May 16, 1997: Open Lines
The night takes a philosophical turn when Art describes a 2020 segment about a woman in her fifties who received a heart-lung transplant from a teenage boy and suddenly developed his cravings and even dreamt his name. Callers explore whether the soul might be distributed throughout the body's cells, with one listener citing rat experiments where injected blood transferred maze-running knowledge between animals. Art poses the provocative ethical question of whether organ transplants are morally acceptable if they transfer elements of identity.
Other callers weigh in on President Clinton's Tuskegee apology and what atrocities future presidents might apologize for, Russian nuclear missiles automatically switching to combat mode, and a vivid UFO sighting over middle Tennessee. The evening captures Art Bell at his most curious, weaving science, philosophy, and the unexplained into a single sweeping broadcast.
Key Moments
Second Area 51 alien interrogation photo and 'Victor' tease: Art reveals he has just received and posted to artbellarchive.org a never-before-seen second photograph from the alleged Area 51 alien interrogation footage - showing the same alien with a doctor in white gloves whose face has been blanked out - and confirms an interview with the smuggler 'Victor' on May 23rd.
Tuskegee apology and 'what will we apologize for in 50 years?': On the day Clinton apologized to the eight surviving Tuskegee subjects, Art notes the original experiment left 400 black men untreated for syphilis and asks what a future president will have to apologize for in 2047 - citing the plutonium-feeding experiments Hazel O'Leary disclosed as another precedent.
Russian nukes auto-switching to 'combat mode': Art reads an AP wire: the commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Europe is checking a report that recent malfunctions have automatically switched Russian nuclear missiles to 'combat mode' on several occasions - contradicting prior assurances that warheads were properly cared for.
20/20: heart-lung transplant and the 'cravings of a teenage boy': Art recaps a 20/20 piece about a woman in her 50s who received a heart-lung transplant from a teenage boy and afterward developed his cravings - and asks whether the soul might be partially distributed across our organs rather than esoteric and non-physical.