Podcast:The Art Bell Archive Published On: Wed Sep 10 2025 Description: Art Bell sits down with polymath Howard Bloom, author of Global Brain, for a wide-ranging discussion that connects Michael Jackson's genius to Osama bin Laden's apocalyptic ideology. Bloom, who managed Jackson's public image in the mid-1980s, describes the pop star as the most astonishing person he has ever met, possessing an almost supernatural capacity for wonder and appreciation. He argues that manipulative handlers isolated Jackson from reality, turning his deliberate eccentricities into genuine dysfunction.The conversation shifts dramatically as Bloom draws a parallel between two figures he calls the greatest idealists on the planet. He outlines bin Laden's theology in detail, explaining how the Al-Qaeda leader views Western democracy, human rights, and secular law as enslavement to Satan. Bloom warns that bin Laden's speeches recruit students worldwide to join jihad in Iraq, a message largely unreported by American media.Bloom delivers his most alarming revelation about French-built Agosta 90B stealth submarines sold to Pakistan, each carrying 16 cruise missiles with nuclear capability. These submarines feature liquid oxygen propulsion systems that allow them to remain submerged for 60 days without surfacing, making them virtually undetectable. He questions whether Pakistan's military dictator Pervez Musharraf truly controls these assets or serves as a puppet shielding bin Laden's access to nuclear weapons.