Art Bell returning to radio

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Art Bell, radio’s master of the paranormal and outward edges of science, will return to the microphone Sept. 16 with a new nighttime show on Sirius XM Radio.

Bell was one of radio’s top syndicated voices in the 1990s before walking away from his nightly show in 2002 due to family issues. He worked occasionally after that but hasn’t been on the air since Halloween 2010.

“I missed it terribly,” said Bell, 68, whose weeknight show will air live from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Sirius is building a studio at Bell’s rural Nevada home where he will work.

A Sirius representative contacted Bell through social media a few months ago, leading to the formation of his show, “Art Bell’s Dark Matter.” He’ll talk about things such as UFOs, ghosts, near-death experiences and weird aspects of science. He’ll do interviews and take calls from viewers.

Scott Greenstein, Sirius XM president and chief content officer, said the show will be “uncensored, unrestricted, uncluttered and utterly unique.”

“There’s probably more interest in the genre now than when I did it,” Bell said. “When I did it, I was damned near alone.”

Bell was on some 500 radio stations nationwide, including Youngstown’s WKBN-AM 570, and quit at the peak of his popularity.