January 1, 1997: Open Lines

Art Bell rings in 1997 with a New Year's Day open lines show that quickly becomes a sprawling exploration of politics, prophecy, and the strange. With catastrophic flooding devastating the Pacific Northwest and Nevada, callers report from the front lines of what many are calling a hundred-year flood. Art weighs in on the federal government's push to override state marijuana legalization in Arizona and California, calling it an arrogant dismissal of the voters' will.

The night takes unexpected turns as callers debate the biblical and legal origins of laws against polygamy, with theories ranging from Mormon persecution to a banker conspiracy. A CBS radio report about asteroids breaking out of their orbits and potentially crossing Earth's path adds a note of cosmic unease. Meanwhile, the mysterious countdown signal on 940 AM in central California fuels Hale-Bopp companion speculation, and Art shares his prediction that the government will try to seize control of the internet by planting classified data online.

From flood-ravaged listeners sandbagging through the night to philosophical musings on royalty and mortality, this episode captures the restless energy of a nation stepping into an uncertain new year, with Art Bell as its late-night guide through the unknown.