Episode 1409 · Aug 12, 2015 · 2h 17m
August 12, 2015: Open Lines - September Doom
Key Moments
Open transcriptAnne Strieber's passingArt pauses to note that Anne Strieber, Whitley Strieber's wife, has passed after a long battle with cancer.
September Doom thesisArt lays out the show's premise: an unprecedented internet buzz that something catastrophic - economic collapse, natural disaster, or divine judgment - is coming next month.
Collective jitter and animal instinctArt argues there is a real collective jitter, comparing humans to animals who suddenly sense a predator approaching - perhaps our senses are dulled but still alive.
Time traveler explains bubble realityA self-described time traveler tells Art his method is making a 'bubble reality' through occult meditation and willing oneself into the next reality.
2036 looks like Nazi GermanyPressed on the state of the US in 2036, the caller says things are like Nazi Germany - everyone tells on their neighbor and you must be very careful, even noting Art's show is long gone by then.
Callers from Michigan, Belgium, the Philippines, and London echo the same unease. A London caller offers the most grounded prediction: a stock market correction from hot money leaving China after the yuan devaluation, and describes a migrant crisis overwhelming Europe largely invisible to American audiences. Three time travelers call, including an Australian "fixer" who corrects timeline disruptions for a shadowy agency with only 17 hours of advance knowledge. Perhaps most affecting is a Spokane woman who has never planned for a long-term future because she has always sensed she would not need one, filling her life with serendipitous adventures instead.
A night capturing something difficult to name: the collective intuition of an audience sensing change.