James Randi on Art Bell/George Nouri's show??

Bryan Shelton

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Hello, everyone! This is my first post.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I do occasionally listen to George Nouri and Art Bell on the "Coast-to-Coast" radio show. What puzzles me is that Nouri has claimed on a number of occasions that James Randi has been invited to appear on the show more than once, but he has always refused. Can anybody explain to me why? It would seem to me that Randi would be DELIGHTED to go on that show, with the opportunity of perhaps slapping some sense into a few people. So why would he refuse?

Bryan
 
Bryan Shelton said:
Hello, everyone! This is my first post.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I do occasionally listen to George Nouri and Art Bell on the "Coast-to-Coast" radio show.
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Why are you embarrassed?? If you want to know how to counter woo claims, you have to know how they think, argue and talk.

Listen, document, learn! :)

Bryan Shelton said:
What puzzles me is that Nouri has claimed on a number of occasions that James Randi has been invited to appear on the show more than once, but he has always refused. Can anybody explain to me why? It would seem to me that Randi would be DELIGHTED to go on that show, with the opportunity of perhaps slapping some sense into a few people. So why would he refuse?

Bryan
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Have you asked Randi why? He's very approachable, you know... :)
 
You can email Randi and ask him. his email is Randi@randi.org

He always has responded to my emails with grace and compassion, even when rough around the sarcastic edges. He is very approachable.
 
First, it's "Noory."

I don't think that Randi has any respect for Noory. Go to this site's home page and use the Search function to look up "Noory" in the commentaries, and perhaps you will see why.
 
Randi has responded to this question before in a commentary or hotline post. I can't for the life of me find a reference though. Does anyone know where it's buried?
 
Randi has made it clear he has no respect for the show and will not appear on it. I can certainly understand that position! A friend of mine convinced me to go on when I was invited-- the argument that swayed me was what better audience to talk to than one possibly stacked with people who need to hear from skeptics? We talk all day to skeptics and be "preaching to the choir". That's fine, if we are training skeptics to go out and teach. But at some point the rubber has to meet the road. That's why I go on the show, and still do.
 
fowlsound said:
You can email Randi and ask him. his email is Randi@randi.org

He always has responded to my emails with grace and compassion, even when rough around the sarcastic edges. He is very approachable.
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Why are you here???

Go back and fix the bed!! Then, go fix your marriage....it needs fixin', after that red-hot, tongue-slashing kiss from Terry..... :D

The Bad Astronomer said:
Randi has made it clear he has no respect for the show and will not appear on it. I can certainly understand that position! A friend of mine convinced me to go on when I was invited-- the argument that swayed me was what better audience to talk to than one possibly stacked with people who need to hear from skeptics? We talk all day to skeptics and be "preaching to the choir". That's fine, if we are training skeptics to go out and teach. But at some point the rubber has to meet the road.
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Ehhh....what? Rubber? As in condom? Or are we in the proverbial American-Who-Defines-His-Life-By-Referring-To-A-Car mode?

You 'Mericans are generally very nice, but, dang, you use the most peculiar metaphors...

The Bad Astronomer said:
That's why I go on the show, and still do.
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I'm with you. While I respect Randi's decision, I don't agree with him on this one. As skeptics, we should do whatever we can to explain to the general public why these....people...are soooo wrong. Even if it means we only get 1-2 minutes of air time.

OTOH, I've seen the clip on Aussie TV, where Don Lane flips out after Randi demolished Doris Stokes... Who came out on top? Randi, hands down. Perhaps there is a limit to just how much BS skeptics should put up with?

.....got evidence?

Note to community: When Randi sits back and folds his hands, take notice. That means you are in deep shaite...
 
I used to listen to Art Bell; I work steady nights, and there isn't a lot on the radio at that time.

There was an 'incident' at my local airport which made headlines around the world, due to the fact that the world's largest transport aircraft was involved.

At the time I was working at a shop that was maybe a par-five from the airport.

Art Bell covered the incident, and there were some pretty grievous errors in his report.

I e-mailed him with an eyewitness account, and he completely ignored it.

They go for the sensational, and damn the truth.

I completely understand why Mr. Randi wouldn't wand to be associated with these turds.
 
RSLancastr said:
First, it's "Noory."
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Thanks for the clarification.

RSLancastr said:
I don't think that Randi has any respect for Noory. Go to this site's home page and use the Search function to look up "Noory" in the commentaries, and perhaps you will see why.
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I'm disappointed to hear that Randi would refuse to appear on the show just for that reason. If it's good enough for "The Bad Astronomer" and Michio Kaku and the occasional other serious scientists, one would think it should be good enough for Randi. It would be a fine opportunity for him to get some additional rational words out to any of the "true believers" who listen to that show (I'm assuming there are some listeners who take it seriously). I hope he reconsiders his position at some point.

Bryan
 
Randi discusses his reasons for avoiding these shows here. The link is worth reading but here is the relevant paragraph:

I’ve heard from the Art Bell/George Noory show several times before, asking if I wanted to be on the show, and I've always declined. Just yesterday I heard from a woman at Noory's office who was quite puzzled at my disinterest. I cannot imagine why I'd want to help the show’s ratings, or give them any help at all. More importantly, since the Coast-to-Coast show and Larry King Live both have their staffs filtering incoming phone calls, I'd be at a huge disadvantage. Never play another man's game, especially if he's making up the rules as he goes along.

So Randi won't go on because the show will be stacked against him. Watch that clip of Randi on the Don Lane show and imagine him enduring a solid hour of that sort of abuse.
 
Actually, I have listened to skeptics on George Noory from time to time... my experience is that George himself has been very polite and willing to let the guest (in the case I am thinking of, it was Michael Shermer) explain their point of view fully--far better treatment than skeptics tend to get on TV.

On the other hand, I understand why Randi may not wish to take part. It is a show that thrives on promoting ignorance.
 
bjb said:
Randi discusses his reasons for avoiding these shows here. The link is worth reading but here is the relevant paragraph:

I’ve heard from the Art Bell/George Noory show several times before, asking if I wanted to be on the show, and I've always declined. Just yesterday I heard from a woman at Noory's office who was quite puzzled at my disinterest. I cannot imagine why I'd want to help the show’s ratings, or give them any help at all. More importantly, since the Coast-to-Coast show and Larry King Live both have their staffs filtering incoming phone calls, I'd be at a huge disadvantage. Never play another man's game, especially if he's making up the rules as he goes along.
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Art Bell has said many times that he doesn't screen his calls, although that may have changed with his recent move to the Philippines.

Bryan
 
George Carlin was once a guest on C to C. He basically spent the entire show making fun of the callers and listeners. It was a hoot, and Art took it all in good humor.
 
Bryan Shelton said:
I'm disappointed to hear that Randi would refuse to appear on the show just for that reason. If it's good enough for "The Bad Astronomer" and Michio Kaku and the occasional other serious scientists, one would think it should be good enough for Randi.
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I understand, but I think that after thirty or forty years of appearing on various shows, Mr. Randi has a pretty good feel for where he should and should not appear.
 
Psiload said:
George Carlin was once a guest on C to C. He basically spent the entire show making fun of the callers and listeners. It was a hoot, and Art took it all in good humor.
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Wow, that is something I'd love to hear or see a transcript of. In his own strange way, Carlin is one of those people who got me thinking the way I do. I should have remembered him on one of those "top thinkers" or "whose books are on your shelf with Randi" threads that come up now and again.
 
Art bell is a real scumbag, everyone that goes on his shows are woo but he pretends to be one himself when he is not genuine in any sense.
 
I've been on the show and I don't regret it. I thought George Noory gave me a very good hearing, and I got to debate with Alex Jones our different interpretations of Bohemian Grove.
 
The Bad Astronomer said:
Randi has made it clear he has no respect for the show and will not appear on it. I can certainly understand that position! A friend of mine convinced me to go on when I was invited-- the argument that swayed me was what better audience to talk to than one possibly stacked with people who need to hear from skeptics? We talk all day to skeptics and be "preaching to the choir". That's fine, if we are training skeptics to go out and teach. But at some point the rubber has to meet the road. That's why I go on the show, and still do.
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Hey, I just wanted to add that I was listening during one of your appearances... a friend who is not particularly skeptical or woo listened and got a few ideas from it. Right now I'm trying to counter his suspicions about the Moon Landing (using your site as a primary source)... :P
 
lolurigeller said:
Art bell is a real scumbag, everyone that goes on his shows are woo but he pretends to be one himself when he is not genuine in any sense.
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That appears to be a popular word here. It's obvious from the context that "woo" means a gullible person or someone given to fanciful ideas or beliefs, but what exactly is the origin of that word? Is it an acronym for something, or did it just get started on this site for some other reason?

Bryan
 
Bryan Shelton said:
That appears to be a popular word here. It's obvious from the context that "woo" means a gullible person or someone given to fanciful ideas or beliefs, but what exactly is the origin of that word? Is it an acronym for something, or did it just get started on this site for some other reason?
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Woo-woo
 
I'm a skeptic but I'm also a huge COAST TO COAST fan, and my absolute favorite episodes are the ones that feature Cliff Pickover, Michael Shermer and Phil Plait.

And, I may be mistaken, but as I was drifting to sleep listening to COAST TO COAST a few weeks ago, I believe I heard George Noory say something about how he was disappointed with Sylvia Browne for her COAST TO COAST screw-up about the trapped West Virginia miners.

Noory does throw a lot of softballs at guests, yes--agreed, but I like his easy-going style.

Also to Noory's credit: he really got on the case of a Bigfoot bullsh*t artiste a year or so ago too. Can't remember the particular bullsh*t artiste's name but--if memory serves--he is a former Las Vegas show promoter-turned-scumbag-crypto-opportunist.
 
Here it is:

I’ve heard from the Art Bell/George Noory show several times before, asking if I wanted to be on the show, and I've always declined. Just yesterday I heard from a woman at Noory's office who was quite puzzled at my disinterest. I cannot imagine why I'd want to help the show’s ratings, or give them any help at all. More importantly, since the Coast-to-Coast show and Larry King Live both have their staffs filtering incoming phone calls, I'd be at a huge disadvantage. Never play another man's game, especially if he's making up the rules as he goes along.
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http://www.randi.org/jr/030504newsweek.html
( http://www.randi.org/jr/030504newsweek.html#10 )

I understand why, and I wouldn't want to either. It's like being asked to write a skeptical article in the National Enquirer. Why would any serious writer want their name associated with such a low-quality program? It would only serve to give validation that the show presents balanced news of incorrect assertions.
 
The Bad Astronomer said:
Randi has made it clear he has no respect for the show and will not appear on it. I can certainly understand that position! A friend of mine convinced me to go on when I was invited-- the argument that swayed me was what better audience to talk to than one possibly stacked with people who need to hear from skeptics? We talk all day to skeptics and be "preaching to the choir". That's fine, if we are training skeptics to go out and teach. But at some point the rubber has to meet the road. That's why I go on the show, and still do.
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BTW, you were great on Penn's show, I really miss that show, one hour of greatness every day. I hope Penn comes back in some form on the radio.


One question, I have a woo on another site who posted a few pics from Clementine where part of the moon was fuzzed out, of course he claims it must be a conspiracy to hide whatever his imagination can come up with. I told him it was most likely a mosaic pic with missing data. Any ideas on what could be the cause?
 
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Bryan Shelton said:
Hello, everyone! This is my first post.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I do occasionally listen to George Nouri and Art Bell on the "Coast-to-Coast" radio show. What puzzles me is that Nouri has claimed on a number of occasions that James Randi has been invited to appear on the show more than once, but he has always refused. Can anybody explain to me why? It would seem to me that Randi would be DELIGHTED to go on that show, with the opportunity of perhaps slapping some sense into a few people. So why would he refuse?

Bryan
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I can give a stab at that I think.

Art Bell and Norry are insane, basically. He may be afraid of solicting Bell's wrath, which is legion. He had me on his show and then kicked me off over me pinning down his favorite psycho guest, Richard Hoagland, on the latter lying about NASA.

Bell then sued me for $60,000,000, after I showed he was a fraud and a charlatan. The docs and data are on my website which is here but I can't post the URL since I have not yet posted 15 posts or more.

behold-the-rage (any search engine)

Scroll down to the 'Art Bell', docs read about it.

Most professionals will not tangle or be affliiated with Bell and C2C since the reputation is that of psychos.

Just a hunch.

Robert

Robert A.M. Stephens, LLC ®
NASA Fine Art Documentation Program
Vision Motion Dynamic-FX-FX
behold-the-rage dot com
________________________________
Have Jeep, Have Heart, Will Travel
 
RSLancastr said:
I understand, but I think that after thirty or forty years of appearing on various shows, Mr. Randi has a pretty good feel for where he should and should not appear.
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Unfortunately, or amazingly (sic) he seems rather naive today (despite being a stage performer) about how to approach it as a human issue. Few people draw up clearer contrasts between "Skeptic" and "Spiritual" than Randi does, and he seems to revel in it at his own expense, due to having a strong secular and humanistic (perhaps Asimov inspired?) idealism. Appearing on it could undoubtedly be a positive though. The program is just emotion-provoking entertainment intermixed with campfire stories and science fiction, some of it drawing on science fact; but it's hardly not a place levity can't be injected.
 
RAMS said:
Bell then sued me for $60,000,000, after I showed he was a fraud and a charlatan. The docs and data are on my website which is here but I can't post the URL since I have not yet posted 15 posts or more.
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Art's a bit too pompous for my tastes.

I much prefer Noory, whose heart generally seems to be in the right place. Noory also seems equally adept at interviewing all the looney tunes on the show and the hardened skeptics. He does a good job with both camps.

Sorry to hear about your troubles with Art, though. That seems like a total nightmare; wow.
 
Lifetime031007d.jpg


Ian Punnett, the 16 year old Fillipina gum queen and dirty old man Art, taken last week.

bleah....
 
I'm in tears over this post, the photo, the comments, etc.

Hilarious.

Robert A.M. Stephens, LLC ®
NASA Fine Art Documentation Program
Vision Motion Dynamic-FX-FX
http://www.behold-the-rage.com

Have Jeep, Have Heart, Will Travel
 
RAMS said:
I'm in tears over this post, the photo, the comments, etc.

Hilarious.

Robert A.M. Stephens, LLC ®
NASA Fine Art Documentation Program
Vision Motion Dynamic-FX-FX
http://www.behold-the-rage.com

Have Jeep, Have Heart, Will Travel
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Hi, Robert (if I may call you that) --

I checked out your website. Very cool, and what a strange read the whole Art Bell episode was. I'm glad you came out of that victorious (it reminded me of some of the things I've read about Scientology). I did want to point out, though, that you mention his harrassment of your ISPs as a violation of your "2nd Amendment rights". I think you probably meant to type "1st Amendment" -- the Second Amendment guarantees the right to bear arms, and the First guarantees free speech. Still, though, I am very glad you were able to defeat his claims, and I liked your strategy. And thanks for the warning. : )
 
When I worked late nights for UPS years ago I used to tune into Coast to Coast on the drive home. One night I was laughing so hard I actually went off the road and into a cornfield for about 100ft. Later I laughed even harder when I found out Art Bell was actually serious.

Wait, what was the question?
 
I agree with tundranaut that Noory is more even-seeming than Bell. I don't listen enough to get into it, I usually change the channel, but I have noticed Noory's very gentlemanly treatment of the news, events of the day, at the top of the show or hour. Then..."lines are open" for the main expert or your latest abduction, ghost sighting, UFO story, whatever. The commercials seem prone to pitching things that might warrant critical thought before buying (gold investing, tapes and CDs of the program) but I imagine local late-night AM advertisers are different in every region.
 
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BPScooter said:
I agree with tundranaut that Noory is more even-seeming than Bell.
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Well, I'm not certain what you mean by "even-seeming," but to me, if anything, Noory seems even more credulous than Bell.

I have said a number of times, George Noory makes Art Bell look like James Randi.
 
Art seems to take a lot of his guests with a grain of salt. The theme of the show is "believe anything" so he doesn't actually oppose his guests, but there is a subtle undercurrent of scepticism when it comes to some of the more ridculous guests. Noory acts like he really does believe everything.
 
RSLancastr said:
I have said a number of times, George Noory makes Art Bell look like James Randi.
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Point well taken, but Noory's wide-eyed enthusiasm is precisely what makes him so entertaining (for me, at least).

The fact that he is willing to entertain the looniest of the looney tunes with genuine interest makes for good radio.
 
I've heard both of them say that they're certain that the world is on the verge of some big revelation or event... you know, within the next couple of weeks...
 
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