June 02, 1998: Open Lines - Antichrist Hotline
The broadcast takes its most memorable turn when Art dedicates a phone line exclusively to anyone who believes they are the Antichrist. The first caller describes a car accident that left a 666 scar visible on his skull in X-rays, a healing gift that has cured a dozen people, and a dying mother who revealed family ties to the Temple of the Golden Dawn. A second caller claims to be the genuine article, predicting a U.S. economic collapse in 2006 and describing himself as a private counterpart to the original public Christ.
Between these extraordinary calls, Art announces that two Hopi elders have agreed to appear on the program June 15th because they believe earth changes are imminent. A caller who was mysteriously awakened by his ringing phone with no explanation provides one of the night's most unsettling moments.
Key Moments
Opening the Antichrist hotline: Art announces the night's gimmick: a dedicated open-lines call-in for people who believe the Antichrist is alive on Earth right now - including any callers who believe they themselves are the Antichrist. The premise grew out of a Vancouver listener's suggestion and earlier on-air discussion of whether the Antichrist is currently walking among us.
Closer to nuclear war than at any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis: Art reports that the Clinton administration says India and Pakistan can now arm warplanes with nuclear weapons and will likely be able to deploy warheads on missiles within a year or two. He quotes Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan on Fox News Sunday: 'We're closer to nuclear war than at any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis.'
Did the India-Pakistan tests trigger the Afghan earthquake?: Art lays out his suspicion - which he says no other media will touch - that the underground Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests caused the Afghan earthquake that killed roughly 5,000 people. He argues admitting the link would change the political argument about testing entirely, which is why coverage stays away from it.
Russian earthquake-bomb research - and the U.S. probably has it too: Art reveals he has Associated Press information that the Russians spent years developing an atomic bomb designed to penetrate deep into the Earth and trigger earthquakes as a weapon of war - devastation equivalent to a surface detonation but without the radiation signature. He suspects the United States has been working on the same capability.