a surgeon attempting to remove an object from his ear reported that the implant physically moved away from the scalpel. Dr. Roger Lear, a pioneering implant researcher, joins to discuss his work recovering anomalous objects from experiencers. Chile's announcement of an official government committee to study UFOs provides an ironic contrast to American reluctance on the subject.

Art Bell interviews self-educated physicist Charles Cagle, a Vietnam veteran and former commercial fisherman whose research into ball lightning led him to a sweeping theory connecting solar activity to catastrophic Earth changes. Cagle explains how ball lightning forms a stable plasma structure capable of sustaining fusion reactions, something billions of dollars in laboratory research has failed to achieve. He connects this phenomenon to the sun''s coronal mass ejections, which he describes as magnetotoroidal bubbles that maintain their structure across 93 million miles of space.Cagle presents evidence that coronal mass ejections strike Earth more frequently than random chance would predict and warns that Solar Cycle 23, then just beginning, shows signs of becoming the most powerful ever recorded. He explains that a sufficiently strong ejection could overwhelm Earth''s magnetic field and trigger a pole reversal, a process geological records show has occurred at least 171 times since the Jurassic period.The most alarming predictions involve the consequences of such a reversal. Cagle describes how the loss of Earth''s protective magnetic field would expose the planet to direct solar bombardment, while internal forces could generate massive earthquakes exceeding Richter 10 and cause volcanic island chains like Hawaii to rapidly subside beneath the ocean.

Art Bell welcomes rocket scientist David Adair, who recounts his extraordinary journey from building rockets as a child in rural Ohio to a classified encounter at Area 51. Adair describes growing up around NASCAR machine shops with access to titanium, aircraft aluminum, and cryogenic fuels, which allowed him to build and launch increasingly powerful rockets from age 11. By 17, he had constructed a half-ton electromagnetic fusion containment engine with funding secured through his congressman and oversight from retired Air Force General Curtis LeMay.Adair details the test launch at White Sands, where his rocket accelerated so rapidly that witnesses thought it had exploded. NORAD tracked the vehicle as it traveled 456 miles northwest to Groom Lake, better known as Area 51. Upon landing at the secretive base, Adair was escorted past his own rocket and into the central hangar, where he encountered former Nazi rocket engineer Dr. Arthur Rudolph among the officials present.The episode also revisits the Space Islands concept from the prior week with Gene Meyers, as Adair confirms the engineering feasibility of converting shuttle external tanks into orbital tourist stations. He discusses the physiological effects of reduced gravity on the human body and explains why NASA has resisted cheaper alternatives to the International Space Station.

Art Bell presents investigative journalist Linda Moulton Howe''s follow-up report on the mysterious lights witnessed across the Pacific Northwest two nights earlier. Howe interviews Ken Henriksen, president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in Vancouver, who watched the event for over a minute. He describes a white object that descended slowly before breaking into 36 pieces, insisting it was not a meteor based on its deceleration and extended duration.NORAD confirms they tracked a Russian SL-12 rocket body launched November 12th, saying it broke apart over Vancouver. Reports of booms and shuddering walls in Abbotsford, British Columbia, along with newspaper accounts of debris falling in the suburb of Burnaby, support this explanation for the western sightings. However, NORAD acknowledges they cannot account for reports further east.Howe presents witness testimony from Tenasket, Washington, describing red lights flying in formation, and from Sandpoint, Idaho, where seven stationary glowing globes hovered silently for up to ten minutes before vanishing instantaneously. She concludes that the events of November 14th involved more than a single Russian rocket reentry, with multiple unexplained phenomena occurring simultaneously across several states.

Art Bell and author Whitley Strieber find their interview overtaken by a breaking news event as hundreds of witnesses across the Pacific Northwest report fiery objects streaking through the sky. Beginning around 9:06 PM Pacific time on November 14th, callers from Vancouver to central Washington describe slow-moving orange balls of fire at remarkably low altitude, some appearing to pass behind trees and pulsate with light.NORAD and the Air Force claim the objects are debris from a Russian SL-12 rocket booster that crashed into the Pacific Ocean. However, dozens of eyewitnesses contradict this explanation, reporting the objects continued eastward well beyond Seattle into central and eastern Washington. A caller from near the Kingdome describes up to seven distinct objects in a straight horizontal line, moving at the speed of a landing airliner with no sound whatsoever.Between the live reports, Strieber shares a startling personal update regarding an alleged implant in his ear. He reveals that during a surgical attempt to remove the object, it migrated away from the surgeon''s scalpel, prompting the doctor to remark that it appeared to be alive. The object later returned to its original position after the wound healed.

Art Bell welcomes space commerce advocate Gene Meyers, a colleague of rocket scientist David Adair, to discuss a bold vision for commercial tourism in orbit. Meyers outlines a plan to repurpose the space shuttle''s massive external tanks into rotating ring-shaped space stations, each capable of hosting 300 people. He explains how connecting twelve of these tanks could create artificial gravity on the outer ring and zero gravity at the center, all for a fraction of the cost of NASA''s International Space Station.The conversation covers the engineering details behind these proposed "Space Islands," including agricultural tanks for growing food, hydroponics systems for oxygen recycling, and inflatable interior modules designed decades earlier by Goodyear. Meyers reveals that major cruise lines have expressed interest in the concept, comparing the cost of a commercial shuttle to that of a luxury cruise ship at roughly $500 million.Art and Meyers explore the possibilities of booking two-week orbital vacations, with tourist suites positioned in the zero-gravity core of the station. The discussion expands to even grander ambitions, including propelling entire stations into orbit around the moon within three days or reaching Mars in nine months.

Art Bell welcomes documentary filmmaker Boris Said and sonic engineer Tom Danley for an exploration of acoustic mysteries within the Great Pyramid at Giza. Danley, a former NASA consultant who conducted sonic tests in the King's Chamber, reveals that several resonances of the sarcophagus and the room harmonically coincide at the same frequencies. His measurements detected ambient low-frequency vibrations present even without artificial sound sources, some reaching as low as three hertz, well within the range of human brainwave activity.Danley explains that the pyramid's structure functions like a giant Helmholtz resonator, with wind passing over the air shafts producing infrasound that pervades the chamber. During one nighttime testing session, the low frequencies became so intense that the entire crew fled the King's Chamber, convinced an earthquake was occurring. He also notes that the resonant frequencies form an F-sharp chord, matching the tuning of Native American ceremonial flutes crafted 12,000 miles away.Boris Said discusses plans to access the 30-by-40-foot chamber detected by ground-penetrating radar beneath the Sphinx, connected by a tunnel running from beneath the causeway. He outlines a diplomatic approach to obtain Egyptian permission for excavation, proposing that Egyptian institutions lead the effort while his crew documents the findings.

Art Bell interviews former Air Force electronic intelligence specialist Dan Sherman about his book "Above Black," which details his involvement in a classified program called Project Preserve Destiny. Sherman describes being told by an NSA captain that his DNA had been genetically managed before birth as part of a program initiated after government contact with an alien species in 1947. His mother, he was informed, had been abducted in the early 1960s for genetic compatibility testing.Sherman recounts his training at an NSA facility where he learned to mentally flatten sine waves on a computer screen without any physical connection, developing what the military called intuitive communication abilities. Once stationed at his operational base, he spent over two years receiving transmissions from two alien contacts, initially consisting of number strings and military intelligence data including launch coordinates and temperature readings.The communications eventually shifted to abduction data, including latitude and longitude coordinates, residual pain levels, and potentiality for recall scores. This deeply disturbed Sherman. When his classified commander informed him he would never be allowed to leave the military, Sherman found a way to secure an honorable discharge and chose to share his compartmentalized piece of a much larger puzzle.

Art Bell hosts a special Dreamland broadcast with two guests covering urgent environmental threats and the nature of dimensional travel. Linda Moulton Howe reports on the spread of Pfiesteria, the virtually indestructible dinoflagellate devastating fish populations along the U.S. East Coast, now suspected of crossing the Atlantic in ship ballast water. She also presents an alarming interview with University of Georgia ecologist Dr. James Porter, who documents a 276% increase in coral reef disease locations in the Florida Keys within a single year.Dr. Bruce Goldberg follows with a discussion of out-of-body experiences and his book "Peaceful Transition." He describes 13 planes of existence, from the physical earth plane through the astral, causal, mental, etheric, and soul planes, each with characteristic sounds. Goldberg explains the difference between unconscious dying, which perpetuates the karmic cycle, and conscious dying, which can liberate the soul from reincarnation.Goldberg also discusses dimensional travel through hyperspace, time travelers from the 30th century, and his challenge to Art to verify astral voyaging by describing what Art is wearing during a future broadcast. Art admits his own fear of attempting an out-of-body experience.

Art Bell is joined by Dr. Nick Begich to discuss Project HAARP, the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program based in remote Gakona, Alaska. Begich, co-author of "Angels Don't Play This HAARP," explains how the phased array antenna system focuses unprecedented amounts of radio frequency energy into the ionosphere, with the developmental prototype rated at one billion watts and plans for up to one hundred billion.Begich details the military applications hidden behind public research claims, including the ability to block global communications, manipulate weather patterns by punching holes in the ionosphere, conduct earth-penetrating tomography, destroy low-orbit satellites through atmospheric drag, and potentially disable enemy forces through behavioral manipulation using extremely low frequency signals. He cites Secretary of Defense William Cohen acknowledging that electromagnetic weapons can alter climate and trigger earthquakes remotely.Art and Begich discuss the biological risks of ELF radiation that matches human brainwave frequencies, the project's new fiber optic link for remote operation, and how military officials have repeatedly misled legislators about the facility's true capabilities. Begich also describes the European Parliament's growing interest in investigating the project.

Art Bell welcomes researcher and author William Henry from Nashville to discuss his book "The Peacemaker and the Key of Life." Henry shares his background in subliminal messaging and the holographic paradigm before pivoting to his investigation of extraterrestrial involvement in human affairs. He presents his theory of a prophetic figure called the Peacemaker, a herald who will precede the return of the Messiah.Henry traces this figure across multiple traditions, from the Hopi and Iroquois to the Egyptians and the prophecies of Nostradamus. He connects Sumerian texts, the works of Zechariah Sitchin, and Gnostic scriptures to argue that the Old Testament God Yahweh is not the creator of the universe but rather a lesser being. Art challenges these assertions, and callers vigorously debate whether the Peacemaker might actually be the Antichrist.The conversation spans biblical interpretation, the Hall of Records beneath the Sphinx, the mystery of Rennes-le-Chateau in France, and the possibility that a stargate will open at Armageddon. Henry also discusses the role of Mary Magdalene, the Sumerian creation story, and his belief that humanity is approaching a transformative cosmic event.

Art Bell interviews former Earth scientist and aerospace engineer Gregg Braden about measurable changes occurring within the planet that ancient traditions predicted thousands of years ago. Braden explains that Earth's magnetic field has declined from a peak of 10 on a relative scale two thousand years ago to roughly 1.5 today, while the planet's base resonant frequency, historically stable at 7.8 hertz, has been rising since the mid-1980s. These two parameters appear to be converging toward what he calls zero point.Using the analogy of copper wire wound around an iron bar, Braden describes how Earth generates its magnetic field through the rotation of inner cores around an iron center. He explains that geologic records preserved in ocean floor lava reveal at least 14 magnetic reversals in the last 4.5 million years. The most recent occurred between 10,500 and 13,000 years ago, correlating with the end of the last ice age. Ancient calendars from Mayan, Egyptian, and Tibetan traditions all terminate in this current era.Braden presents research showing that human DNA may be a variable code responding to environmental conditions. He cites a 1996 global blood study revealing that a significant portion of the population has activated dormant genetic codes conferring high resistance to the AIDS virus. He argues that emotion serves as the biological switch controlling these genetic changes, connecting modern science to what the ancients called the technology of compassion.

Art Bell speaks with Dr. Edgar Mitchell, the sixth person to walk on the moon during Apollo 14, covering topics from lunar exploration to consciousness research. Mitchell describes the difficulty of navigating the moon's deceptively undulating surface and reveals he secretly conducted a telepathy experiment during the flight, transmitting Zener card symbols to four receivers on Earth. The results showed odds of one in three thousand against chance, consistent with decades of laboratory findings.Mitchell shares his conviction that the 1947 Roswell incident involved a genuine crash and coverup, noting approximately 130 witnesses have come forward. He flatly denies Richard C. Hoagland's claims of glass structures on the moon, calling them pseudoscience. The conversation turns to zero-point energy research and the possibility that the speed of light might be locally modified. Mitchell describes how viewing Earth from space triggered a profound epiphany about the interconnectedness of all matter, launching his 25-year investigation into consciousness.Mitchell discusses his dyadic model of reality, which integrates quantum physics with mystical experience, and recounts how his mother was healed of glaucoma by a Buddhist shaman only to reject the healing when she learned he was not Christian. He argues that awareness is a fundamental attribute of nature rather than merely a product of biological evolution and that science must expand to accommodate first-person subjective experience.

Art Bell continues the annual Ghost to Ghost tradition on Halloween night with another marathon session of real ghost stories from listeners across the country and around the world. He opens by revisiting the mysterious door-pounding incident from his studio two nights earlier, noting that the vicarious thrill of hearing ghost stories becomes very different when the experience happens to you personally.Callers deliver a wide range of chilling accounts. A woman in Kansas City describes a spirit peeking its head and shoulders out of a bedroom closet, only for her boyfriend to casually identify it as a friendly presence. A former security guard at O'Hare Airport recounts how his roommates attempted to summon a demon using a protective circle, and after he sarcastically demanded a sign from the devil, a broken radio sealed inside a locked footlocker began playing on its own. A truck driver in Memphis describes a presence sitting on his waterbed and grabbing his ankle. From Vancouver, a caller shares years of terrifying activity in a home once occupied by three generations practicing voodoo, so severe that a priest refused to enter.Art poses a thought-provoking question throughout the night: if you woke up dead and found yourself invisible among the living, what would you do? Callers respond with answers that illuminate exactly why departed spirits behave the way witnesses describe them.

Art Bell opens the 1997 Ghost to Ghost broadcast by recounting a terrifying experience from the previous night during his Brad Steiger interview. Something struck his studio door with tremendous force while no living person or animal in the house was responsible. With that unsettling setup, he turns the program over to callers sharing their own true ghost stories as Halloween arrives across American time zones.Callers report an astonishing range of encounters. A parapsychologist in Syracuse describes cold and hot spots followed by a massive bang in an attic. A truck driver witnesses a bowing shadow figure announce his grandfather's death moments before the phone confirms it. A woman in Boston watches her stalled car restart just long enough for her deceased father to guide her to safety. A man in Minneapolis recalls waking at age seven to find 15 to 20 translucent cocktail party guests from another era gathered in his kitchen, one of whom tucked him into bed.Among the most haunting stories, a young woman in Texas describes a spirit in a deceased woman's apartment that cleaned the kitchen, opened locked windows, and physically held a door shut against her. A motel desk clerk receives a phone call from the empty room next to a departed guest, hearing a distant elderly woman's voice. Art reads an Associated Press report confirming White House staff have witnessed the ghost of Abraham Lincoln roaming the halls.

Art Bell welcomes prolific paranormal author Brad Steiger for a Halloween eve discussion about ghosts and the supernatural. With over 130 books to his name, Steiger shares personal experiences from a lifetime of psychic research, including growing up in a haunted Iowa farmhouse where salt shakers lifted on their own and spectral great-grandparents appeared from closets. He recounts investigating a haunted mansion where a ghost materialized before a skeptical police officer and describes putting his hand directly into the apparition.Steiger offers his theory that roughly 90 percent of hauntings are psychic recordings replaying on a loop, though he acknowledges a remaining percentage involves genuine intelligent entities. He discusses his near-death experience at age 11 after a farm machinery accident, where he witnessed geometric patterns conveying purpose and meaning before arriving at a peaceful community on the other side. The conversation also covers his wife Sherry's mediumistic abilities and their investigation of a bed and breakfast where a deceased infant reached out to grasp her hand.The discussion ranges from the dangers of inviting dark spiritual forces to the parallels between ghost phenomena and UFO encounters. Steiger argues these manifestations represent a single interconnected phenomenon on what he calls a haunted planet. Art and Brad also explore reincarnation and the nature of the afterlife as they set the stage for the annual Ghost to Ghost broadcast.

Art Bell speaks with former NASA scientist-astronaut Dr. Brian O'Leary about Mars, free energy, UFOs, and the state of global consciousness. O'Leary, who received his Ph.D. in astronomy from UC Berkeley and was selected to go to Mars during the Apollo program, describes the current state of zero-point energy research as comparable to the era just after the Wright brothers flew.O'Leary argues that cold fusion technology could render radioactive waste harmless and that practical free energy devices are five to ten years away, held back primarily by oil industry resistance and lack of investment. He estimates that just one hundred million dollars would be enough to bring the concept to commercial viability. He also addresses the anomalous features at Cydonia on Mars, calling NASA's dismissal of them as mere tricks of shadow "absurd."Callers ask about remote viewing, which O'Leary confirms experiencing firsthand at Princeton, and about astronauts who have witnessed UFOs. He names Gordon Cooper and Ed Mitchell as fellow space program veterans who have reported sightings. Art and O'Leary also discuss global warming, the finite oil supply, and the urgent need for alternative energy sources.

Art Bell brings on currency historian Andrew Gause to break down the stock market bloodbath of October 27, 1997, when the Dow Jones fell 554 points, its largest single-day point drop in history. Gause explains how the Federal Reserve will likely flood the system with liquidity to prevent total collapse, warning that the inevitable consequence is severe inflation.Gause traces the crisis beyond the Asian currency collapses, pointing to overinflated price-to-earnings ratios, rampant margin buying by individual investors, and mutual fund managers who leveraged their holdings. He predicts another 1,500 to 2,500 points of decline and issues a strong buy signal on gold coins, arguing that physical gold represents the only reliable store of value. He also describes how insiders likely exited the market weeks before the crash.Don McAlvany follows in the second half, characterizing the market as a speculative mania rather than a healthy bull run. With 75 million Americans invested in the most overpriced market in history, he warns the correction is far from over. Both guests recommend moving 40 to 60 percent of investment funds into physical gold.

Art Bell welcomes Michael Holm, the musical genius behind Cusco, live from Bavaria, Germany, to discuss the creation of Apurimac 3. Holm describes how he composes melodies while riding his horse through the Bavarian countryside and how visiting buffalo in Colorado inspired one of the album's centerpieces. Listeners call in to suggest Polynesian and ocean themes for a potential Apurimac 4.The second half takes a sharp turn as Art interviews a self-described satanic witch named Harlot. She claims to be a fourth-generation practitioner from a bloodline that made a pact with the devil during a period of starvation generations ago. She describes her mission as spreading evil, destroying families, and infiltrating churches while secretly worshiping Satan. She states she fully accepts eternal damnation and feels no remorse.Art presses her on the logic of choosing a side she admits will lose. Harlot responds that Satan seeks vengeance, not victory, and that her purpose is to inflict maximum damage on God's creation before the apocalypse. The broadcast draws intense listener reaction from both supporters and critics.

Art Bell interviews a former U.S. Navy submarine communications officer, identified only as "Officer X," who reveals a harrowing incident from his time aboard the USS Ulysses S. Grant during the Libya crisis of the 1980s. When a series of equipment failures cut all communications for six hours at DEFCON 3, the crew found themselves unable to confirm whether nuclear war had begun.Officer X describes how the navigation officer, convinced the worst had happened, began rallying crew members toward launching nuclear weapons. The captain posted armed guards at the small arms locker as tensions escalated. Only the calm intervention of the executive officer and a risky decision to deploy an antenna near the surface restored contact with the outside world. The fault turned out to be a shorted trailing wire combined with a Scottish transmitter station going offline.The interview ends abruptly when Officer X receives a phone call during a break and announces he must leave immediately. Art suspects he was contacted and told to stop talking. The episode also previews a controversial upcoming interview with a self-proclaimed satanic witch named Harlot.

Art Bell opens the phone lines with a twist, dedicating a special "weird person line" to finding the strangest caller in America. The idea comes after Strange Universe invites him to judge their upcoming weird person contest, and Art wastes no time testing the waters with his own audience.The results do not disappoint. Callers include a man who manufactures and sells orgasm machines as a legitimate business, a collector who keeps a coffee can full of celebrity toenails and once followed a single ant for five hours, and a listener who claims he can control the wind within a fifteen-mile radius. A caller with the ultra-rare blood type "RH equal" says he never catches colds or the flu, prompting Art to joke that science needs his blood.Between calls, Art plays exclusive audio recordings from his recent trip to Egypt, capturing Zahi Hawass splitting a five-ton granite block and dismissing claims that anything significant lies beneath the Sphinx. Art also discusses global warming, the finite supply of fossil fuels, and the profitable industry built around the common cold.