The FBI’s file on late-night radio host Art Bell has expanded with the release of a previously unheard audio recording, offering a rare, albeit brief and segmented glimpse into the Bureau’s investigation of his harassment complaints and the evidence he once submitted himself. According to the FBI’s written records, Bell had provided an audio tape to agents as part of his report, a piece of evidence now partially released. The recording is difficult to listen to: fragmented, punctuated by long silences, and seemingly edited or redacted, leaving major gaps in conversation and context.
The Black Vault first obtained and published Bell’s written FBI records in 2023. Those documents, covering investigations between 1998 and 2000, show that Bell contacted the Bureau after receiving messages and communications he considered threatening. The records include interviews with Bell, his associates, and several individuals named in the complaints.
In one report, agents wrote that Bell “was interviewed at his request concerning threats against his life.” He told investigators that he was host of a syndicated talk show that “airs to approximately 420 stations” and that the program “deals with fact and speculation concerning the paranormal, extra-terrestrials, unidentified flying objects and advanced technology aircraft of the United States.”
The file details how Bell began receiving “messages over the Internet from Filipino individuals and groups alleging that Bell had issued derogatory messages against Filipinos.” Bell denied the claims and told the FBI that “the bogus messages were from address ‘KatLover@artbell.com (Art Bell),’” adding that he had reason to believe they originated from a known server. The Bureau confirmed that Bell “maintains a genuine concern for his personal safety.”
While the written records contain heavy redactions and more than 150+ pages of fully withheld material, they reveal a series of federal inquiries across multiple field offices, documenting both online defamation and what Bell described as targeted harassment.
The newly released 16-minute audio file, made public in October 2025, captures Bell in conversation with an unidentified individual about the same period of turmoil. His voice conveys frustration and disbelief as he reacts to what had been said about him. At one point, Bell responds directly to an accusation:
“That is… completely false.”
Later, he alludes to his professional disputes in radio, saying:
“Talk Radio Network split away when I was purchased by Premier Radio Networks, and Talk Radio Network decided they were gonna compete with me.”
Throughout the recording, long gaps and muted portions suggest significant redactions or removed audio, consistent with other law enforcement FOIA releases.
Together, the 2023 and 2025 releases offer a documented glimpse into the final years of the FBI’s correspondence with Bell; a period marked by unsubstantiated threats, online impersonation, and personal anxiety for one of broadcasting’s most distinctive voices.
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Document Archive
Art Bell FBI File Release – 2023 – [77 Pages, 4MB]
Audio Archive
Art Bell FBI Audio Recording – Released 2025
Download Raw Audio File, as released by the FBI – [MP3 Files, 23MB] (Transcript below)
Audio Transcript
The following audio transcript was created by The Black Vault. Some errors may occur, during the process:
[00:00:00.000 – 00:00:08.840] Hi, is it?
[00:00:10.380 – 00:00:10.820] Hi.
[00:00:16.500 – 00:00:17.820] Well, I’m happy to meet you.
[00:00:27.820 – 00:00:28.340] Okay.
[00:00:28.340 – 00:00:29.840] Okay, um…
[00:00:29.840 – 00:00:36.340] I guess, you know, I’ve heard some rumors, you know, about, um…
[00:00:37.060 – 00:00:39.600] Maybe, I don’t know, somebody who was in…
[00:00:39.600 – 00:00:39.980] Life.
[00:00:40.940 – 00:00:42.160] And that’s about all I know.
[00:00:42.640 – 00:00:45.340] I’ve had, you know, I’ve had my own disagreements, uh, with…
[00:00:46.000 – 00:00:48.520] Um, nothing life-shattering.
[00:00:49.520 – 00:00:50.080] Uh…
[00:00:50.080 – 00:00:57.340] Okay, okay, then, you know, and, um…
[00:00:58.340 – 00:01:08.700] So I just kept my mouth shut and didn’t say anything.
[00:01:12.620 – 00:01:13.060] So…
[00:01:13.060 – 00:01:13.460] Okay.
[00:01:28.340 – 00:01:32.340] Okay.
[00:01:45.120 – 00:01:46.340] Well, you were…
[00:01:46.340 – 00:01:48.060] Is that correct?
[00:01:53.940 – 00:01:54.500] Okay.
[00:01:55.500 – 00:01:56.020] Um…
[00:01:58.340 – 00:02:08.039] Well, don’t be afraid.
[00:02:08.440 – 00:02:10.100] What you say with me stops here.
[00:02:19.640 – 00:02:20.660] I didn’t even know that.
[00:02:28.340 – 00:02:32.900] Just because he was angry with me?
[00:02:36.660 – 00:02:37.380] It’s not?
[00:02:37.380 – 00:02:37.440] No.
[00:02:50.540 – 00:02:52.520] Right?
[00:02:52.520 – 00:02:52.600] Right?
[00:02:52.600 – 00:02:52.620] Right?
[00:02:52.620 – 00:02:52.660] Right?
[00:02:52.660 – 00:02:52.720] Right?
[00:02:52.720 – 00:02:58.320] Right?
[00:02:58.340 – 00:02:58.920] Mm-hmm. [INAUDIBLE]
[00:02:58.920 – 00:02:58.960] Right? [INAUDIBLE]
[00:02:58.960 – 00:02:59.020] He was angry with me. [INAUDIBLE]
[00:02:59.020 – 00:02:59.480] Uh… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:02:59.480 – 00:02:59.560] Okay. [INAUDIBLE]
[00:02:59.560 – 00:02:59.580] Okay. [INAUDIBLE]
[00:03:06.580 – 00:03:11.160] Well, I don’t understand why you would have this much anger at me or what the, you know, [INAUDIBLE]
[00:03:11.240 – 00:03:14.080] something that even goes beyond anger because I kind of… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:03:15.820 – 00:03:17.620] Yeah? [INAUDIBLE]
[00:03:23.020 – 00:03:24.420] Well… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:03:24.420 – 00:03:24.460] Yeah. [INAUDIBLE]
[00:03:24.460 – 00:03:24.540] Yeah. [INAUDIBLE]
[00:03:24.540 – 00:03:24.660] I… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:03:24.660 – 00:03:25.100] I… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:03:25.100 – 00:03:25.420] I… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:03:25.420 – 00:03:26.320] I… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:03:26.320 – 00:03:26.600] I… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:03:26.600 – 00:03:26.740] I… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:03:26.740 – 00:03:27.000] I… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:03:27.280 – 00:03:27.540] I… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:03:27.540 – 00:03:28.260] I… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:03:28.340 – 00:03:31.180] fire away
[00:03:38.960 – 00:03:42.220] well are you afraid of
[00:03:44.940 – 00:03:50.080] okay I guess the obvious question is why I mean
[00:03:51.900 – 00:03:54.820] okay
[00:03:58.340 – 00:04:00.400] you
[00:04:05.220 – 00:04:07.280] you
[00:04:21.459 – 00:04:23.520] you
[00:04:28.340 – 00:04:31.620] got sure [INAUDIBLE]
[00:04:34.560 – 00:04:36.620] you [INAUDIBLE]
[00:04:41.560 – 00:04:44.560] really [INAUDIBLE]
[00:04:46.260 – 00:04:48.340] you [INAUDIBLE]
[00:04:58.340 – 00:05:00.180] My God.
[00:05:28.340 – 00:05:49.760] That is a…
[00:05:49.760 – 00:05:53.480] Completely false.
[00:05:58.340 – 00:06:00.460] What?
[00:06:13.460 – 00:06:15.120] He won’t have me killed.
[00:06:20.380 – 00:06:23.160] I didn’t…
[00:06:28.340 – 00:06:33.880] And he…
[00:06:33.880 – 00:06:36.880] When they were so unhappy with it,
[00:06:37.380 – 00:06:38.120] that they…
[00:06:38.120 – 00:06:39.620] They made that decision.
[00:06:39.740 – 00:06:40.720] I have nothing to do with that.
[00:06:41.260 – 00:06:43.320] They disliked me so much,
[00:06:43.660 – 00:06:44.360] that they…
[00:06:44.360 – 00:06:45.320] I didn’t.
[00:06:45.400 – 00:06:46.340] I had nothing to do with it.
[00:06:48.280 – 00:06:49.480] Not a thing.
[00:06:53.580 – 00:06:54.340] Not a thing.
[00:06:58.340 – 00:07:05.740] As in actually burning…
[00:07:05.740 – 00:07:07.540] Burning my house or…
[00:07:07.540 – 00:07:10.620] Destroying my career.
[00:07:11.260 – 00:07:11.760] I see.
[00:07:13.480 – 00:07:15.880] Well, gee, there was this little thing
[00:07:15.880 – 00:07:18.460] that got out on the Internet about Filipinos.
[00:07:19.100 – 00:07:20.320] I wonder if he’s behind that.
[00:07:21.860 – 00:07:23.240] Now that I think about it,
[00:07:23.260 – 00:07:24.800] it came from a server.
[00:07:24.800 – 00:07:24.880] A server.
[00:07:28.340 – 00:07:29.740] That much we found out for sure.
[00:07:58.340 – 00:08:16.360] I don’t know.
[00:08:28.340 – 00:08:32.840] How long were you…
[00:08:32.840 – 00:08:50.840] There was a rumor…
[00:08:58.340 – 00:09:01.700] He wanted her killed.
[00:09:02.580 – 00:09:03.740] The story was that…
[00:09:05.740 – 00:09:07.580] That’s what was going around.
[00:09:22.380 – 00:09:23.720] Yeah, that’s what I had heard.
[00:09:28.340 – 00:09:32.400] And probably up until fairly recently.
[00:09:32.400 – 00:09:33.400] Otherwise…
[00:10:02.400 – 00:10:15.180] Or were these, like, you know,
[00:10:15.300 – 00:10:17.040] diary notes that you were making or something?
[00:10:23.820 – 00:10:24.900] Holy smokes.
[00:10:24.900 – 00:10:28.900] Yes.
[00:10:32.400 – 00:10:42.460] Look, I knew he had some emotional problems
[00:10:42.460 – 00:10:43.900] because he went through this…
[00:10:49.500 – 00:10:51.900] Then he was accused of…
[00:10:53.560 – 00:10:57.280] And there was an investigation I know about all of that.
[00:10:58.560 – 00:11:00.900] That was back in the days…
[00:11:00.900 – 00:11:02.380] And I thought that was kind of weird then.
[00:11:02.380 – 00:11:02.520] I don’t understand.
[00:11:05.080 – 00:11:05.640] Whew.
[00:11:15.140 – 00:11:16.500] Well, look, be safe.
[00:11:17.520 – 00:11:18.620] I said be safe.
[00:11:18.620 – 00:11:18.660] Be safe.
[00:11:32.380 – 00:11:40.840] We [INAUDIBLE]
[00:11:40.840 – 00:11:41.880] seldom talk to either. [INAUDIBLE]
[00:11:41.880 – 00:11:42.660] Example! [INAUDIBLE]
[00:11:42.680 – 00:11:43.540] I met a girl who was a lawyer. [INAUDIBLE]
[00:11:43.540 – 00:11:46.500] Which doesn’t blend in… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:11:46.500 – 00:11:47.260] That wasn’t really a lawyer! [INAUDIBLE]
[00:11:47.260 – 00:11:48.100] I think she was… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:11:48.100 – 00:11:49.560] Well, what about what she did? [INAUDIBLE]
[00:11:49.760 – 00:11:51.940] She was trouble making. [INAUDIBLE]
[00:11:51.960 – 00:11:52.160] Sometimes when it’d… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:11:52.160 – 00:11:53.780] Well, did he actually do anything to her? [INAUDIBLE]
[00:11:54.000 – 00:11:56.160] I was not interested in any initial differences with her. [INAUDIBLE]
[00:11:56.240 – 00:11:57.240] But I mean… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:11:57.300 – 00:11:58.960] I’d like to see her stop [INAUDIBLE]
[00:11:58.960 – 00:11:59.620] before she finished her first job. [INAUDIBLE]
[00:11:59.620 – 00:11:59.780] I… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:11:59.780 – 00:11:59.880] I, um… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:11:59.880 – 00:12:00.140] Maybe I had an issue with her work. [INAUDIBLE]
[00:12:00.140 – 00:12:00.480] And that would… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:12:00.480 – 00:12:00.960] But anyway, [INAUDIBLE]
[00:12:00.960 – 00:12:01.100] Well… [INAUDIBLE]
[00:12:01.100 – 00:12:01.120] I just got a run on you. [INAUDIBLE]
[00:12:01.120 – 00:12:01.180] I’m going to tell you, [INAUDIBLE]
[00:12:01.180 – 00:12:01.240] Erica. [INAUDIBLE]
[00:12:01.240 – 00:12:01.540] What does it do? [INAUDIBLE]
[00:12:01.540 – 00:12:10.960] Yeah, actually, that’s all it was.
[00:12:10.960 – 00:12:15.240] And actually, I was just upset with him.
[00:12:31.540 – 00:12:39.320] Yeah, I know.
[00:12:39.320 – 00:12:40.320] What the hell are you doing?
[00:12:40.320 – 00:12:49.380] I thought we just agreed.
[00:12:49.380 – 00:12:50.380] There you are.
[00:12:50.380 – 00:12:53.440] So then I sort of, for a while, I didn’t call him.
[00:12:53.440 – 00:12:54.480] I didn’t talk to him.
[00:12:54.480 – 00:12:59.140] I never said a bad word, because I don’t do that.
[00:12:59.140 – 00:13:01.380] And then…
[00:13:01.540 – 00:13:06.780] Yeah, he started…
[00:13:06.780 – 00:13:19.500] Yeah, and so obviously when he starts…
[00:13:19.500 – 00:13:23.820] Thinking it’s better just to keep my mouth shut.
[00:13:23.820 – 00:13:31.040] And so obviously when he’s…
[00:13:31.040 – 00:13:31.520] And I called him.
[00:13:31.520 – 00:13:42.280] I called him a couple of times and I said, what are you doing?
[00:13:42.280 – 00:13:43.280] Or something like that.
[00:13:43.280 – 00:13:47.080] And it would get out.
[00:13:47.080 – 00:13:48.080] And I…
[00:13:48.080 – 00:13:49.080] Yeah.
[00:13:49.080 – 00:13:54.400] Yeah, you’ve got it.
[00:14:01.520 – 00:14:14.980] And I got a call from the radio.
[00:14:14.980 – 00:14:20.280] And as far as that was concerned, that was my…
[00:14:20.280 – 00:14:22.820] Talk radio networks split away when I was purchased by Premier Radio Networks.
[00:14:22.820 – 00:14:25.480] And Talk Radio Network decided they were gonna compete with me.
[00:14:25.480 – 00:14:26.480] Talk Radio Network.
[00:14:26.480 – 00:14:27.480] And in doing so, they…
[00:14:27.480 – 00:14:28.480] And…
[00:14:28.480 – 00:14:29.480] And I…
[00:14:29.480 – 00:14:30.440] I…
[00:14:30.440 – 00:14:31.400] Yeah.
[00:14:31.400 – 00:14:33.860] I had advised you.
[00:14:51.220 – 00:14:52.060] Not by me.
[00:14:52.160 – 00:14:53.940] I didn’t have a damn thing.
[00:15:01.400 – 00:15:03.300] Well, that’s simply untrue.
[00:15:04.140 – 00:15:05.160] That’s simply untrue.
[00:15:05.340 – 00:15:07.560] But I guess…
[00:15:07.560 – 00:15:09.160] So…
[00:15:09.160 – 00:15:10.500] So be it.
[00:15:15.300 – 00:15:16.860] Look, I appreciate
[00:15:16.860 – 00:15:18.960] communicating with you, and
[00:15:18.960 – 00:15:21.660] I sure do
[00:15:21.660 – 00:15:22.480] hope you’re okay.
[00:15:27.480 – 00:15:28.240] Um…
[00:15:31.400 – 00:15:52.700] Probably you should take the
[00:15:52.700 – 00:15:53.780] that you have.
[00:15:59.940 – 00:16:01.240] I appreciate the call.
[00:16:01.400 – 00:16:02.740] I wouldn’t ask for one.
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