Ian Punett - was Coast to Coast A.M.'s Weekend Host Drunk, Drugged or Did He Have a Stroke?

Ian Punnett's Mental Meltdown - Millions of insomniacs were shocked and more than a little dismayed at the odd but brief conversation between Coast to Coast A.M.'s weekday host, George Noory, and the weekend host, Ian Punnett.

Ian Punnett ordinarily checks in the night before his weekend show, has a brief bit of banter with Noory and then gives a brief promo of his topics and guests for the following night. But last Friday night, things got a little surreal when Punnett's dialogue suddenly turned to unintelligible gibberish - almost like he was possessed!

Even Noory, who couldn't possibly be surprised by much of anything considering the topics covered on his radio show, seemed a little taken aback by Punnett's babbling and cut him off abruptly and without further ado. The audience, myself among them, was left to wonder if we really heard what we thought we heard; if Ian Punnett was drunk, or drugged, had he had a stroke ... or was he, in the spirit of all things Coast to Coast, had he suddenly been possessed?!

The following night, Punnett was back on the air in his usual time slot. But he was well aware of the bizarre conversation that had gone out over the airwaves reaching millions of people worldwide. He seemed to me more than a little rattled by it and more than a little embarrassed. Still, as the true professional he is, he talked about what had happened, played the tape of his discombobulated chatter and opened himself up for whatever response his audience might have.

As Mr. Punnett put it, he had and has no real idea what happened to cause that. A Christian minister, Punnett neither drinks nor takes drugs. What he remembers is sitting in his home office waiting to do that routine promo phone call for the following night's Coast to Coast A.M. show, then taking the call from the radio producer and waited on the line until George Noory came on. He remembered the beginning of the conversation, then suddenly his recollection stopped and all he knew is that Mr. Noory cut him off when he didn't feel he was finished promo-ing the upcoming show, something he felt was a little rude as he couldn't understand why he was cut short.

Mr. Punnett explained that the station producer called him back and asked him what was wrong but that he was unaware of any problem. He then went on to work in his office, fully awake and coherent, for another hour and a half before going to bed.

Over the course of the two weekend shows, many Coast to Coast and Ian Punnett fans called in with concerns and well wishes and ideas about what may have caused this little mental meltdown. Some feared he had had a stroke, others thought that he may have been so tired he may have fallen suddenly into R.E.M. sleep and wound up, in essence, talking in his sleep and basically narrating his dream to George Noory on the phone.

Indeed, Punnett explained that he has been suffering from tinnitus, a condition that causes loud ringing in the ears and has kept him from getting any regular or deep sleep for months. A caller who purported to be a nurse who had worked in a sleep research clinic years earlier called in and told him that his bizarre banter sounded just like what she used to hear from sleep disorder patients when they were awakened from deep R.E.M. sleep for testing. Another woman described it as sounding just like her husband or boyfriend who apparently often talks in his sleep.

Having heard the strange conversation the first night and then listening to the tape several times since, it was a strange, disconnected narration that included talk about the Hoover (vaccuum cleaner?), the driveway and taking his shirt off over and over again. When delving into all this more, Mr. Punnett explained that his teenage son frequently goes around with his shirt off, showing off his physique and that perhaps this is why his brain made that particular connection.

All in all, it was an extremely odd conversation - even for Coast to Coast A.M. I'm happy if it wasn't a stroke or something more serious. I'm glad that Ian Punnett is all right. And I'm glad, given the strange and eery topics so often covered on the show, that Ian Punnett wasn't possessed! As with most things, even if they seem extremely eery and out of the realm of the known, there is often a simple, very human explanation.

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