Coast To Coast AM is absolutely the stupidest radio show I've ever heard.

[Airman_Doors_USAF]

Did anyone ever listen to Coast To Coast AM? If not, you really should, if only to listen to the incredible raving lunacy of the callers and the patronizing tone of the announcers. I mean, this stuff is comedy gold. You couldn’t in a million years make up some of the stuff these guys come up with.

Last night I had the unique pleasure of listening to “Sir” Schmuckboy Shocktreatment III (OK, really, his name is Sir Charles Shults III, of Orlando, Florida(a knight?!?! In Florida?!?!)), who was discussing his plans to put satellites into orbit, gather energy from the sun, and beam it in microwaves down to the receiving stations here on Earth, all for the eventual low cost of 3 cents per kilowatthour. He further suggested that China was doing everything they could to be in accordance with the Kyoto Treaty (which, by the way, is not applicable to them and the assertion is not true in any case), and as a result would be willing to pony up $10 billion dollars for development.

Here’s a clue, guy. I’ll give you $10 to develop a tinfoil hat that will actually work for you, because you need all the help you can get.

Anyway, they get all manner of lunatic on that show, and since I’m sitting in a pickup truck guarding a flightline overnight I have plenty of time to listen to this stuff. There’s all manner of mind control, UFO, and end of the world pseudo-scientific psychic idiotbabble, and I have to believe that the callers are sincere in their beliefs, which scares me to no end. The hosts, however, I’m not sure about. Art Bell, apparently, is famous enough to merit a Wikipedia article although I must say that I had never heard of him. He appears to be a crank, but it’s entirely possible that he’s doing a Pete Venkman “World of the Psychic” routine and faking it. On the other hand, George Noory looks like a certified loon.

A few questions to ponder, folks. Where do these people come from? Are there that many morons out there that this show is that successful, or are most of the listeners seeking depraved amusement like me? And last, how do I get a gig like this?

If the only requirement for success is to act crazy, you can bet your bippy that by tomorrow I’ll be running down the street naked with green jello on me talking to every lamppost I see. I’d then have the cred to host something this stupid.

If you get the chance, I suggest you listen to this show at least once, so you can realize how wonderful it is that you have some semblance of normalcy and rational thought. But be warned, it’s eerily addicting, kind like the gory Internet stuff that you click on even though it disgusts you. Even better, listen to it in the shower or bath and save yourself the walk to the bathroom, because you’ll feel a bit dirty after listening.

[Apos]

If the only requirement for success is to act crazy, you can bet your bippy that by tomorrow I’ll be running down the street naked with green jello on me talking to every lamppost I see. I’d then have the cred to host something this stupid.

You THINK it would be easy to do that, but the proof is in the pudding. Only a very select few will actually stop scoffing and actually go out and do that, which is what makes them such a hot commodity.

[Astroboy14]

Comedy gold? Yes indeedy! That’s why I listen in when I can (not much actually… but on my lunch break it brings a welcome bit of lunacy).

A few questions to ponder, folks. Where do these people come from? Are there that many morons out there that this show is that successful, or are most of the listeners seeking depraved amusement like me? And last, how do I get a gig like this?

1. Where do these people come from? Mostly Palm Springs, in my experience…

2. Are there really that many morons out there? Oh yeah.

3. How does one get a gig like that? I dunno… as soon as I figure it out, I’ll let you know! I’m a’thinkin!

[rorty]

I love Coast to Coast. Yeah, it’s all stupid bullshit, but it gives me a weird, creepy, loony feeling and can be a lot of fun on late nights. You know, the feeling you used to get from old episodes of the Outer Limits? Or campy scifi b-movies? That’s the feeling.

[Revtim]

A coworker of mine got all excited Thursday after hearing the inventer of the “Angel Light” on Coast To Coast.

This guy happens to be politically pretty much the opposite of me, but I’m kind of new at the place still, so I’ve held my tongue when he’s said stuff I sharply disagree with, or blatantly wrong things like “Bush won re-election by the widest margin of any president in history” .

But I had to call him on the Angel Light bullshit. I was polite, but I had to say how unlikely this thing is. “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” meant little to this guy, but when I said “How many things this whacky-sounding turn out to be true, versus how many of these things turn out to be bullshit?” that seemed to be somewhat convincing to him.

He’s a pretty nice fellow, just a little incredulous apparently. He subscribes to Coast-To-Coast over the web, and clearly not from pure entertainment “listen to these nutjobs” reason.

[Early_Out]

@Airman Doors

Last night I had the unique pleasure of listening to … Sir Charles Shults III…, who was discussing his plans to put satellites into orbit, gather energy from the sun, and beam it in microwaves down to the receiving stations here on Earth…

The errant knight may, indeed, be a nutcase, but on this particular subject, he’s got some decidedly less nutty companions, like NASA and Texas A&M University, a researcher at New York University, and some kind of working group in Japan.

[Uncommon_Sense]

I like how, no matter what topic comes up, the host has some knowledge of it. He’s always responding with a “yes, and isn’t that why…”, or “isn’t it also true that…”.
Like none of it is scripted. :rolleyes:
For one, I can’t believe that there are that many nutjobs that are knowledgeable about these goofball topics to spend time on a national radio show talking about them, and Two, I’m always suprised the number of callers that act like they’re into the same stuff.

It is entertaining though, I’ll give them that.

[Rilchiam]

@Airman Doors

Art Bell, apparently, is famous enough to merit a Wikipedia article although I must say that I had never heard of him. He appears to be a crank, but it’s entirely possible that he’s doing a Pete Venkman “World of the Psychic” routine and faking it.

Faking what? Neither Bell nor Noory claim to have themselves had any paranormal experiences. They don’t promote theories, discoveries or inventions of their own. All they do is open the line to callers and provide an outlet for people who have a need to be listened to.

[Astroboy14]

[QUOTE=Rilchiam]
Neither Bell nor Noory claim to have themselves had any paranormal experiences.

[QUOTE]

Slight nitpick I’m pretty sure I heard Art Bell say that he’d seen a UFO (or, as I seem to recall, what he called something like “an anti-gravitic craft passing 100 feet overhead”[very paraphrased]) the other night. He didn’t go into details at the time I heard him say this, however.

[Frankenstein_Monster]

@Airman Doors

He further suggested that China was doing everything they could to be in accordance with the Kyoto Treaty (which, by the way, is not applicable to them and the assertion is not true in any case), and as a result would be willing to pony up $10 billion dollars for development.

Nitpick:
US Newspaper: China Sharply Reduces Greenhouse Gases
I’ll believe that cite once I read it in a more credible source, but still, I have heard it before. There’s also this, from the DOE:
Climate Change and Carbon Emissions

China, the world’s most populous nation, is heavily reliant on highly carbon-intensive coal. As a non-Annex I developing country, China has no Kyoto Protocol obligation to reduce emissions and is expected to surpass the United States to become the world’s largest carbon emitter by 2020. The amounts of energy and carbon consumed per dollar of GDP have decreased dramatically in China over the past two decades, while GDP growth rates have averaged around 10%.

[Ca3799]

I listen to that show almost every night. Even though I practically violently disbeleive a single word uttered on the show, it aslo has the effect of putting me right to sleep. I can’t explain that (but it probably has something to do with aliens).

Some of my favorite highlights include the caller who claimed to have had sex with an “entity” through her CB radio, and the nights when particular callers are directed to call a dedicated line if, say, they are from the future, are the devil, or wish to share their abduction stories!

[Soul_Brother_Number_Two]

Rilch, the Wikipedia article states that Noory claims to have time traveled in 2003, in one case going to Roswell and stating the “Roswell experiment was a success.”

Just sayin’.

I enjoy Coast to Coast in the car sometimes. I love being reminded of the innate wackiness of humanity.

[tomndebb]

Art Bell, apparently, is famous enough

You should have been here, earlier, Airman. The first summer and fall that the SDMB was open here instead of on AOL, some of the nastiest, knock-down, drag-out battles in the Pit (and GD) were fought over Art Bell.

[Jillyvn]

Lol! My first experience with Coast to Coast was a few weeks ago. I had been drinking with some friends, and decided to have a shower at 2 am. I have a shower radio, so I turned it on, and they were talking about some guy who had travelled to the past from the future. I thought I had gone insane. This show was on my regular talk news station, and some caller was talking about being a time travellor, in all seriousness. It was only after I looked up the program that I realized I had not been halucinating.

[Blalron]

I used to listen to that show all the time. I stopped when Art Bell stopped hosting it on a regular basis (Art Bell really makes the show what it is, substitute teachers just don’t have the same magic). I even called in a couple times.

It’s good to listen to when you’re on a late night road trip. So what if everything you hear is dubious. A little bit of bullshit is good now and then. Even Art Bell has said that he doesn’t expect anyone to take his show as completely factual.

[Kyla]

The Bad Astronomer is on every once in a while, as a debunker. He posted a link to the audio once and the host seemed pleased to have him as a guest, and was very polite when TBA knocked down some of the callers’ statements.

[Sat_on_Cookie]

Although I haven’t listened in years, I used to absolutely LOVE that show. There’s something about the way Art Bell takes (well, appears to take, anyway) his callers and guests completely seriously that just makes the show fun.

AB: So an alien spaceship landed on your front lawn…how big was it and were you able to see in the windows, if there were any?

It was the perfect “I can’t sleep” entertainment.

[BMax]

@Rilchiam

Faking what? Neither Bell nor Noory claim to have themselves had any paranormal experiences. They don’t promote theories, discoveries or inventions of their own. All they do is open the line to callers and provide an outlet for people who have a need to be listened to.

According to Wikipedia,

Over the Christmas season in 2003, Noory reportedly time traveled to the past. He shared his supposed experiences on the air on January 5, 2004. He claimed to have tried to travel back to the Dark Ages and the Roswell UFO incident. He reported that the Roswell experiment was a success. Noory apparently viewed a UFO sighting at a hospital run by a convent outside of Roswell, New Mexico in the 1940s

Art Bell was a blast, the way he treated his guests warmly despite theri ridiculuos claims. There’s no way anybody could believe everything on his show.

Off-topic, but did anyone else notice that in Tim Burton’s filr Mars Attacks the aliens landed outside Parump, Nevada? Art Bell’s home town.

[Can_Handle_the_Truth]

@Rilchiam

Faking what? Neither Bell nor Noory claim to have themselves had any paranormal experiences.

I have heard Art Bell claim that he was abducted by a UFO.

[DocCathode]

@Airman Doors

? And last, how do I get a gig like this?

If the only requirement for success is to act crazy, you can bet your bippy that by tomorrow I’ll be running down the street naked with green jello on me talking to every lamppost I see. I’d then have the cred to host something this stupid.

You haven’t got what it takes to pull of hosting a show like this.

I havewhatit takes!