The Art Bell Archive

Patrick Combs, a San Francisco author, joins Art Bell to tell the astonishing true story of how he deposited a junk mail check for $95,093.35 into his First Interstate Bank ATM as a joke and watched the money appear in his account. What began as a prank, like depositing Monopoly money, escalated into a genuine legal standoff when the bank credited the full amount without question.Combs explains that after researching banking law, he discovered three separate legal grounds supporting his claim to the funds. The word non-negotiable has no legal meaning on a check under UCC law. The bank missed its midnight deadline to notify him of the dishonored check by sixteen days. And the issuance of a cashier's check for the exact deposit amount constitutes final payment under court precedent. When the bank responded with threats of fraud charges rather than courtesy, Combs refused to return the money on principle. He reveals the junk mail company unknowingly mailed forty million legally valid checks across the country. Callers passionately debate the ethics of keeping money that was never earned versus holding institutions accountable to their own rules.A wildly entertaining broadcast that exposes a bizarre loophole in American banking law through one man's accidental experiment.

Linda Moulton Howe reports live from England with researcher George Wingfield, who has just viewed over thirty minutes of the controversial alien autopsy footage days before its worldwide broadcast. Wingfield describes seeing autopsy sequences alongside debris bearing hieroglyphics and a strange control panel with six-fingered handprint depressions, details that challenge previous assumptions about the beings involved.The cameraman's full account is revealed for the first time, placing the crash retrieval near Socorro, New Mexico rather than Roswell, and dating the event to June 1947. His testimony describes disc wreckage, injured beings clutching mysterious boxes, and brutal military treatment of the survivors. Two autopsies were performed in Fort Worth in July 1947, with a third conducted in 1949, suggesting at least one being survived nearly two years. Robert Morning Sky then shares his grandfather's account of finding a living star being at a separate 1947 crash site near the Four Corners region. Morning Sky connects six-toed ancient Anasazi glyphs to the six-fingered beings in the autopsy footage and discusses Hopi creation stories about star beings guiding human evolution.A riveting broadcast linking physical evidence, indigenous oral traditions, and eyewitness testimony into a single extraordinary narrative.

Art Bell opens with a wide-ranging news roundup covering Hurricane Felix bearing down on Bermuda, a Hamas terrorist threat targeting Kennedy Airport, and the latest developments in the O.J. Simpson trial where the explosive Mark Furman tapes threaten to dismantle the prosecution's case. He also addresses Ross Perot's Texas confab, Pat Buchanan's fiery speech drawing standing ovations, and the FDA's new classification of nicotine as a drug.Callers weigh in on the political landscape, with many expressing frustration over the lack of an exciting presidential candidate for 1996. Art shares his own struggle to quit smoking after a nicotine patch made him violently ill, sparking a lively exchange of home remedies and quitting strategies from callers nationwide. The conversation shifts to the V-chip for television violence, the expanding definition of drugs under FDA guidelines, and a spirited debate over cats versus dogs that draws passionate testimony from both sides. One caller raises concerns about the growing Internet and whether it should be regulated.A quintessential open lines broadcast capturing the cultural anxieties and everyday conversations of mid-1990s America with spontaneity and humor.

Denny Sargent, author of a new book on global ritualism, joins Art Bell to explore how ancient rituals from cultures around the world share striking similarities that point toward universal spiritual truths. Sargent draws on years of travel across twelve countries and extensive research into mythology, psychology, and anthropology to build what he calls a universal field theory of ritualism.Sargent describes visiting pagan circles, witchcraft ceremonies, Buddhist temples, and indigenous rites, finding common threads connecting them all. He introduces the concept of eclectic ritualism, a growing movement he identifies in which modern seekers sample practices from multiple traditions, from Tibetan prayer flags to Hopi sage ceremonies to Christian crosses. Art Bell notes that yoga classes are now held at Lutheran churches, reinforcing how spiritual boundaries are dissolving. Sargent recommends foundational works by Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, and Mircea Eliade for those seeking deeper understanding of these patterns.An engaging conversation that reveals how diverse spiritual traditions converge on shared human experiences, offering a compelling lens for understanding the quiet spiritual revolution sweeping modern culture.

Glenn Campbell, the principal local activist seeking government accountability at Area 51, joins Art Bell to share years of firsthand research from the secretive military base 90 miles north of Las Vegas. The program opens with Linda Moulton Howe reporting on the newly discovered Comet Hale-Bopp, a surprisingly bright object beyond Jupiter's orbit that astronomers believe could become the comet of the millennium by 1997.Campbell describes his two-year stay in Rachel, Nevada, where he investigated the base's operations and collected testimony from former workers. He discusses Bob Lazar's claims of reverse-engineered alien craft at the S-4 facility south of Area 51 and reveals details from a second source called J-Rod, a retired engineer in his seventies who claims to have designed components for a flight simulator that trained pilots to fly replicated alien discs. Campbell also addresses the government's annexation of Freedom Ridge, once the best public vantage point overlooking the base. Art Bell shares his own dramatic sighting of a silent, triangular craft floating over the Pahrump Valley.A rare combination of credible field research and compelling firsthand accounts makes this a standout exploration of Area 51 secrecy.

New Mexico Congressman Steven Schiff joins Art Bell for an extraordinary two-hour interview covering both the Roswell GAO report and the ongoing Waco hearings.Schiff recounts how a routine constituent inquiry to the Department of Defense about the 1947 Roswell incident led to a bureaucratic runaround, with the military redirecting him to the National Archives, which had no records. Frustrated, he enlisted the General Accounting Office to search for documents. The GAO found that all outgoing messages from Roswell Army Airfield for 1946 through 1949 were destroyed without proper authorization. Schiff confirms he viewed the Santilli autopsy film, calling it elaborately done if a hoax. The conversation shifts to Waco, where Schiff serves on both investigating subcommittees. He questions why Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen sat on a warning memo four days before the final assault and criticizes the strategy of bringing a child abuse witness to dominate media coverage and distract from testimony about the government's tactical failures. He expresses concern about what information the FBI presented to Attorney General Janet Reno before she approved the CS gas insertion.A rare, candid congressional perspective on two of the decade's most controversial government actions.

Linda Moulton Howe reports on the newly released GAO investigation into the 1947 Roswell crash, and Dr. Richard Sauder reveals the hidden world of underground military installations on this edition of Dreamland.Howe breaks down Congressman Steven Schiff's bombshell press release revealing that outgoing messages from Roswell Army Airfield covering 1946 to 1949 were destroyed without proper authority. Nuclear physicist Stanton Friedman provides analysis, noting parallels to Manhattan Project secrecy and highlighting an overlooked J. Edgar Hoover memo referencing recovered discs. Sauder, holding a Ph.D. in political science, then details his research into documented underground bases across the United States, including secret AT&T communication bunkers and nuclear-powered tunnel boring machines developed at Los Alamos capable of melting through rock. He discusses Project HAARP's earth-penetrating tomography capabilities designed to detect hidden tunnels and shelters, and raises the provocative possibility that the project may also aim to repair ionospheric damage caused by Cold War nuclear testing. Callers share firsthand accounts of underground facilities from military service.A riveting program connecting government secrecy from Roswell to the vast subterranean infrastructure hidden beneath American soil.

JoAnn Parks, owner of the ancient crystal skull known as Max, and spiritual healer Star Johnson join Art Bell on Dreamland to explore one of archaeology's most enduring mysteries.The program opens with Linda Moulton Howe presenting a new Bigfoot report from central Utah, where a woman heard screams identical to a recording previously aired on Dreamland. Howe recounts a family's face-to-face encounter with an eight-foot creature during a deer hunt and draws connections between Bigfoot sightings, animal mutilations, and UFO phenomena, including a Montana case where a rancher shot at a creature that vanished in a flash of light. The iconic Bigfoot scream recording plays one final time. Parks then describes Max, an 18-pound anatomically correct quartz crystal skull with 28 carved teeth, studied by forensic anthropologist Clyde Snow. She explains how visitors report heat emanating from the skull, spontaneous healings, and vivid visions. Johnson shares channeled messages she received through Max about spiritual ascension and humanity's path toward higher consciousness.A fascinating collision of cryptozoology, ancient artifacts, and metaphysical exploration on a single Dreamland broadcast.

Art Bell opens a freewheeling Friday night edition with a deep dive into the week's biggest headlines, from NATO's latest futile threats against Bosnian Serbs to the University of California Board of Regents voting to end affirmative action.The broadcast takes an unexpected turn when Art spotlights a television report about the chronic shortage of women's restroom facilities at public venues, sparking an hours-long debate with callers and faxers over why women visit the bathroom in pairs, whether mirror time is to blame, and whether the real answer is safety. Callers from across the country offer theories ranging from social bonding to self-defense. Between the bathroom debate, Art covers a Dateline story about a widow suing the parents of two young men who beat her husband to death in his gun store, raising the question of whether parents should be financially liable for their children's crimes. Updates on the Roswell autopsy photographs, the Waco hearings, the Susan Smith trial, and the O.J. Simpson defense round out the evening.A classic open lines broadcast where the trivial and the profound collide across five unpredictable hours.

Presidential candidate Alan Keyes, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, joins Art Bell for a wide-ranging interview about his 1996 Republican primary campaign and the moral crisis he sees gripping America.Keyes lays out his staunchly pro-life philosophy, arguing that human rights begin at the moment of creation and rejecting exceptions for rape and incest while allowing only for the life of the mother. He challenges front-runner Bob Dole's commitment to the pro-life cause and distances himself from Pat Buchanan on immigration, insisting America cannot shut its doors. The conversation turns to Bosnia, where Keyes advocates lifting the arms embargo to let Bosnians defend themselves rather than relying on empty NATO threats. He critiques affirmative action as a return to ancestral privilege, defends Second Amendment rights, and warns that anti-terrorism legislation could threaten civil liberties. Open Lines callers weigh in on the Roswell autopsy photographs, the Waco hearings, and the day's news, including a Los Angeles workplace shooting.A compelling snapshot of mid-1990s politics through the lens of one of the Republican field's most passionate voices.

Art Bell opens with a packed news rundown covering the worsening crisis in Bosnia, where safe areas are falling and the West debates airlifting European troops using American helicopters. He reports that Moscow has released fabricated photographs of Boris Yeltsin, recycling images from April to conceal what may be a serious health crisis, and predicts an imminent announcement about the Russian leader.The broadcast takes a sharp turn toward the unprecedented heat wave gripping Chicago, where the death toll has reached 190 and the county coroner projects it may climb to 300. Art Bell questions whether modern dependence on climate-controlled environments has left human bodies fatally vulnerable when technology fails. Callers debate arming the Bosnians, the upcoming Waco and Whitewater hearings, drug policy referendums, and the excavation of Jesse James's grave in Missouri. Midway through the program, Art Bell reaches Ray Santilli in London by telephone and arranges a live interview about the Roswell autopsy film, while a caller raises the Patau syndrome theory as an alternative explanation for the anomalous body in the footage.A fast-moving broadcast where breaking geopolitics, extreme weather, and UFO intrigue collide in real time.

Linda Moulton Howe opens with a gripping account from a Washington State woman who describes a fully conscious encounter with gray-colored beings inside her father's home, including physical contact and paralysis from an unknown device. Kevin Randle, co-author of The Truth About the UFO Crash at Roswell, then offers his critical assessment of the Santilli autopsy film after viewing eight minutes of footage, noting the head shape and eye placement match Roswell eyewitness testimony but the body appears too robust and the autopsy instrumentation seems inconsistent.Dr. James R. Lewis, author of the Encyclopedia of Afterlife Beliefs and Phenomena, anchors the second half with a sweeping discussion of life after death. Lewis draws on cross-cultural evidence from near-death experiences, exorcism practices spanning Catholic and Taoist traditions, and past life regression research to argue that consciousness survives bodily death. He describes reality as a spectrum of vibrational dimensions and addresses possession, apparitions, and the contemporary angel phenomenon. Art Bell presses Lewis on whether reincarnation truly preserves individual consciousness or merely stores dormant memories.A richly layered program bridging alien contact, forensic controversy, and humanity's deepest questions about what awaits beyond death.

Linda Moulton Howe reports live from the MUFON conference in Seattle, where researcher George Wingfield has just presented black-and-white photographs from the controversial Ray Santilli alien autopsy film. The images depict a hairless being with six fingers, six toes, and oversized eyes covered by a dark membrane that surgeons peel away during the procedure. A leading English pathologist who viewed the footage confirms the body appears genuine rather than a fabricated dummy, and notes the brain tissue looks distinctly non-human.In the second half, UFO researcher Greg Long presents nearly two decades of findings from the Yakima Indian Reservation in Washington State, where fire lookouts and investigators photographed recurring orange spheres of light. Long examines the tectonic strain theory, which proposes that geological pressure along fault lines generates ionized atmospheric energy visible as luminous orbs. He documents beeping sounds recorded near sighting locations and explores puzzling connections between ball-of-light phenomena, Bigfoot encounters, and abduction reports in earthquake-prone regions across the Pacific Northwest.A landmark broadcast weaving together two of the most provocative UFO investigations of the mid-1990s.

Art Bell broadcasts live on the Fourth of July, opening with the triumphant conclusion of his weeks-long saga to trap a feral kitten living beneath his desert home. Using smoked tuna in a humane trap, the cat he calls Ghost is finally captured and awaits a veterinary visit.The program covers a wide sweep of Independence Day topics as callers weigh in on pressing issues. A Berkeley professor's open letter to the Unabomber sparks debate about whether Americans share concerns over modern technological society, even while condemning the violence. Art Bell dissects President Clinton's political dilemma over McClellan Air Force Base closures, noting that Senator Dianne Feinstein insists the president cannot win reelection without California. Discussion turns to the crisis in Bosnia, the mysterious fumes at Tokyo railway stations, drug policy, and a fax alleging the president was gambling on a Kansas City riverboat. Callers share personal stories ranging from UFO encounters to mouse-catching techniques, and a ham radio operator inspires Art Bell to propose broadcasting amateur radio contacts live on the air.A freewheeling holiday broadcast capturing the eclectic spirit of late-night talk radio at its most spontaneous.

Hypnotherapist Elaine Stevens joins Art Bell to explore the startling world of past life regression and future life progression, drawing from thousands of sessions conducted over her career. Stevens explains how clients under deep hypnosis spontaneously recall vivid details from previous incarnations, complete with historically verifiable dates, costumes, and locations she personally confirmed through library research.The conversation dives into the mechanics of hypnosis, from brainwave states to the somnambulistic level where subjects can speak foreign languages from prior lifetimes. Stevens describes guiding people through their death experiences in past lives, reporting that every subject, regardless of how they died, encounters immediate peace and surrounding light. She addresses reincarnation's removal from the Bible at the Council of Nicaea, the question of whether new souls exist today, and the ethics of past life exploration. Stevens also shares her work with future life progressions, where subjects transported to the year 2300 describe advanced technology and contact with beings from other planetary systems.A thought-provoking examination of consciousness, mortality, and the possibility that human identity stretches far beyond a single lifetime.

John Ronner, journalist and author of multiple books on angels including Do You Have a Guardian Angel and The Angels of Cokeville, explores the widespread phenomenon of angelic encounters across America. Ronner cites a 1993 Time magazine poll showing 69 percent of Americans believe in angels and 46 percent feel they have a personal spiritual guardian, then examines the many forms these encounters take, from luminous beings and disembodied voices to mysterious strangers who appear at critical moments and vanish without a trace.Ronner connects angel experiences to near-death research, describing cases where clinically dead patients returned with verifiable knowledge of events occurring beyond their physical range of perception. He discusses the David Booth case, in which a Cincinnati man dreamed of an American Airlines crash ten nights in a row before Flight 191 went down at O'Hare, and the Cokeville, Wyoming hostage crisis where 150 children survived a bombing that should have been fatal.A thoughtful examination of spiritual encounters, intuition, and the mounting circumstantial evidence that consciousness persists beyond physical death.

Richard C. Hoagland, former science consultant to CBS News and NASA, presents his case that artificial structures exist on Mars and the moon, and that a small group within NASA has systematically suppressed photographic evidence for decades. Hoagland details the 1976 Viking orbiter discovery of the Face on Mars at Cydonia, a bilaterally symmetric formation 1,500 feet high surrounded by pyramids arranged in geometric patterns, and traces NASA's extraordinary resistance to re-photographing the site.Hoagland reveals newly obtained internal documents showing that when Mars Observer disappeared in 1993, mission controllers waited 14 hours before announcing the loss, never rebooted the backup computer, and refused to use the spacecraft's onboard laser as a beacon. He lays out a circumstantial case that the spacecraft was secretly commandeered rather than lost. Hoagland connects this cover-up to the 1961 Brookings Institution report, which recommended withholding evidence of extraterrestrial civilization from the public.A detailed examination of suppressed space data, institutional secrecy, and hyperdimensional physics that challenges the official history of planetary exploration.

John Rhodes, a researcher investigating underground bases and ancient civilizations, presents his theory of a genetic and historical connection between humans and an ancient reptilian species. Rhodes traces evidence through religious texts, Sumerian writings, and neuroanatomy, pointing to the R-complex at the base of the human brain, which scientists named for its shared structure with reptiles, as physical evidence of this deep biological link.Rhodes explores Hopi legends of snake people and ant people living underground, the serpent in the Garden of Eden, and the Mesoamerican deity Quetzalcoatl as cultural echoes of reptilian contact spanning thousands of years. He describes his own explorations of cave systems near Las Vegas, where he encountered anomalous photographic phenomena, and discusses a 1909 Arizona Gazette report of a massive underground city discovered in the Grand Canyon capable of housing 50,000 people.A wide-ranging journey through ancient mythology, underground military installations, the National Cave Resources Act, and the provocative question of whether an intelligent species predating humanity still inhabits vast tunnel networks beneath the Earth's surface.

George Knapp, the investigative journalist who broke the Area 51 story, joins Art Bell to discuss his groundbreaking trip to Russia and the treasure trove of previously classified UFO documents he brought back. Knapp reveals that the Russian Ministry of Defense has studied UFOs at the highest levels since the late 1940s and possesses documents detailing American UFO monitoring stations worldwide and intercepted transmissions from space missions describing astronaut encounters with unidentified craft.Knapp confirms a stunning incident in which UFOs hovered over a Russian ICBM base for four hours while the launch control panel activated on its own, with someone or something entering the actual launch codes. Russian military investigators found no malfunction after disassembling the entire panel. Knapp connects this to similar events at five American nuclear bases along the U.S.-Canadian border in 1975, where launch codes were mysteriously changed during UFO sightings.A compelling discussion on government secrecy, the shared Russian-American cover-up, and why mainstream media continues to ignore evidence that even world governments take seriously behind closed doors.

Art Bell dives deep into the Oklahoma City bombing investigation with explosive new developments from KFOR News Channel 4 in Oklahoma City. A private investigator working with reporter Jayna Davis reveals that multiple credible eyewitnesses have identified a man they believe to be John Doe Number Two through extensive photo lineups, all captured on videotape from start to finish. The suspect, reportedly a former Iraqi military serviceman who fought under Saddam Hussein during Desert Storm, has been under independent surveillance since days after the April 1995 attack.The investigator details how witnesses placed the suspect with Timothy McVeigh at local establishments before the bombing, and a new eyewitness came forward placing him behind the wheel of a brown Chevy pickup, speeding away from the blast site seconds after the explosion. All evidence has been turned over to the FBI, who neither confirmed nor denied its significance but raised no objections to the broadcast.A gripping real-time account of an investigation that challenged the official narrative and raised serious questions about possible international connections to the deadliest domestic terrorist attack in American history.

Art Bell opens the phones for a wide-ranging Open Lines session dominated by Bob Dole's explosive speech attacking Hollywood for producing movies filled with gratuitous violence and deviant music. Art Bell questions whether Dole's blast is sincere conviction or transparent political pandering to the religious right, noting that Dole has never targeted Hollywood before and that Time Warner, one of his targets, was a contributor to his campaign. Callers from across the political spectrum largely agree the move feels calculated, with even self-described religious right callers declaring Dole has not fooled them.Art Bell contrasts Dole's remarks with Norman Lear's sharp rebuttal that Congress operates on the same short-term profit motive as Hollywood. The discussion touches on the difference between adult entertainment choices and protecting children during television hours, with Art Bell defending Natural Born Killers as having genuine production value despite its violence. The program also covers the worsening Bosnia crisis, Bosnian Serb threats of a bloodbath if U.S. troops attempt to rescue UN hostages, and a caller's revelation that his son's battalion is already stationed yards from the Bosnian border. Art Bell closes the evening by reading the Pope's predictions to the year 2000.

Lindsey Williams, researcher and author, joins Art Bell to discuss the unfolding Ebola outbreak in Kikwit, Zaire, as conflicting reports emerge from the region. Williams challenges official assurances from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control, arguing that the true scope of the crisis far exceeds what the public is being told. He cites Richard Preston's nonfiction book The Hot Zone, written before any outbreak bias existed, which explicitly describes Ebola as airborne and warns that 90 percent of the human population could be wiped out if it enters the general populace.Art Bell tracks the story's rapid escalation in real time as it climbs from a minor mention to the lead story on CNN within days. Williams reports that a province of six million people has been quarantined, according to Minneapolis public television, while a contact at the CDC reveals that the equipment being deployed suggests a disaster far worse than acknowledged. The discussion turns to immune system resilience as the only defense against a virus for which no cure exists. Williams presents a five-point personal health plan while acknowledging the terrifying reality that modern travel makes true containment nearly impossible.

Gordon Michael Scallion, widely regarded as one of the most accurate modern prophets, returns to share the extraordinary origin of his visionary abilities with Art Bell. Scallion recounts how in 1979, during a routine business presentation in Florida, he suddenly and completely lost his voice. That night in the hospital, a purple sphere of light appeared in his room, filling the space with floating symbols and ancient imagery before revealing the face of a woman who showed him visions of dramatic changes to the Earth's landmass.Scallion describes how those initial visions evolved into a healing ability that lasted over a decade before shifting in 1991 to geophysical prophecy. He explains his method of seeing three screens representing probable realities, noting that by 1993 only one screen remains for his Earth changes predictions, suggesting the events are now largely locked in. Scallion forecasts a magnitude eight-plus earthquake within 50 miles of Palm Springs, massive flooding in the Imperial Valley, and damage to the Golden Gate Bridge as part of a cascading series of West Coast seismic events. His documented accuracy rate of 79 to 87 percent lends sobering weight to every prediction.

Linda Moulton Howe delivers a detailed investigative report on Project HAARP, the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program based in Gakona, Alaska. Howe traces the project's evolution from a small subsidiary called ARCO Power Technologies through its acquisition by E-Systems, a secretive defense contractor handling $1.8 billion in classified work, and finally its absorption by Raytheon in April 1995. She interviews researcher Nick Begich, who reveals that HAARP's patents describe what amounts to a ground-based weapons system rooted in Nikola Tesla's technologies, capable of ionospheric heating, submarine communications, and three-dimensional imaging of underground structures.Ted Flynn follows with an examination of Catholic prophecy and the growing convergence between religious and secular predictions of global upheaval. Flynn connects escalating natural disasters, 33-pound hailstones falling in China, and the Oklahoma City bombing to prophetic messages spanning centuries. He describes warnings of three days of darkness, economic collapse, and a world where two-thirds of humanity perishes. Art Bell presses Flynn on the relationship between UFOs and Catholic theology, drawing a sharp distinction between angelic encounters marked by peace and alien contact marked by fear.

Mad Man Marcum, a 21-year-old Missouri factory worker, joins Art Bell to describe his backyard attempts at building a time machine. Marcum explains how a simple Jacob's Ladder project spiraled into something extraordinary when he noticed a strange circular vortex forming above the electrical arc. After throwing a sheet metal screw into the shimmering field, he watched it vanish and reappear moments later on the table below. Determined to replicate the effect on a larger scale, Marcum stole six power company transformers capable of generating tens of thousands of volts and constructed a massive version on his back porch. The experiment produced an 18-inch spark gap powerful enough to brown out his small town of Stanbury, drawing the attention of police and landing him in jail.In a remarkable twist, the arresting officer calls into the program live to confirm the story. Callers flood the phone lines offering Marcum transformers, technical advice, and encouragement. Fresh out of jail and already planning his next experiment, Marcum represents the fearless curiosity that drives amateur science into uncharted territory.