December 14, 2003: Shadow Government - Harry Helms
Podcast: The Art Bell ArchivePublished On: Sun Jul 06 2025
Description: Art Bell opens with open lines following the capture of Saddam Hussein, taking calls from listeners debating whether the deposed dictator should face trial in Iraq, before an international tribunal, or in the United States. The overwhelming consensus from callers favors letting the Iraqi people try him for his crimes against their own citizens.Author Harry Helms then joins to discuss pirate radio, Cuban numbers stations broadcasting coded spy messages on shortwave frequencies, and the fight against broadband over power lines. Helms shares specific frequencies where listeners can hear the Cuban transmissions and advocates for low-power broadcasting access for ordinary citizens, comparing the restrictions on airwave use to freedoms enjoyed in print and online publishing.The conversation shifts to the shadow government, the subject of Helms' latest book. He outlines how presidential executive orders allow sweeping emergency powers, including indefinite detention of citizens, seizure of private property, and control of all broadcast media. Helms traces these authorities from the Japanese American internment camps through the Nixon and Clinton administrations, and proposes a constitutional amendment to establish transparent procedures for handling national emergencies.
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