Art Bell

I don't know, but he bears more responsibility than anyone else for turning America into the conspiracy theory mad cultural hellhole it's become.

OP, are you JC Webster III, God's ten-star, ten-star, ten-star General in the war against media pornography?

Shortly before he died, there was a photo floating around of Art with fully developed breasts

I agree. I used to find his show interesting from an entertainment perspective, but never imagined it would be weaponized politically and morph into QAnon batshittery.

R2 OP is Harlot/Patsy the fake fundie satanic witch

Bump

Had a boss during my early twenties who would tape the show for me. I never asked for it, he would just show up with them. “You gotta listen to this, man! Bay of Pigs never happened!” I remember really dramatic callers who would abruptly be cut off. My friends and I would get high and listen these tapes. Fairly entertaining.

Bump

It was an interesting listen but the interviewees were usually hacks—people purporting to be at Area 51 or that they shot and killed a Sasquatch. It was always a big dick tease as it usually is when it comes to proof.

I remember he was obsessed with Crystal Gayle and this was the show’s name/song

Here’s the bumper music playlist. It always sounded creepy on. AM radio

By the looks of this playlist, he must have spent a lot of time at Payless Shoes or…… maybe, Wegmans. Look, I don’t have all the facts. But I know there is something out there. Why does my power get cut every time Closer To The Heart by RUSH comes on? I’ll tell you why… someone is watching.

Some Velvet Morning always sounds creepy.

He was an old man and a lot of old men get saggy man boobs.

Fucked up personal life

I agree with r1. What started out as a show in the early 1990s about the paranormal and UFOs, Bigfoot, et al, eventually morphed into baseless conspiracy theories circa 2001 after the 9/11 attacks.

It was fun to listen to—but it and shows like it trained people to think everything is a conspiracy, not what it seems, or a ploy to trick them. Their view of the world is like those glasses in They Live, but they don’t need them.

The wives just kept getting younger and younger

R17, yes. His marrying so quickly after his wife Ramona died (3 months maybe?) was creepy. He also changed the name of his young bride to Aerin, his friend married her sister. Still, those radio shows got me thru many sleepless nights. He was one of a kind.

His archives are so readily available

Link please, R19.

……….

Thank you, R21.

Art Bell was a weird guy, and it was a weird show, but I loved to listen to all of the crackpot conspiracy theories.

Something about his voice, being on AM radio, the creepy music and interviews. It all worked.

Definitely an interesting listen when I was in high school. Is George Noory still around?

Classic episode. The crazy bitch claimed she offered her dead son up to Satan and threatened to behead a caller

Where’s the one with the dude who claimed he accidentally shot a Sasquatch and buried it? He kept calling in and dick teasing Art about disclosing the location.

Why do I remember this shit but can’t remember my appointments?

I wonder what it’s like to live a life where you are always so sure of your purpose. To live a life, where you know you are helping others by dispensing vital information. To live a life, so deliberately, that you can’t help but drastically enhance the lives of those around you!

Rhoda - “so, you coach your daughter’s softball team. Who cares?”

I found it.

Any contemporaries? I’m looking for podcast recommendations

I don’t know of any call-in type podcasts, r30, but Darkness Prevails is all supposedly true listener stories. The host has a great voice for that type of story but the effectiveness kind of depends on the writing quality of the submissions.

Thinking Sideways was a great podcast that’s sadly no longer in production but they covered a lot of unsolved mysteries and phenomena. They even did an episode discussing the Area 51 caller interruption of Coast To Coast. Not the same vibe as Art Bell but entertaining with a lot of similar content.

There’s a new Unsolved Mysteries podcast now. It’s pretty good.

This is fun and creepy

The ones I hate are some millennial badly reading some scary stories they found on a subreddit or Creepy Pasta.

[quote]Thinking Sideways

I used to listen to them! They had some great choices for what they spoke about. The only thing was I couldn't listen to them too many podcasts in a row, because one of the hosts was kinda annoying to me. I didn't mind the girl, or the guy with the really deep voice, but the other one could be frustrating. He used to spend too much time diverting the conversation onto ridiculous "what if" scenarios, I found.

I’ve stopped listening to a lot of podcasts because of the hosts’ mannerisms, verbal tics, accents, etc. The internet allows just about anyone to upload and narrate content. There’s no quality standards or production involved, so you have to wade through a lot of crap to find the good stuff.

That's so true, R36. It's quite hard to find a podcast both on a topic you're interested in and with hosts who don't make you want to rip your hair out. I often find I'll be fine with hosts for awhile and all of a sudden will need a break from them. Even the guys on My Dad Wrote a Porno - they make me laugh so much, but there's always a point into a season where I think: "I need a break from them".

R35, you might want to check out The Shocking Details with Joe from Thinking Sideways (the deep voice.) I don’t enjoy it as much as TS but the content is similar enough to keep it on my podcast feed. Steve (the annoying one) also has a new one called Unnatural Podcast that I like a bit better. Ultimately, though, I miss the chemistry of the original three.

I’m not sure what happened to Devin. I know toward the end of Thinking Sideways she was talking about her wedding plans. Maybe she started a family? I wish she’d get back into podcasting because she was my favorite of the three. Very organized and stayed on topic while still offering her thoughts and insight.

Bump for more recommendations. George Snoory is a snake oil peddling, wing nut.

I saw one called Morbid and tried, but once the two chatty cathys started in I turned it.off. I can’t deal with the frau back and forth discussions or quirky narrations.

This one is interesting and well produced, but the interviews with the rube relatives of the missing people can become grating.

[quote]I saw one called Morbid and tried, but once the two chatty cathys started in I turned it.off.

My problem with podcasts like My Favorite Murder is that the hosts talk on and on and on about nothing for 20 minutes before they even get to the story.

Yeah I hate that. It’s 20 minutes of gabbing gals responding, “Right????!”

There’s a paranormal one that’s kind of grown on me called Expanded Perspectives, and the hosts are these two funny Texas guys that have been lifelong friends. At first I was afraid they were deplorables, but so far no indication.