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Podcasts/Unexplained History/Episode 83
Aliens, The End of the World and Art Bell artwork

Aliens, The End of the World and Art Bell

Unexplained HistoryNOV 12, 2026 • 58 MIN • SEASON 2, EPISODE 83

September 11, 1997. A frightened caller reaches Art Bell's Area 51 line.

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00:0058:27
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Episode notes

September 11, 1997. A frightened caller reaches Art Bell's Area 51 line. He claims to know what is coming — and then the programme's satellite feed fails. We stay with the original recording, the return to air and the listeners trying to describe what they heard. From the Nevada desert, the story moves to Southern Television's 1977 interruption, the masked Max Headroom intrusions in Chicago and Captain Midnight's message to HBO. Original broadcast passages carry the story, with explanations and evidence assessment reserved for the final part of the episode. These recordings establish unsettling interruptions; the claims made by their speakers require separate scrutiny. Written and produced for Rob Davenport. Original broadcast voices are retained in the archival passages. Detailed source notes and the distinction between established events, testimony and unresolved identity claims accompany the episode. Sources and original recordings https://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/area-51-employees-line/ https://transdiffusion.org/2023/08/21/southern-interference/ https://archive.org/details/maxheadroom https://archive.org/details/capnmidnight_kxl https://archive.org/details/CaptainMidnightHBO1986

Series
Unexplained History
Archive position
108 of 108
Season
2
Released
Nov 12, 2026
Runtime
58:27
Conrad Blackwood: Darkness and Light by Rob Davenport — the selected library doorway cover

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Unexplained History

Unexplained History delivers unexplained events analysis and deep dives into the history of the unexplained. Join host Tom McKenzie weekly as we uncover the secrets behind history’s greatest cold cases and cover-ups.

108 EPISODES • 3 SEASONS

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