How I would change, Midnight in the Desert.

[Kaliopea]

I end up getting so irritated by the way Heather over-enunciates certain syllables of so many words, I have to turn the show off after 10-15 minutes.  She really, really needs to work with a professional voice coach in order to learn not to do that.  I think if she spoke more naturally, it would be a much more listenable show.

I can't stand it either.  I think her favorite thing is the sound of her own voice.  She constantly interrupts with nothing new to contribute, just making herself heard.  Snore.

[Kaliopea]

Similarly, I was horrified to learn that she buys into that Sandy Hook bullshit. I suppose the FCC requires everyone who broadcasts to toe that line, but still--horrified. What other kind of nonsense does this woman believe? Gah, don't tell me.

She is horrified at any CT unless it is UFOs.  She's a gatekeeper and an establishment mouthpiece.  Art was sounding the way and I think it is show policy to play it safe.

[Jackstar]

She's a gatekeeper and an establishment mouthpiece.

[Robot Porter]

Art Bell is one of the premier broadcasters of our age.  Heather Wade is an amateur.

There's no way to navigate that transition without feeling let down. 

My notion is have Art Bell come back.  Do a few shows a month.  But make them special events.  Things we've all been waiting to hear.  And these can be listened to live.  Or purchased later.  But these are the only shows you ever have to pay for.

When Art isn't on.  (Which would be most of the time.)  He'd have guest hosts.  But all top flight people.  No amateurs.  Some people from the old days.  Some new.  But all radio professionals.

[Robert]

Art said the same thing to George Noory, "Make it your show".

And Art told the audience that's what he expected to happen.  IMO it didn't happen enough, until maybe very recently.  Noory for years did Art's show, and did as bad a job as you'd expect someone who wasn't interested in the job to do.

[73s]

I dont think shes terrible, just inexperienced and has been placed on the hot seat and is under immense pressure and scrutiny.

I agree. I still think Norry and some podcaster stuff I've heard is worse.

I think if she had time to develop her skills absent of the insane amount of hate- She could actually be quite good in the long run... Sadly, she will either burn out due to stress or the show will fold before she gets there imho.

I'm not sure the show is going to fold, it has gone on this way for 4 months already. There seems to be a steady fanbase of some sort.

Heather should have been given a show or two every week- or even a nightly segment so she could gain confidence and prepare accordingly.

I totally agree. I don't understand Keith's reluctance to bring on another host. I don't believe that there are not podcasters out there with more talent who are currently making no money at all and would be happy to do this. It makes me wonder if he's tried but they've had clashes of some sort and decided against hosting. The only other explanations would be that he's happy with how she's doing and/or in some sense doesn't care (making "enough" money), or theories that Art is preventing a replacement (I doubt this, due to Art's and Heather's comments on Keith running everything). Anyway, splitting up hosting duties between more than host when the hosts are not of the caliber of Art makes sense to allow them more time to develop their abilities as well as find good guests, it seems to me (as a listener).

I could list all the things that make this show hard to listen to but that's been beaten to death by many others. I have tried emailing her suggestions but I feel like it's on deaf ears. On the air she seems defensive about criticism (even when she asks for it). I don't see evidence that she is actively working on improving her style, guest and topic selection, etc. But who knows.

I think though that I'm spending my listening hours on other shows from here on. If Art comes back here and there or if she has on some good guests who can basically interview themselves, I may tune in. I wanted this show to get back on its feet after Art bailed but I don't see that happening and I feel 4 months of hanging in there is enough.

[Wonderlust]

I can't stand it either.  I think her favorite thing is the sound of her own voice.  She constantly interrupts with nothing new to contribute, just making herself heard.  Snore.

I don't mind a host interrupting  a guest in order to interject relevance to the discussion... But damn, I get frustrated hearing an uneducated novice  continually interrupt, adding absolutely nothing.

[pate]

Better to have a pretty car parked on the driveway...

Yeah, parked in front of my driveway.

I have things to smash, (am0ng 0ther thangs, hobo) windshields.

Ermagawd!  Temptation!

IF I HAD TIME TO RESEARCH.  Dunno what I'd do....

[Jinger Rat Snapps]

cut the Art Bell references, rename the show to the heather Show and change the hours of the show.

[3OctaveFart]

Stop mimicking someone else- be your own person. And brush up on current events.

[Robert]

Stop mimicking someone else- be your own person. And brush up on current events.

Yes!  Or don't talk about them.  You don't have to, you know.  Or about anything you know nothing about, current or historic.

[3OctaveFart]

I have a young son I accidentally taught to make fart sounds with his mouth, and now I am trying to 'undo' it. That's what it reminds me to hear HW exclaim 'Oh, my' or when she takes other folksy Bell affectations for a spin.

We know she's a flatterer ... but she got the gig, she can give it a rest.

[zeebo]

Toss out all of Art's old bumper music, including opening & closing tracks.  Replace with new songs that reflect HW's style.  While you're at it, drop all of Art's promos too.  It's..not..his..show..anymore.

Cut out the obvious topical news stories, which have already been covered all day on cable news, e.g. political spasms & tragic sensational stories - along with generic "What a world we live in" comments.

For the news segment, focus more on less-covered stories, from science, geography, global events, etc. - allow us listeners the luxury of glimpsing a different perspective on our vast planet.

For the interviews.  I think these are pretty good generally, but more research pre-show would bring more depth.  Don't fall into the Nooryesque 'obvious overasked question' trap.

For open lines:  Have more fun topics.  Friday should be fun nite, not angst-ridden self-examination of our souls nite.

[albrecht]

Toss out all of Art's old bumper music, including opening & closing tracks.  Replace with new songs that reflect HW's style.  While you're at it, drop all of Art's promos too.  It's..not..his..show..anymore.

Cut out the obvious topics news stories, which have already been covered all day on cable news, e.g. political spasms & tragic sensational stories - along with generic "What a world we live in" comments.

For the news segment, focus more on less-covered stories, from science, geography, global events, etc. - allow us listeners the luxury of glimpsing a different perspective on our vast planet.

For the interviews.  I think these are pretty good generally, but more research pre-show would bring more depth.  Don't fall into the Nooryesque 'obvious overasked question' trap.

For open lines:  Have more fun topics.  Friday should be fun nite, not angst-ridden self-examination of our souls nite.

Yeah, besides reading the book or at least doing some show prep I would also add have subjects that you have knowledge of, or at least interest in. Since she frequently mentions not liking politics or not knowing/liking this/that than don't "do" shows or updates about them. My biggest problem (which can only be solved by time and experience) is she doesn't seem to have much travel and work experience. One reason Art was good was because he had lived in so many places, worked different jobs, military experience, world travel and living, etc so he knew about things and could interface with callers/guests on a wide variety of subjects, give anecdotes, etc.

[Hollow Man]

FUCK YOU, I LOVE HEATHER, GET CANCER.

Nah, JK. LOL.

Toss out all of Art's old bumper music, including opening & closing tracks.  Replace with new songs that reflect HW's style.  While you're at it, drop all of Art's promos too.  It's..not..his..show..anymore.

Yeah, I see what you're saying here. Personally I'd keep both. I think getting rid of them would backfire terribly, offend alot of people, and would be enough for people to even stop listening altogether. It sucks, but alot of people are still hoping for Art's return [and I'm one of them, I'll admit, of course] at at least some point and are listening to Heather partly out of good faith to Art. You get rid of that entirely and that might burst some of that. Same for the promos; it shows that he's "still around" in at least some form, even if it's a spectral one. It says that he's not totally gone, and that gives at least some relief to people. Get rid of that and that all goes away; not good for business.

As far as Art's music goes, I wouldn't get rid of all of it, but there's got to be some that Heather just wouldn't play, if she had her way about it, simply because it's not her cup of tea personally and doesn't serve her mood on the show; that much is obvious. Some music just isn't.. her, and you can feel that. Now, others she might, as well as lending to the atmosphere. Then there may be some she plays simply because she thinks it's what the audience likes and she can mix that in with her own tastes as a kind of offering; Knapp does that and it works pretty well. Otherwise, yeah, get rid of it, LOL. I don't know about you, but I don't see Heather as being a big Abba fan, LOL. I could be wrong but that's what I'd bet. It's fine when it's Art doing it because it's his vintage and it's something you expect from him; it adds to the mood he brings to the show, and that's something that's hard to quantify. It just is.. But when other people do it it doesn't work as well and it's kind of eye-rolling.

Cut out the obvious topics news stories, which have already been covered all day on cable news, e.g. political spasms & tragic sensational stories - along with generic "What a world we live in" comments.

Agreed. Unless something REALLY big happens, like a riot or something, she should wash her hands of that shit. Nobody likes it anyway, including her, LOL. You can tell what a struggle it is for her to even feign interest in politics, and yet she does it anyway because it's part of the goddamn script. Time to rip it up.

For the news segment, focus more on less-covered stories, from science, geography, global events, etc. - allow us listeners the luxury of glimpsing a different perspective on our vast planet.

I couldn't agree more. She should really dig deep into the underground for news to bring up, such as cloning, transhumanism, findings and experiments in quantum mechanics, etc. The obvious, generic shit is just that: obvious and generic. We're heard it all fucking day. This is supposed to be an escape from all that noise, not an extension.

For the interviews.  I think these are pretty good generally, but more research pre-show would bring more depth.  Don't fall into the Nooryesque 'obvious overasked question' trap.

Agreed once again. Alot of her interviews are good, but others not so much. It's not a linear pattern, you might say. The Titor situation is a good example of that. She definitely fucked up.  I get the feeling that her lack of preparation [not constant, but frequent enough] is often due to lack of time. That or sleep deprivation, LOL. She needs to find a way to correct that. I don't think going to five hours is gonna help, to say the least. I think that was Keith's idea. She could've said no, of course, but she was definitely cajoled into it I think. Keith only cares about numbers, afterall; things like sleep and having a life don't seem to compute much with him. 

Then you got the whole Titor situation. Definitely fucked up there. She was on a script, no doubt about it. If she was really being herself she would have SHREDDED him and done it with NO apologies. She was definitely told to walk it back. I'd bet you money on that. Nothing else makes sense.

For open lines:  Have more fun topics.  Friday should be fun nite, not angst-ridden self-examination of our souls nite.

LOL. Right again. Yeah, Friday should be more loose and bizarre. The more serious topics are fine on occassion, but those should become rarerer, definitely.

Good advice, man. You seem like you really want to make her show better and not just bitch and take massive chilli dumps in her kitchen, LOL. I salute you. 

[zeebo]

...I don't know about you, but I don't see Heather as being a big Abba fan, LOL.

Yeah I don't know either, but I think the whole Abba collection can be jettisoned on general principle.     I mean those songs were campy fun until about the thousandth play and now when I hear them find a slow rage building within. 

...She should really dig deep into the underground for news to bring up, such as cloning, transhumanism, findings and experiments in quantum mechanics, etc.

Good suggestions.  Exactly the kind of stuff I was talking about.

... Yeah, Friday should be more loose and bizarre. The more serious topics are fine on occassion, but those should become rarerer, definitely.

Yes!  There should be that open-ended vibe that some unexpected curiosity might be just around the corner.  The full spectrum of random thoughts & experiences should be encouraged. 

Good advice, man. You seem like you really want to make her show better and not just bitch and take massive chilli dumps in her kitchen ...

Haha, thanks.  I still think Heather can do well if she keeps learning, and finds the right format that clicks.

[Robert]

Yeah I don't know either, but I think the whole Abba collection can be jettisoned on general principle.     I mean those songs were campy fun until about the thousandth play and now when I hear them find a slow rage building within.

I don't see why such lavish bumpers are needed at all.  Many programs get by with maybe 3 secs. of jingle -- the same jingle, each time.  The old soap operas would use maybe a couple of organ chords (played live), maybe extending it a bit if the actors were slow to their marks.

The only benefit to playing recognizable music pieces on a talk show would be to "send a message", usu. a funny one.  Like "3 Blind Mice" or "She's Evil" or "Money Makes the World Go 'Round" in the appropriate context.

[Robert]

She should really dig deep into the underground for news to bring up, such as cloning, transhumanism, findings and experiments in quantum mechanics, etc. The obvious, generic shit is just that: obvious and generic. We're heard it all fucking day. This is supposed to be an escape from all that noise, not an extension.

I agree.  They should develop a network of sources for the m.c., and if possible some go-to regulars on certain subjects who can come on-mic for a few mins. at a time about a development in the subject of their respective specialty, like C2C has had (and like Bachelor has, but I wouldn't want their appearances to extend as long at a time).  But replace them if they become stale & predictable like Hoagland.  Maybe Art Bell would like to be one such reporter.  But don't go to them on any kind of rotation, only as they come up with news from their respective contacts.

The topics don't have to be paranormal, fortean, or earthshaking, but just things that we may never have heard or even thought of before.  For instance, I think it was less than 2 yrs. ago that I became aware of mobile pet groomers.  I just walked by a van parked a block away from me, heard running water, and thought, WTF?  So I inquired, and learned about a mode of business that lurks on our streets, isn't nefarious or anything, but who'd'a thunka such a thing?  News is all around us that rarely gets reported.  It's on the Internet once you think to look for it, but you don't think to look for what you don't know exists.

[Discriminate]

Art's not coming back, guys. Not in any meaningful sense at least. I held on to the same hope but it's just not happening. He's done one show since he left and I'm expecting he'll do one more. I really think that when he handed the show over to Heather he had no intention of coming back. He doesn't even care enough to be honest and acknowledge that the replacement he chose is terrible because it's easy for him this way. He knows damn well how bad she is, but if he were to admit that he'd either have to do something about it or admit that he doesn't care. If we don't like Heather it's because we're sexist  or because we're just big babies that won't accept anyone but him. That's his opinion and we've all seen him express it a million times. This is the same guy who told us that George just "gets it". Of course we all know what he thinks about George now, but the reason we eventually found out is because it ceased being beneficial to him to prop him up. Propping Heather up is beneficial to him right now. As long as he continues with the opinion that she's great, he gets to sit on his ass and play with his drone while his wife blows him.

He gave Heather the show because he gave up on it and us. That's the truth and it's fucking offensive. He owes everyone a huge apology for flipping us the bird and tossing us a piece of dog shit as a substitute. All of us loyally waited between the time Dark Matter ended for him to come back, a whole damn network full of shows was built and maintained just so he could have a place to come back to and this is how he thanks everyone. The closest thing to an apology we ever got out of him was one of his many "Well I guess I screwed up again." comments. He has no respect for his fans or for all of the work that was done for him. The guy is a prima donna with the maturity of a teenager (at best).

And Heather, if by chance you're reading this, please stop. Just please stop. You're brutally sodomizing the corpse of something we all once loved, yet somehow you've convinced yourself that if you just keep grinding and pumping away you'll bring it back to life and it will tell you what a wonderful lover you've been.

[GravitySucks]

I thought Art gave a pretty sincere apology during his interview on the GABCAST.  Go listen to the February 4, 2016 GABCAST. I don't expect him to expound on what he said there.

[73s]

I thought Art gave a pretty sincere apology during his interview on the GABCAST.  Go listen to the February 4, 2016 GABCAST. I don't expect him to expound on what he said there.

He did apologize. I know things happen to everyone and it seems nuts that he would willingly walk away from everything, so I guess I'm inclined to mostly take him at his word about his reasonings, as frustrating as they are to us all. I'm sure there's more to it that he's not saying but that's his business ultimately.

I guess what I would have liked to have seen happen is for him to at least give status updates on whether or not he's going to do any kind of show of any sort, ever again. I felt that we had that for a month or two around the time of his Gabcast but lately he's just retreated completely. We're all assuming he's completely finished and permanently retired now but he never really said that. The dangling carrot of his potential return, which I think is still airing on MITD via Keith's commercial, is also not right.

A binary "yes" or "no" about returning and projected dates would feel a lot better. But it seems we will never get that. For now we as fans need to move on and assume he's gone, I guess. Otherwise it's just a mental illness-like obsession on our part.

[Robert]

I guess what I would have liked to have seen happen is for him to at least give status updates on whether or not he's going to do any kind of show of any sort, ever again. I felt that we had that for a month or two around the time of his Gabcast but lately he's just retreated completely. We're all assuming he's completely finished and permanently retired now but he never really said that. The dangling carrot of his potential return, which I think is still airing on MITD via Keith's commercial, is also not right.

What if he hasn't made up his mind?

[PB the Deplorable]

He did apologize. I know things happen to everyone and it seems nuts that he would willingly walk away from everything, so I guess I'm inclined to mostly take him at his word about his reasonings, as frustrating as they are to us all...

Did he apologize for claiming to be threatened, shot at, and having a 'stalker'?  No. 

[73s]

Did he apologize for claiming to be threatened, shot at, and having a 'stalker'?  No.

No he's "sticking to his guns" on that one

[WOTR]

A binary "yes" or "no" about returning and projected dates would feel a lot better.

01111001 01100101 01110011 00100000 01001101 01100001 01111001 00100000 00110001 00110010 00100000 00110010 00110001 00110010 00110000.

[zeebo]

No he's "sticking to his guns" on that one

lol yep 

[Richard Groyper]

No he's "sticking to his guns" on that one

He almost DIED! He was face down in the dirt for 20 minutes while "Charle" was shooting at him.

[PB the Deplorable]

No he's "sticking to his guns" on that one

That's what I mean.  So it wasn't a 'sincere' apology, as another poster suggested it was.

[PB the Deplorable]

I don't think he should come back either.  It seems like it would have been an easy and fun thing for him to do a few shows every month, but apparently not.

At this point it would be a little like baseball fans clamoring for Willie Mays to come back and play

[Richard Groyper]

I don't think he should come back either.  It seems like it would have been an easy and fun thing for him to do a few shows every month, but apparently not.

At this point it would be a little like baseball fans clamoring for Willie Mays to come back and play

Willie Mays Hayes "gets it."