July 22, 1997: Leonard Nimoy Interview

Art Bell interviews Leonard Nimoy in a brief but energetic half-hour conversation covering Star Trek, science fiction, and the possibility of extraterrestrial contact. Nimoy reflects on why the logical, dignified character of Spock resonated so deeply during the turbulent 1960s, offering audiences a trustworthy figure amid growing cynicism about government and authority.

Nimoy shares behind-the-scenes stories about the creation of the Vulcan mind meld during a filming session for the episode "Dagger of the Mind," and candidly discusses the emotional difficulty of filming Spock's death scene in The Wrath of Khan. He reveals that on the day of shooting, producer Harv Bennett asked him to leave a thread for a possible sequel, leading to the iconic "remember" moment. Nimoy also discusses his audio book productions with Alien Voices and his career in musical theater.

The remainder of the program features open lines where Art discusses the first artificial brain unveiled at Stanford's Genetic Programming Conference, a million-neuron machine capable of evolving its own neural networks. Art and callers debate the implications of creating a sentient artificial intelligence without human morality or emotion.