Episode Details
Back to Episodes
April 22, 1998: The Kent Interview - Richard C. Hoagland & David John Oates
Published 2 years, 1 month ago
Description
Art Bell presents the results of an investigation into "Kent," a man who previously appeared on the program claiming to be a fired JPL courier who had seen clear photographs of artificial structures on Mars. Richard C. Hoagland details the days of follow-up communication with Kent, describing escalating panic calls from phone booths across multiple states and repeated failures to produce employment documentation.
Hoagland explains that parallel investigations by MSNBC contacts and a forensic researcher in Hawaii turned up no records of a Kent Smith at JPL and no evidence of the FedEx shipments Kent described. The breakthrough came when David John Oates performed reverse speech analysis on the original interview tape. The reversals revealed phrases suggesting a hidden agenda, references to a group conspiracy, and what Oates identifies as speech patterns matching other NASA insiders previously analyzed.
When Hoagland confronted Kent with these findings, Kent reportedly admitted he was part of a disinformation campaign targeting Art Bell and Hoagland. Kent then called the program himself, confirming the confession and claiming he worked for a government agency. He told Art that his superiors were surprised the deception was uncovered so quickly.
Hoagland explains that parallel investigations by MSNBC contacts and a forensic researcher in Hawaii turned up no records of a Kent Smith at JPL and no evidence of the FedEx shipments Kent described. The breakthrough came when David John Oates performed reverse speech analysis on the original interview tape. The reversals revealed phrases suggesting a hidden agenda, references to a group conspiracy, and what Oates identifies as speech patterns matching other NASA insiders previously analyzed.
When Hoagland confronted Kent with these findings, Kent reportedly admitted he was part of a disinformation campaign targeting Art Bell and Hoagland. Kent then called the program himself, confirming the confession and claiming he worked for a government agency. He told Art that his superiors were surprised the deception was uncovered so quickly.