Coast to Coast Radio Cancelled in Vancouver

A Downtown Eastsider told me yesterday that he hadn't been getting the Coast to Coast radio show at it's usual spot on the dial for a couple of nights. So he found it on another station which he could hear faintly from the U.S., but reception was poor. I too had been frustrated when Coast to Coast wasn't on for two nights in a row; I just assumed it was a reception problem.

I phoned CFUN radio yesterday to ask what was up.

The man who answered the phone told me that the Coast to Coast show has been dropped. CFUN has been taken over by TEAM radio "down the hall".

That would explain why I heard a sports talk show last night, at the place on the dial where Coast to Coast would normally be. I don't mind sports talk actually. But I did miss hearing Ian Punnit who hosts Coast to Coast on Saturday nights (George Noory hosts on week nights). I got Coast to Coast from a U.S. station for about 5 minutes and then it faded out.

For a few people on the Downtown Eastiside, the death of Coast to Coast may not be a bad thing. A few Downtown Eastsiders are already unbalanced -- and I emphasize "a few"; there aren't nearly as many truly mentally ill people on the Downtown Eastsiders as poverty industry grant addicts would have the public believe -- and they tend to pick up on the conspiracy topics and alien visitation topics and let this stuff dominate their minds. There is a wide range of topics covered on Coast to Coast though, including political, spiritual, technological advances, and alternative health.

Anyone wanting to listen to Coast to Coast in Vancouver, the man who answered the phone at the CFUN number told me, can sign up for Streamlink at the Coast to Coast website and listen via the internet. But I believe you have to pay. Many Downtown Eastsiders don't have internet at home.

Earlier this year George Noory, host of Coast to Coast radio, came to the Red Rock Casino in Richmond to visit with listeners. Coast to Coast had a good base of listeners in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. It was a hit amongst Downtown Eastsiders, many of whom don't mind staying up until 2 a.m. as they don't have jobs to go to in the morning.

The loss of Coast to Coast radio will be felt on the Downtown Eastside. I miss having it on in the background; it was a show that I could turn on no matter what time I got home as it was on all night.

Update, Nov. 10/09: A Coast to Coast listener commented on the internet that according to the Coast to Coast official site, another Vancouver station was talking to them about picking up the show. I went to the Coast to Coast site today but I couldn't find any reference to that. I hope they bring it back though. I have withdrawal symptoms.

Is Psychic Sylvia Brown No Longer Welcome on Coast to Coast Radio?

On Saturday night on Coast to Coast, host George Noory (during the segment before host Ian Punit came on) told the audience that psychic Sylvia Brown had not been on the show for awhile and they weren't sure they would have her on again. He said he was put off by a comment he saw her make on the Montel show. He said a woman had asked Brown how a fireman, a relative of hers, had died on 9/11. Brown said he had drowned. The woman said he couldn't have drowned but Brown insisted he had. Noory wasn't more specific than that about what had put him off.

Noory didn't mention the jam Brown had gotten into last year on his own show. I was listening to Brown on Coast to Coast when it happened. It was during a period when, if I remember correctly, there was a great deal of media attention on miners in the U.S. who were buried and rescuers were working to save them. Brown said -- my memory is not 100% on the details here -- that the miners were no longer alive. But a few minutes later news came in that the miners had been found alive. Noory pointed out to Brown that this news contradicted what she had said. She insisted that it was in fact what she had said. So Noory played the audio tape a few times for the audience and told us we could decide for ourselves. Although Brown's words had not been precise on the original tape, it seemed clear to me that she had been wrong.

There may be times when people have psychic moments. But I have never known what to make of Sylvia Brown. Terry Johnson, a bright guy and committed skeptic who lived on the Downtown Eastside who has since died of a heroin overdose, thought Sylvia Brown was a complete fake. I talked to him a few years ago about seeing her on Larry King Live and he said King was "gullible". I have a psychic prediction: Sylvia Brown is finished on Coast to Coast.

Is Art Bell Hinting at a Come-Back?

When Art Bell, long time host of the “Coast to Coast” radio show which attracts up to ten million listeners a night, announced his retirement on his July 1, 2007 show, he knew that his listeners had heard this before. So he emphasized, “This time it’s for real though. It’s for real.”

But now, six months later, Bell’s retirement is not sounding so permanent.

On the night of Jan 4, 2008, Bell was sitting in for George Noory who was on holidays. Nothing odd about that, as Bell had said when announcing his retirement that he would occasionally fill in or do a special. What was odd was Bell’s response when a caller popped the question: ‘When are you coming back?’ Bell explained that he had done the show for years and was spending time with his family. “I’m in a break here,” he said.

A break? That doesn’t sound like permanent retirement.

The caller told Bell that he didn’t think the hosts who had replaced him were taking the show in the direction he had intended. “If they’re taking it in a direction that listeners don’t want," Bell responded, "they won’t be here because the ratings will fall.” He added calmly, “Time will tell.”

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