To say we’re big fans of Coast to Coast is an understatement. We’re pretty much obsessed with it. For the uninitiated, Coast to Coast is a late-night syndicated radio talk show that focuses on paranormal and extraterrestrial activity. The topics range from: interviews with Bigfoot historians; details about shadow people and what they could possibly want from us; remote viewing tips from remote viewing experts; cryptozoology; hauntings; and of course lots of UFO sightings and stories of abduction and probing by aliens.
Coast to Coast is reportedly the most listened-to radio program in the world.
It was created by Art Bell in the mid-1980s. Art has recently retired again (he’s retired a couple of times) but he does fill in on an as-needed basis. He’s still broadcasting out of his home in Pahrump, in the county of Nye, Nevada, which he often refers to as The Kingdom of Nye on the show. George Noory, a former news director who has won three Emmy Awards in his career, is the full-time host now. Ian Punnett takes over on Saturday nights.
Although Buck has been a fan from the start, it took longer for the show to sink into my psyche. Looking back I don’t know why, or how, I resisted for so long. I can’t remember when I first realized this show was tailor made for me, but I was probably half-listening one night when someone who sounded perfectly normal and very convincing said something like, “…and then the whole house began to shake, and the doors and windows flew open, and a beam of light came into the room, entered my butt, and the next thing I knew I was in a space craft …” or something to that effect, and I was hooked.
Now I’m a paying member of C2C, as it is known to online regulars, which means I can send “Fast Blasts” to the hosts during live shows if I have a question (which I’ve never done), and download the MP3 files so Buck and I can play them without commercial interruption. Buck claims to need C2C in order to get his mind off work so he can fall asleep at night, while I’m just a sucker for anything weird.
Our Coast to Coast thing isn’t out of a search for The Truth, as Fox Mulder always called it, though it would be awfully nice to have scientific proof if something was indeed out there. But UFOs aren’t really on our radar, so to speak, and we rely on the show for purely entertainment purposes. Well, that’s probably more true for Buck than me. I usually hear at least one person every night whose story I believe. Or I believe that they believe it, anyway. But George Noory’s voice is very soothing and the conversation is always interesting, so listening is a part of our nightly routine whether we’re home, in a hotel, or on the road.
In direct conflict with our C2C obsession is our interest in James Randi. Some people may find that really odd, given that James Randi and George Noory are polar opposites. James Randi is a scientific skeptic as well as a stage magician who goes by the professional name The Amazing Randi. He’s been involved in several legal disputes and feuds, including a long-term battle with Uri Geller (a self-proclaimed psychic and recent guest on Coast to Coast), and also with Allison Dubois (whose life is the basis for the TV show Medium.)
Randi’s only crime, as far as I can tell, is demanding people back up their claims with scientific evidence and if they can’t, he wants them to shut the hell up and stop “performing” as the real deal. He’s gone as far as putting up his own money for a $1 Million Paranormal Challenge that has been in existence since 1964. The rules of the challenge must be agreed upon by Randi and the participant. To date, no one has made it past the preliminary test.
We like Randi and admire his Houdini-like devotion to debunking frauds, but of course it’s always a conflict for me because I like frauds as much as debunkers. This morning, my two worlds collided when I was cruising the Internet and saw this message posted on James Randi’s website. Because it involved George, I printed it out and showed Buck. (As an FYI, the question in the post was posed by Martin Delaney, the founding director of Project Inform, which battles medical quackery.)
“…anything we can or should be doing to counter the nonsense being spread world-wide by George Noory on the Coast to Coast radio show? Normally I wouldn’t care but it’s now one of the most widely-heard radio shows in the entire world, and since Noory took it over from Art Bell, it has gotten worse with each passing month. It seems that any idiot claiming any bit of nonsense gets a featured slot on the show, while anyone with real credentials or scientific training is never heard. I really believe the show is doing harm to the American public, encouraging the modestly educated to return to the superstitions of past years. Ghosts, “shadow people,” witches spells, Sylvia Browne, creationists, quack therapies, perpetual motion machines, remote viewing – the list is endless and gets repeated and recycled almost every week. Tonight it’s some goofy creationist babbling about how the Earth is just a few thousand years old. Is there any way we can go after this guy? This crap is increasingly making the US the laughing stock of the developed world.”
Buck: Well that’s amazing.
Me: What’s amazing?
Buck: That George is being called on the carpet.
Me: He’s not really, though. He’s just got these people worried that he’s taking over the world. And George never acknowledges this negative stuff anyway. You never see him on Larry King or whatever. Not that Larry King is coherent enough to interview George in the first place —
Buck: I don’t know why this guy is so worried. George is just an entertainer. He’s fun, and I enjoy what he does. I don’t like it, but I enjoy it.
Me: Well I LOVE IT.
Buck: I know. And I do enjoy it. It makes me feel superior, which is not easy. So what’s your question again?
Me: I don’t have any questions. I just thought that letter was odd. I mean, why is this well-respected guy saying HOW CAN WE STOP GEORGE NOORY? What’s that guy’s problem? Why does he care? George isn’t telling people to go seek medical treatment in the jungles of Brazil or anything. And lately, all he’s done is talk about his growing fear of Ouija boards.
Buck: Yeah, I don’t see that letter writer single-handedly taking down a program that’s popular world-wide.
Me: I know it’s world-wide and people say it’s the biggest show on earth or whatever, but we’re the only people I know who listen to it. And it seems to me that all the other members besides myself are fanboys. So where’s the threat of world-dominance? Me and the fanboys aren’t gonna do anything.
Buck: Well, anybody who’s up and listening to the radio that late at night isn’t looking for … it’s not like they’re listening because their PBS station isn’t coming in clearly, let me put it that way.
Me: Good point.
Buck: If George Noory went off the air there’d be so many big rig crashes out there it would be incredible.
Me: ‘Cuz drivers would fall asleep?
Buck: Yeah. Driving across country I actually need George Noory. And he is everywhere. That’s just the most fun, cruising out on a lonely highway with Coast to Coast on the radio.
Me: Plus flying. I couldn’t get on a plane without a ton of George Noory loaded up on my personal listening device.
Buck: True.
Me: My plan is to get an iPod for Christmas, and then fill it with nothing but Coast to Coast and plug it into a big speaker.
Buck: They’ll love you on the planes for that.
Me: I wouldn’t do it on the plane. I’d do it here at home. On the plane I’d use my earbuds.
Buck: Oh.
Me: The great thing about Coast to Coast is that we can listen to a show that’s ten years old and it doesn’t make any difference. They’re timeless. And I can hear the same show again and again because I miss little things the first time around, or I’ve fallen asleep and missed a lot. The shows are timeless.
Buck: Nuts are timeless.
Me: They are.
Buck: The topics have nothing to do with anything that’s going on at any given time. What’s the difference between an old show and a recent one?
Me: No difference at all.
Buck: As a matter of fact, I’d prefer an old one.
Me: Why?
Buck: Give me Art Bell any day.
Me: Well Art was on Halloween night, for his annual Ghost to Ghost.
Buck: Yeah, but that was all open-lines. When he comes in to just guest host it’s like a pinch hitter. It isn’t like he’s in the moment.
Me: The interesting thing about Art Bell is that he’ll call people out and tell them he thinks they’re being ridiculous. He gets disgusted with some callers that he suspects as being liars. Last spring I heard him go absolutely berserk on a guy who said 9/11 was an inside job. Art went ballistic.
Buck: I used to envision Art from his home radio station in Pahrump sitting there as a big fat guy in a bathrobe, or a wizard’s robe, with slippers on. Which isn’t the case at all.
Me: No. He’s quite small and slender. And I’ve never seen him in a bathrobe. He dresses like a beatnik, with the dark turtlenecks and the cigarette and everything, which I like intensely. But you already know he’s often dressed like a beatnik, because I email you photos of him all the time.
Buck: Those photos you send always scare me. You never label the email, and I open it and the photo is like the size of the entire screen. It’s quite shocking.
Me: Yeah. I know.
Buck: Art’s kind of weasily looking.
Me: No. No, that’s wrong. He’s monkey-like.
Buck: His questions are a lot better than George’s.
Me: No. They’re not better.
Buck: They are better. He sort of puts people on the spot and lets them hang themselves, then he goes in for the kill.
Me: Well, Ian Punnett does that also. I’ve gotten to like Ian, ever since he verbally chopped up that guy that had been calling George and scaring him by imitating the devil. The guy made the mistake of trying to pull the same crap on Ian, and Ian cut that guy to shreds then laughed so hard there was dead air for like two minutes. Ian couldn’t breathe. I was laughing with him. And the devil guy hasn’t called back since.
Buck: Ian Punnett I don’t like because you can tell right from the start he’s going for the kill. That’s what I don’t like about him.
Me: Well last weekend he was with a guest whom he was honestly trying to believe. He wanted to believe what the guy was saying. But the guest kept avoiding Ian’s question and not answering it. So then Ian became disgusted and said so. But he was adamant about the fact that he’d wanted to believe the guy, but couldn’t, because the guy wouldn’t back up his claim. Or even answer the question. I didn’t mind Ian’s response, because I felt that way too.
Buck: Here comes Stella. Tip-tapping her twenty nails across the tile floor. She wants to hear this conversation.
Me: Because she’s an alien creature herself, and she feels she can contribute.
Buck: She’s a shadow dog. But Art Bell used to get a lot of guests who were funded by respected universities for very weird stuff. He did a lot of that, get guests who were semi-legitimate because they were being paid by big universities. That was insane. They’d be building some machine and it was just crazy. Art really ran the show differently.
Me: Well, I definitely feel that in the last few months George has taken some weird turn. He’s become timid. He frightens easily and his guests are all plugging books, so they don’t have a lot of good stuff to say because they want you to buy the book and read it. They won’t part with any information, and George lets them get away with it. And plus, his fear of Ouija boards has gotten so weird, and ever since he backed out of doing the Ouija on the air he’s acting like he now has a license to be scared of everything. I don’t like that at all. Art Bell and Ian Punnett aren’t scared of these people, so why is George?
Buck: Right.
Me: I don’t feel that George is a buffer between us and what’s going on in the show. I feel like he’s been a disappointing guard dog lately. He’s scared now. You could tell him, George do not go outside because there’s a wolfman from outer space waiting to eat you! And George wouldn’t go outside.
Buck: Right. Art Bell would go right out there and if there was a wolfman from outer space, Art would pummel it into the ground. Or he’d pull some incantation out of his ass, something he heard Father Malachi say.
Me: Oh, Father Malachi Martin! I love him. I love him and Art together, they’re like Frost and Nixon. If Nixon had been a priest. And didn’t tell lies. Well, I guess they’re really nothing like Frost and Nixon.
Buck: No, they’re not.
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Tomorrow: Coast to Coast Part Two, in which we take a rented convertible to go looking for Art Bell in Pahrump and get lost in a time warp with a carnival caravan like the one on HBO’s Carnivale.
Links: Coast to Coast Website
Public log of applicants for the The $1 Million Paranormal Challenge.
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Technorati Tags: Humor, Coast to Coast AM, Art Bell, George Noory, Ian Punnett, Pahrump, Father Malachi Martin, radio talk shows, late night radio, James Randi
Coast to Coast doesn’t come on here until 1 a.m., which is unfortunate because at one time it was on earlier and I loved the contrast of Art Bell’s smooth voice with his somewhat hysterical callers.
I checked out the C-to-C website today, hoping I could download the show but it was all about podcasts or some damn thing and I don’t know what the hell a podcast is or how you get one. It must have something to do with an I-pod, which I don’t have and don’t want to have.
@ Barbara – Jesus, I’m still laughing hard about the Reese’s Pieces …. No. No. Podcasts are not just for people with iPods. Though I once thought that myself so I can’t even make fun of you. A podcast is just a recording you can listen to on your computer (or your iPod or whatever). You might have to download a free program so you can play it, but I don’t know. Ask Craig, he’ll definitely know.
But you might have to be a member of Coast to Coast, which is like $6 a month. But I’m not sure on that. I download the whole show via MP3 files, so that’s why I’m a member. The podcast might be free and still have the commercials in it?
…. the “fucking Reese’s Pieces,” oh my god, so funny ….
I’ve only listened to C2C on cross country trips. You mean it’s *really* not real???? lol
@ Susan – No, Coast to Coast is real.
Whoa, that took me back a few years. I used to work graves back in 2001 and would listen to Art Bell during my shift. I used to go to his website and everything. I seem to remember him posting a picture of himself with a “ghost” in his hair while he was broadcasting. Made him look all gray haired and stuff.
I don’t believe in most paranormal stuff, but I love hearing about it… because I WANT to believe! I keep hoping someday I’ll hear something that is just absolutely irrefutable.
@ Stu – I like the idea of Art having a ghost in his hair. And that’s the thing about paranormal news, you WANT it to be real. They just to need to back it up proof, which no one can seem to do.
[…] know, Wendy over at Life With Buck often blogs about the paranormal and is a devotee of “AM Coast-to-Coast.” I’ve […]
I love shows like this. More power to you !
Coast to Coast rules! i listen every night and plan to join the streamlink soon. glad i found your post … cheers
Dear Frank,
You are terrifying. Your avatar is scary as hell. I just added you to my blogroll. I’m coming right over to comment on werewolves. I’m so glad you found us. 🙂
Your New Best Friend Forever,
Wendy
P.S. – Streamlink is free till Sunday, have you been using it? Last night’s topic was Remote Viewing Tips.
thanks!
I was a long time fan of Art Bell, and then when GN took over still listened but, it just was not the same. But it was the only program that talked about the stuff I was interested in.
But now I no longer listen to Coast to Coast because I got turned on to a program called Paranormal Radio. The host Captain Jack Harris reminds me of Art in the old days. And has the same calabur of guests. Yes I will admit that it dosnt hurt he has a sexy voice and is hot to boot. But hey I am a sucker for sexy voices.
This is fascinating, I’ve never heard of Paranormal Radio. I must go Google it and find it.
Art Bell’s guests were so intelligent, and Art’s interviewing skills are in a whole different class than George. Like you, I listen to C2C because the topics are the the things I’m interested in, but George often drives me nuts. And he can’t seem to stop cutting off legitimate callers who are saying something important. Yet he’ll give a complete lunatic caller a full five minutes of air time!
Thank you so much for commenting and bringing Paranormal Radio to my attention.
OMFGGGGGGGGGG this Bigfoot in the freezer thing hit a head tonight on Paranormal Radio! I don’t know if you were able to tune in to tonights broadcast but HOLY HELL!
Jack had on Nick Redfern, and Tom Biscardi on the program, and the show was awesome!
I don’t know what is going to come of the Bigfoot body but I have to say with tonights information i am going to say sadly its a HOAX!
*Cries*
I have to listen to Paranormal Radio online because it’s not offered on the real radio here, do you have have it where you are? But I’m definitely going over to the site and see if I can listen to last night’s broadcast. I’ve been following this story via Coast to Coast and the Internet and I have to say I agree with you. I feel your pain. I don’t want it to be a hoax! The details are too squirrelly, though. And WHY GOD WHY do these people never have a decent photograph and video tape to show the world?! The lack of great digital photos should be an immediate tip off every time one of these hoax bastards comes out of the woodwork.