October 23, 2001: Paleopsychological Mass Behavior - Howard Bloom

Art Bell welcomes Howard Bloom, founder of the International Paleopsychology Project, for a sweeping discussion on the mass psychology driving the post-9/11 conflict. Bloom argues that the war against terrorism is fundamentally a battle of determination and social cohesion, drawing parallels between modern Islamic fundamentalism and historical civilizational clashes stretching back a thousand years. He warns that Osama bin Laden has achieved heroic status across much of the Islamic world and that America risks losing the psychological war.

The conversation traces how societies throughout history have fallen to seemingly inferior forces when their social bonds weakened. Bloom contends that the anthrax attacks serve as a deliberate distraction while more devastating plans may be developing. He describes the current moment as a confrontation between pluralistic modernity and religious fundamentalism, with the outcome hinging on whether Western civilization can articulate its own values with genuine passion.

Earlier in the program, Richard C. Hoagland reports on the successful orbital insertion of the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft and discusses its potential to discover water and signs of life on Mars. Art also addresses the Princeton Global Consciousness Project graph from a recent mass consciousness experiment.