The Karol Markowicz Show: Ben Ferguson on Media, AI, Family & Life Beyond Politics
2/13/202630 mincomplete
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2:03That's odoo .com. Hi, and welcome back to the Carol Markowitz Show on iHeartRadio.
2:16My guest today is Ben Ferguson.
2:18Ben is host of the Ben Ferguson Podcast and co -host of Verdict Podcast with
2:23Ted Cruz. Hi, Ben. So nice to have you on.
2:26It's so good to be here.
2:27And like, I get to talk about life today and not so much politics.
2:30This is like a, this is the best break ever.
2:33This is what this is all about.
2:35You know, we bring you on and we don't ask you what you thought about
2:38what Donald Trump said today.
2:39It actually confuses some people.
2:42They don't know how to get off that, like, thinking where they have to comment
2:45on news. Yeah, exactly. So your bio actually leaves out something very important, which is
2:51you are known for schooling the libs in your CNN appearances.
2:56That's, that is, that is true.
2:57That is a hard fought battle for seven years, I call it, that I was
3:01there fighting the commies and I enjoyed not every minute of it.
3:05I'm not going to lie.
3:06Right. There's, there's things that I would totally take out, like the ridiculous amount of
3:10death threats, for example, like we could leave that.
3:12Having to deal with Don Lemon on almost a nightly basis.
3:15I would love to be able to get rid of that as well.
3:18So how did you become the guy that argues with the liberals on CNN?
3:24How did you get to do this, you know, thing of ours?
3:27Yeah, no. So I started in radio when I was 12 by accident.
3:31And then I started in TV when I was 17.
3:34Wow. The pitch was actually funny.
3:37It was a guy calls and he's like, hey, I'm the producer of this TV
3:41show. It's not available for you to watch in Memphis yet on cable.
3:45This is the real pitch.
3:46And he said, he goes, anyway, the host though is really dynamic.
3:50He is the former host of Inside Edition.
3:52Now, if you're real astute, you're going to know who I'm talking about with that
3:55tidbit. He goes, so the show's called The O 'Reilly Factor and the host is
4:00Bill O 'Reilly. Would you come on?
4:02And so. Wait, Bill O 'Reilly hosted Inside Edition?
4:05Yes. I didn't know that.
4:06Wow. You see? So that was the pitch.
4:08They were not pitching Fox at that point because Fox had just become a thing.
4:12And they were right. They sent me my first appearance on Bill O 'Reilly's show
4:15on a beta tape. I kid you not.
4:17So I had to find someone with a beta player to even play the appearance
4:20when I was 17 on a show.
4:21How did they find you?
4:22They'd see me on CNN in a clip that had gone viral.
4:27At 17 already? Wow. I'm going to have to look that up.
4:29Yeah. It was really funny.
4:30And his politically astute question, which I give him hell about every time I talk
4:35to him, he comes on my show like every year when he has his new
4:38bestseller that comes out, you know, around Christmas.
4:40And his first question he asked me was after, like, asked me a couple of
4:43weeks, he's like, by the way, do your friends think you're a dork?
4:46And I'm like, seriously? Like, that's what you're going to come at?
4:48And I'm like, no, they actually don't.
4:50My friends think you're a dork.
4:51Yeah, exactly. And he's like, no, no, but do they think you're kind of a
4:54dork? Like, you talk politics.
4:55I'm like, well, I also play basketball on the varsity team and I play tennis.
4:59I'm going to go play in college.
5:00Like, but yeah, that was my first big question from a guy named Bill O
5:04'Reilly. So if you've never watched the clip, have you ever seen a clip where
5:07Bill goes, we're going to do it live, F it.
5:10Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Go back and watch the clip.
5:12That is on the set of Inside Edition.
5:14That was not at Fox.
5:15Okay, yeah. No, I did not know that.
5:16Full circle for you, Carol.
5:17Full circle. I feel like I've already learned a lot and we just kicked this
5:21off. I love it. Amazing.
5:22So you've always wanted to do this.
5:23This. I mean, since you were basically a child, was there even a plan B?
5:29Like, what were you thinking?
5:31So I started when I was 12.
5:32I'll tell you that story very quickly.
5:34My mom was listening to talk radio.
5:35Now, this is before talk radio stations were mainly conservative talk.
5:39It was just new. Rush Limbaugh was new.
5:42And there was a station in Memphis.
5:43And it was a smorgasbord of shows.
5:45There was a liberal from the city council.
5:47There was another liberal from the county commission.
5:49And, like, the mayor had a show.
5:51And it was just kind of like they were figuring out what talk radio was.
5:54And a lot of people don't realize this.
5:55Like, there were stations in America where Limbaugh and Howard Stern were on the same
5:59station. Wow. I know. It's crazy.
6:02So I was 12. And in 1993, 94, they were talking about the school lunch
6:07program. I was in the back seat.
6:08My mom was listening. And Richard Gephardt held up a bottle of ketchup.
6:12It was a famous moment.
6:14And he said, is this what the Republicans are going to call a vegetable now?
6:18Now, I didn't understand Republican or Democrat then.
6:22I just understood right and wrong.
6:23And I said to my mom, I was like, Mom, there's no way somebody would
6:26do that to kids. And she was a schoolteacher.
6:29So her thing was, yes, this is a way for him to learn.
6:32She goes, well, why don't you find out if you're right?
6:34So I called our congressman at the time, a guy named Ed Bryant, his local
6:38office. I asked if they could send me the bill.
6:41This is in Tennessee, in Memphis?
6:41In Memphis, Tennessee. And so they sent me a copy of the bill where they
6:45FedExed it, actually, to my dad's office on that old roll paper, the old roll
6:48fax paper. And so, oh, yeah, like a scroll, right?
6:51So I literally read the whole bill.
6:55And I found out that what Richard Gephardt and the Democrats were calling a cut
6:59was the difference between Republicans.
7:01They want to increase school lunch funding by 3 .6 percent.
7:05And the Democrats wanted it by 4 .1.
7:08Both were increases, but Democrats are calling the difference between the 3 .6 and the
7:124 .1 a cut, even though they're both increasing it significantly higher than the cost
7:18of living increase. And so I read it and I asked my mom, I said,
7:22can I call into this lady's show?
7:25Wow. She said yes. And so this is the next day.
7:28So I called. I was on hold.
7:29She finally put me on the air.
7:30And I said to the lady, her name was Janice Fullylove.
7:33And I said, she was a city council member.
7:35And I said, ma 'am, I said, I just want to call.
7:38And I think you need to apologize to your audience for lying to them yesterday.
7:43And she started yelling at me.
7:45Well, don't yell at a kid whose voice hasn't changed.
7:47It just sounds bad. It's just like life advice 101.
7:52Like, just don't. And I said to her, I said, have you read the bill?
7:56And she said, no, no one reads the bill.
7:58And I said, well, that's also a lie.
8:00I read the bill. And maybe before you're on the radio and act like you're
8:03an expert, you should probably read the bill.
8:05Wow. That is cool. It was a fun moment.
8:08But like, I was doing it a respectful way.
8:10I wasn't there to be a jerk.
8:12Like, it was just honest, raw, back and forth.
8:15And I read the bill part to her and basically schooled her.
8:18I didn't even know what that meant.
8:19And another show heard it.
8:22They played that audio clip on their show that afternoon.
8:26And they said, if anyone knows who this Ben kid is, tell them we're talking
8:29about him and please call him.
8:31My parents' phone started blowing up the landline at home.
8:33People that were hearing this, I called into that show.
8:36They interviewed me and asked if I'd ever seen a radio studio.
8:39I said, no. They asked me to come down the next day.
8:41I did. The phone lines were jammed when I was there.
8:44And I was supposed to be on for 15 minutes, ended up being on for
8:46about an hour and a half.
8:47And they said, could you come back tomorrow?
8:49I said, I have to ask my parents.
8:50They're in the minivan outside.
8:51So my parents said, yes.
8:53I came back the next day.
8:54And then a week later, I came back again.
8:56They hired me a week after that.
8:57And the rest, as they say, is history.
8:58That is incredible. Incredible. And I never really thought I was going to do this.
9:02I actually, so I played tennis in college.
9:05And I was convinced I was going to go pro in tennis.
9:08Like that was my, if you ask me what was my dream, that was my
9:12dream. And then in 20, gosh, what was that?
9:1520, no, 2003, HarperCollins and Simon Schuster had reached out about me writing a book.
9:23I was doing a lot of TV then.
9:23I was still in college.
9:25So I didn't play tennis anymore.
9:26I wrote a book going my senior, the summer going into my senior year, took
9:30a semester off, wrote a book, and then went straight to the Bush campaign in
9:3404 and then to D .C., White House, et cetera.
9:36I mean, I've heard stories about people starting young, but this is like really young.
9:42Yeah, it was young. It was young.
9:43So I laugh now because we're like, man, you're having a good career.
9:45And I'm like, I'd hope so.
9:46I've been doing it for 40 years almost.
9:49I feel like I'm ready for retirement.
9:51You're like, and I am 40.
9:52Yeah, I'm like, I'm ready for retirement.
9:53Like, I feel like I've been working longer than my adult life, literally.
9:57Right. So were your parents political at all?
10:00No, like not at all.
10:01Like, I mean, no more than anybody else.
10:04Like, it was not like a center point.
10:06I mean, it was truly, I would say, God thing that she happened to be
10:10listening that day that I was paying attention in the back of the car.
10:13And then what I fell in love with was I always love to talk and
10:16I like to have an opinion.
10:18And radio was the great way for someone younger to have an opinion and be
10:22taken seriously based on the words you're saying, not based on your appearance.
10:25Because if it was on TV or in person, like, what do you know, kid?
10:28Go play with your friends at the playground.
10:29Right. But I could have an opinion on the radio and people would actually listen
10:34to me and what I was saying and judge me on my words, not based
10:38on my looks or appearance of being a kid.
10:40So are you still thinking about a second career in tennis?
10:42No, I, yeah, I wish that would be amazing.
10:45I, I, I've finally given it up.
10:47No, I had a lot of friends.
10:48I was very blessed that made it onto the pro tour.
10:51I got to. live vicariously through them for years and go to tournaments and watch
10:55them. Most of them have now all retired.
10:57I've got a couple of friends who's actually one of my friends, little brothers is
11:02in the semifinals at the Australian Open right now in doubles.
11:04Christian Harrison from, from down in Florida.
11:07So if you, it's a really cool story.
11:09He had a bunch of surgeries, bunch of injuries and kind of his last chance
11:12at it and is now ranked top 10 in the world in doubles.
11:15So like you, I still hold on a little bit to, you know, those types.
11:19But most of my friends now are commentators on ESPN.
11:21Our Tennis Channel. So that's when you know, you're getting old.
11:24Well, I don't know, you know, Buck Sexton had a whole thing where he was
11:27going to hit a hundred mile an hour tennis ball.
11:30I was instrumental in teaching him, you got to use your legs.
11:33And he did it. Yeah, no, he did it.
11:34Exactly right. I think if Buck Sexton can, you know, wake up one day and
11:38hit a hundred mile an hour tennis ball, I think it's not too late for
11:41that tennis career. Not that I want to get rid of you, you know, just,
11:47you've been doing, you've been doing this a while, you know, when everybody says like,
11:51what are you going to do when you retire?
11:53So my, like when, when radio and TV and commentating got so toxic and I
11:57was at CNN at the end, it was when Bush, his first term, excuse me,
12:02Trump's first term was going on.
12:03I'd been there seven years.
12:04I actually just wanted something to get away from the political world.
12:08So I love barbecue. I'm from Memphis.
12:10I started a barbecue restaurant.
12:11Oh, wow. And so Tennessee or in Memphis.
12:14Yeah. Cause if you can't make it in Memphis, you can't make it right.
12:17That's the best in the world.
12:17And so I had a gun range gun store and a barbecue restaurant all under
12:22one roof. So where do you find the time?
12:25It was awesome. And so I had that for, I owned that for four plus
12:28years sold at last January.
12:31But then I opened with one of my best friends, another one called blue suede
12:35barbecue and Pinehurst. So it's really cool.
12:39North Carolina, excuse me. So yeah, it's really a, yeah, I'm still in that.
12:42It's just a way food brings people together.
12:44And it was a great outlet for me just to not be in such a
12:48toxic environment where it was just, it'd gotten so nasty being at CNN and everybody
12:53hating on you and yelling at you every day that you're racist, homophobe, all the
12:56name calling, you know how it was.
12:58Right. And so that was my outlet.
12:59So I, you seem like you enjoyed that.
13:02I love, Oh my gosh, there's nothing more fun than cooking for people because politics
13:06doesn't matter. When you cook, it's either good food or bad.
13:09I meant you enjoyed being called all those names.
13:12Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
13:14You have to get numb to it at some point.
13:16That's for sure. But there's also just a fatigue.
13:18I think it was just such a pressure cooker then it's better now.
13:22Like, you know, you look at Scott Jennings, for example, a good friend of mine.
13:25He's now a hero of the right.
13:27But when I was there, people were yelling at me, you're fake news for being
13:30on, for being on. And now it's changed where it's like, you're a hero for
13:34going there and fighting the commies.
13:35Yeah. And so that's nice.
13:37I tell Scott, I'm like, dude, I warmed it up for you for seven years.
13:41You really did. Yeah. I took all the hell.
13:42Now you're the hero. Like, I feel like I need a 10 % from your
13:45career earnings now. I think that's fair.
13:47Really? Right. Exactly. How did you get into doing a show with Ted Cruz?
13:51Were you just natural, like fit together?
13:54No. So he started that show originally with Michael Knowles, who's a good friend over
13:59at the Daily Wire. And they were doing it once a week and, and they
14:03wanted to expand it and make it kind of bigger.
14:07And they needed there to be more days to grow it.
14:10And so I was approached and asked about it.
14:12I live in Houston. I've known Ted for, gosh, a long time since he ran
14:17for Senate his first time around against David Dewhurst.
14:20And so I was doing mornings in Dallas at that time.
14:23We got to know each other.
14:24Ice Bucket challenged him, for example, and he accepted it.
14:26I mean, that's how far back we go.
14:28So, and so, yeah, so I've, I've, I've witnessed him throw a bucket of water
14:32that was freezing cold on him.
14:33I enjoyed every moment of that.
14:34And so we had a meeting and a conversation and they wanted to expand it.
14:38And so we talked and it ended up working out where we've been able to
14:42do the show three days a week.
14:44Now it's a, it's a really a big priority of his.
14:46We do it on video, which also makes it really fun.
14:49And, and now we've gotten into a radio show where it's syndicated around the country
14:52as well on a bunch of, we're on over 200 stations around the country as
14:56well on the weekend. And so it just kind of grew.
14:59I mean, he's one of my best friends.
15:00We spend a ton of time together.
15:01I mean, five, six hours a week.
15:02That's a lot of time.
15:03Yeah. And so, yeah, I enjoy every moment of it.
15:06Is it specifically on legal topics?
15:09Like I've listened to your, your show, but I have to admit I haven't heard
15:12the verdict, even though Ted Cruz has been on this show, which I really, I
15:15have to rectify that. Yeah.
15:17We, I, you know what?
15:18I know a guy. We can probably make that happen.
15:19We can work on that.
15:20No, it, we talk honestly, a lot about politics, but from a very different perspective,
15:25like what's happening in DC, what's happening in the hearings, what's happening in the, in
15:30the, at the Republican Senate luncheon that they have every week, what are they talking
15:34about with confirmation hearings? It really kind of takes you behind the curtain.
15:38It's, I call it the wizard of Oz moment where instead of hearing, you know,
15:43anonymous sources and speculation, you're really getting like the facts.
15:47Like we were able to talk about confirmation hearings in a way that no one
15:51else was because he's voting on it and he's in the committee.
15:54And he's like, this one's going to work.
15:56Like when they were saying that, you know, Pete Hedget, for example, may not make
16:00it. That was a great example.
16:01Cash Patel. He's like, no, he's going to make it.
16:03Like, okay. Like, like I had zero worries because he's in the room.
16:08He's like, no, he's going to make it.
16:09Like, I'm not worried about this one.
16:10Let's move on to the next one.
16:11You know, it's cool because we get to have conversations like early on we had,
16:15Elon Musk on for over an hour at the white house in his office.
16:19in the EOB, the Doge office, talking about all the corruption he had found.
16:24And so that's one of the big perks of it is, you know, when Senator
16:27Cruz asks you to come on, you're probably going to say yes.
16:29And we've gotten to have some really fun and big conversations.
16:32Some aren't even political. Like we had Bruce Pearl, who's the former basketball coach, as
16:37you know, Tennessee, and then ended his career at Auburn.
16:39And he's talking about the NIL, but he's also Jewish.
16:42And he was talking a lot about what's going on in Israel.
16:44And so that's one of those really fun episodes that is not, I say it's
16:49non -political. It's more of a human being having a conversation, talking about what makes
16:53someone like that tick. I love human beings having conversations.
16:56That's what it's all about, really.
16:58Yeah, it really is. We're going to take a quick break and be right back
17:02on The Carol Markowitz Show.
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20:38What are you most proud of in your life?
20:41I mean, no doubt, my boys.
20:44How old? I've got three boys.
20:46I've got a nine -year -old and twins that are six, about to be seven.
20:51Wow. And they're the most fun.
20:53I mean, I love what I do.
20:55I absolutely love being a dad.
20:58It is no doubt, I would say, my number one priority.
21:01I've said no to some really cool things and not thought twice about saying no
21:05to spend time with them.
21:06I think in life, it's funny.
21:07I have friends or dads, you either love it and embrace it or you kind
21:11of don't. I don't see a lot in between.
21:13And like, I wanted to be a dad.
21:15I had, I was lucky.
21:17I grew up with a dad that loved being a dad as well and was
21:19very present. And so that was kind of my goal was to be the same
21:23thing. And they love sports.
21:24So that also makes it really easy to spend time together.
21:27Like one of my sons has been ranked as high as second in the world
21:30in golf. And my six -year -old is ranked seventh in the world right now.
21:33In golf? In golf, yeah.
21:35And so they're kind of, they're kind of freaks.
21:37They beat their dad legitimately.
21:38It's very annoying to hear your six -year -old and nine -year -old trash talk
21:42you and then they can back it up.
21:43But it's fun to watch.
21:44So I get to caddy for them.
21:46They get to go to am.
21:46you're gonna run at at the hospital and he's gonna run over you right now
21:46and let's go uh I looking out to another Encounter to find out to another
21:47place where he wants you to go uh to get picked up over.
21:47All over the country, they get invited to go to tournaments all over the world.
21:49We just don't travel internationally yet because they're nine and six.
21:52And that's insane to me.
21:53But it's cool. They get invited.
21:54So yeah, they get free stuff sent to our house.
21:59So like I try to steal some of their golf balls that get sent and
22:01things like that, which is pretty awesome.
22:03That is so cool. Do you show them like videos of Ben Ferguson owns libs
22:07on CNN? Like, you know, it's respect, you know?
22:10Right. Yeah. No, it's funny.
22:12What they care about is hilarious.
22:14Like they'll watch sometimes for like three or four minutes and then they're done.
22:18They move on. But there's like little things that are fun.
22:22So my oldest, he got sponsored by Adidas.
22:25And that was like a full circle moment because I was sponsored by Adidas for
22:29like, I don't know, four or five years.
22:31Crazy. These young kids sponsored by Adidas.
22:33You have a radio show when you're 12.
22:35I know. I feel like such a loser.
22:38Please start them young. But like that was a moment where I told my son,
22:42I was like, look, I'm not going to pull any strings.
22:44You got to earn it.
22:45Whatever comes, comes. And so the guy with Adidas was like, hey, we'd love to,
22:49you know, help him with shoes and gear.
22:51So cool. And I was like, all right, well, now that you're asking.
22:54And then I sent him a picture of me at a national tournament with my
22:56coaches all wearing Adidas stuff from, you know, 30 years ago.
23:00And that was a cool moment.
23:01Like when things like that, like I do think the cool thing is they have,
23:04they work really hard and they love it.
23:07And that's kind of when you see that DNA, like I had to work extremely
23:11hard to play college tennis and put in ridiculous hours.
23:15I wasn't fast. I always have struggled with my weight.
23:18And so like I've had to like, I just had to work really hard on
23:21speed and agility to even like hang.
23:24And it's fun to see them not struggle with as many things and just get
23:28to watch them perform. So it's pretty awesome.
23:31Awesome. Really, really cool. Give us a five -year out prediction.
23:34Could be about anything at all.
23:36I think AI is going to change the world.
23:39I think five years from now.
23:40For the better or for the worse?
23:41I think probably for the better.
23:43I think there's going to be growing pains of job sectors where jobs are lost.
23:48But there's always been that.
23:49I mean, manufacturing is a great example of that.
23:51And different things that have changed in this country.
23:54I'm not afraid of it.
23:55I think you embrace it.
23:57And I think there's always going to, you're still going to need human beings.
24:00But I do think, I'm still amazed by this stupid thing in my hand.
24:04Like, we're all walking around with a supercomputer in our hands.
24:09Just insane to me. Like, the amount of knowledge that we have, the amount of
24:13information that we have, for me is just, like, I'm still in awe.
24:17I think we take it for granted, like, what you have in your hand.
24:20And like, so I think AI is going to just fundamentally change things.
24:23I think it's going to do amazing work in the medical field.
24:26I was talking to a CEO the other day.
24:28He said he believes AI will save more lives than all doctors in history combined.
24:33And he said because what AI can connect dots and can connect symptoms and connect
24:40family histories and tell you what to look for.
24:43He said when we get it down where we can basically load in your medical
24:47history, your family's medical history, your blood work, and different things that have happened and
24:52be able to see what you're at risk of and then what these doctors can
24:55really look for. Or he was saying it's going to totally revolutionize medicine.
24:59He also thinks we'll be able to cure cancer and things like that because of
25:03AI. Yeah. And things that we may not have even seen are different treatments that
25:08can work and how fast it can help people around the world.
25:10So I think probably five years from now.
25:13You're optimistic. I am. I'm optimistic.
25:14Every technology has always been used for evil, too.
25:18I'm a realist in that.
25:20I don't think you stop technology or stop learning because of fear.
25:24I think you're going to have limitations.
25:26I think there's going to be bad things that happen because of AI.
25:28No doubt about it. But I also think the upside of it, I think there's
25:32more good people in the world than bad.
25:33That's part of, like, I have faith in humanity that we're going to be okay.
25:38I love that. Ben, this has been so much fun.
25:41I have loved getting to know you more.
25:43Really one of my favorite episodes because, wow, did I not know enough about you
25:46before this started. You're sweet.
25:48Thank you for having me on.
25:49I was so excited. Leave us here with your best tip from my listeners on
25:54how they can improve their lives.
25:56Spend time with your friends and with your family.
26:00Put this stupid thing down, that supercomputer down.
26:03It makes me so sad to see how many lives have been ruined and families
26:06and relationships because you go out to dinner and you see four people at the
26:10table doing this. The worst.
26:11I hate it. One of my favorite things, and I challenge people to do this
26:14so you see how addicted you are to your phone, is go to dinner with
26:18your friends. And everybody put their phone in the middle of the table.
26:21And the first person to look at their phone has to pay for dinner.
26:23Oh, that's good. And you will realize how addicted you are to checking the buzz
26:27and the ping and the ding and how unpresent you are with your friends and
26:31with your family. Like, I would challenge people to do that.
26:33But I think, you know, for me, just being present and spending time with your
26:39family and your friends, you don't know when it's over.
26:41I've lost a couple of friends to suicide, unfortunately, dear friends.
26:44One of them was my college roommate.
26:46One was one of my dear friends that was – it was a public case.
26:50He was a PGA Tour golfer.
26:51He's a dear friend of mine, Grayson Murray, that took his own life a little
26:54over a year ago now.
26:55And I – well, thank you.
26:57But I challenge people to not take your kids for granted, not take your friends
27:04for granted. Ask them the tough questions.
27:06How are you doing and mean it when you ask it.
27:09Be cheerleaders for your people.
27:11Show up for your people.
27:13I try to be really present.
27:14With my kids, I try to spend quality time with them, but like put the
27:18phone down. And I look, I work on my phone.
27:20My phone's my office. Yeah.
27:22And sometimes I have to remind myself.
27:24Right. But I think this thing ruins people's, it ruins great conversations and it ruins
27:28getting to know a human being as a human being.
27:31So my biggest challenge to people is spend quality time with your kids.
27:34You only get them for a couple of years and check on your family and
27:37your friends, because if they're struggling and hurting right now, a lot of people keep
27:40it internally and that can turn into terrible things.
27:43So check on them. Such good advice.
27:45Thank you so much. He is Ben Ferguson.
27:47Check out the Ben Ferguson podcast.
27:49Thank you so much for coming on, Ben.
27:50Thanks for having me. Good to see you.
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