In an attempt to heed pricciar’s suggestion and return to Art Bell, I think the biggest problem with his show is that all you get is pre-digested pablum overwhelmingly slanted in favor of the guest’s opinions. It’s called “pandering”. For there to be any hope of learning something of genuine value from his guests, Bell would have to carefully challenge these guests on their basic claims in order to hear them defend their ideas and premises. Hell, even Larry King does that!
But if all C#3 wants are “interesting” stories of extremely dubious reliability and authenticity, I suppose Art Bell is as good (or bad) a source as any other disreputable source of “information”. You might also consider watching most of the paranormal shows on Fox and The Discovery Channel, and perhaps the 700 Club’s analysis of world affairs, or failing that, your local comic shop…
Enore_Tsotset listed Michael Cremo as an example of a “credited scientist” who’s been on Bell’s show. I know what you really meant, but even so this is quite ridiculous.
If you read Cremo’s bio page it’s clear he lacks any generally accepted scientific credentials (he apparently doesn’t even have a bachelor’s degree, let alone one in anthropology or archeology). Yes, he lists himself proudly as a member of the “American Anthropological Association”, but we could all be members of this august body: all it takes is $120 (payable by credit card if you want instant faux-respectability). I challenge you to produce a single scientific article by Mr. Cremo in any widely respected scientific journal. There is nothing to distinguish him from a total crank. If you search the web using his name, you will be drowned in a torrent of patently silly quasi-religious blither.
Cremo’s claims are nothing more than a inverted variation on Creationism in which his not-so-hidden agenda is to promote fundamentalist Hinduism instead of Christianity. And just like the more familiar brand of Creationism, science has nothing whatsoever to do with it. Cremo wouldn’t recognize genuine science if he dug it up in his back yard. See: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/mom/groves.html
But to be fair, Dr. Michio Kaku seems to have excellent credentials (although credentials alone don’t make a scientist, and an awful lot of kooks seem to like to refer to his work). Judging by the Art Bell shows I’ve heard, I can’t help thinking that Bell’s booking agent was probably fired for this serious breach of protocol!
Also, I have to second David B.'s shocked response regarding the purported “Science” teacher who lists things like the “face” on Mars and alien abductions and says: “…to me these things are as close to the Truth, albeit little known Truth…”
Y I K E S !!
I pity the poor children who have been and may yet be “educated” by this terrible excuse for a teacher! This has nothing to do with his/her opinions on these matters, nor does it have anything to do with being open- or closed-minded. The revealing flaw in this absurd statement is the references to “Truth” with a capital “T”: science has nothing to say about “Truth”. Science is concerned with evidence – “Truth” is a matter for blind faith.
It does print some good obscure comics though.