Reflections of George Carlin

Hosted byArt Bell

Reflections of George Carlin

About the show

In the first two hours, Art spoke about news of the day, including concerns about Y2K, which was rapidly approaching. He set up a special hotline for secretive "government agents" to call in and share revelations. One man said he had to leave the unnamed government agency he worked for because he refused to join the New World Order. Another caller said he was from the DIA, and could vet whether some of the "government agents" were genuine. Art continued the special line during the last hour.

Art's guest in the middle two hours was legendary comedian George Carlin, who discussed his career and unique outlook on life. In the middle of performing a series of shows in Las Vegas, he shared his outspoken views on a variety of topics. There's a thin veneer between civility and barbarism, he pointed out, and it wouldn't take much to push society into a 'Mad Max' scenario. Railing against consumerism and "group think," Carlin said he favors individualism and distinctive approaches to life. "I think we're a cursed species...a kind of chemical accident," he commented.

Delving into his long-running career, Carlin (who died in 2008) talked about how he was the subject of a Supreme Court case in 1978 over his use of the "seven words" during a comedy routine. He was judged to be indecent rather than obscene. "They created a whole new category of filth just for me," he quipped, adding that he was "perversely proud" to be involved in this landmark case combating censorship. He also talked about his troubles with the IRS, his popular HBO comedy specials, and how the idea of "selling out" should be viewed on a "sliding scale."

Note: There are some audio problems affecting the sound quality of some of this program.