April 2, 2002: Proof of Life on the Other Side - Dr. Gary Schwartz

Art Bell welcomes Dr. Gary Schwartz, a Harvard-trained professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, to discuss his groundbreaking research into the survival of consciousness after death. Dr. Schwartz explains how the principles of astrophysics and feedback systems in nature suggest that human consciousness, like starlight from distant stars, continues indefinitely after the body dies.

The conversation centers on controlled laboratory experiments conducted at Canyon Ranch with mediums including John Edward and Suzanne Northrup. Dr. Schwartz describes a rigorous protocol in which mediums faced a wall, separated from sitters by a screen, and received no verbal or visual cues for the first ten minutes. Despite these restrictions, the mediums produced remarkably specific and accurate information, including details about deceased relatives, their pets, and personal histories.

Art also features the remarkable true story of Larry Walters, who in 1982 attached weather balloons to a lawn chair and ascended to 16,000 feet over Los Angeles. Guest Mark Berry presents never-before-aired audio recordings of the flight captured by a CB radio monitoring organization, documenting the communications between Walters, his ground crew, and bewildered aviation authorities.