November 17, 2024 • 34 mins
Ben Maller & Alex Teichert (in for Danny G.) have Mail Bag fun for your Sunday! All questions sent in by new listeners & P1's of the #MallerMilitia! Download, subscribe, and remember that sharing is caring (unless it's an STD.) Follow Ben on Twitter @BenMaller and listen to the original terrestrial radio edition of "Ben Maller Show," Monday-Friday on Fox Sports Radio, 2a-6a ET, 11p-3a PT!...Follow, rate & review "The Fifth Hour!"
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Cut booms.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
If you thought four hours a day, twelve hundred minutes
a week was enough, think again. He's the last remnants
of the old republic, a sole fashion of fairness. He
treats crackheads in the ghetto cutter the same as the
rich pill poppers in the penthouse. Wow. The Clearinghouse of
hot takes break free for something special. The Fifth Hour
(00:23):
with Ben Maller starts right now.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
In the air everywhere. It's a football Sunday, National Football League,
and this is the unofficial pregame show to your football Sunday.
Here the Fifth Hour with me, Ben Mahler. Danny g
is away on assignment on a tropical island, far far away,
and so in his place we have my friend Alex
(00:53):
ty Shirt, Alex the vegan as I like footballer. Yeah, you,
thank you for that. Very nice years. The seventeenth day
of November and I did not finish the Malard travelog,
so I wanted to start with that again. I talked
about the malor meat greet, talked about the barbecue a
(01:14):
little bit. But on this Sunday morning. Now you've known
me for a few years now, Alex, you know that
I am not a morning person doing the overnight show.
I go to bed in the morning. Yes, I have
crackhead hours. I don't wake up in the morning for
anything other than maybe a plane, right, maybe a plane.
(01:37):
So on Saturday, we did the Mallor meat greet. We
had a great time, went out, had some app We
were so full from the Mallard chicken fingers. They're so
big that we just had some appetizers and a couple
of drinks and then that was it and called it
a night. Because I had on NFL Sunday, Week ten
of the NFL season, we had had a four thirty
(02:02):
am wake up call.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Stop it.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Yeah, four thirty am wake up call on a Sunday.
And it wasn't to go to church. Well, it was
the Church of Pigskin is what it was. So get
up at four thirty. Uh, your wife has to get
ready and all that she had to get prepared for
the day. I had to wake up because I was
driving the rental. So we drove and we met up
(02:27):
outside a Bass Pro shop somewhere in Kansas. And I'm
not exactly sure what town in Kansas, but it was
right across the border. So we we meet. The meet
point is the place we meet. The meeting point is
I think we were meeting at six am was the time.
So we left it. The left hotel at five thirty,
(02:49):
got up at four thirty, left hotel at five thirty,
got there at six o'clock. We parked the car and
I met my friend Bob, the radio guy, and his
buddy Ralph. These are all his friends, so Ralph, his kid.
Bob's family was there, his daughters, his wife. There were
(03:10):
some other people that were there as well that are friends.
And Ralph pulls up in a Kansas City Chiefs mini bus,
which is amazing. It's painted for you know, obviously Chiefs
colors and all that. And this is the tailgate bus.
We're there to tailgate.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Right stop it.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Yeah. So I have been tailgating a couple of times,
but never like this. It's just different. And so we
leave our cars. I guess I shouldn't say that part
out loud, but we leave our cars outside the bass
Pro shops. Okay, we get on the little short bus.
I've been on a short bus before. I know a
thing or two about short buses. Yeah. So I get
(03:54):
on there and this thing is is painted, it's it's
got the Chiefs Red He's got all kinds of sayings,
Chiefs Kingdom, super Bowl Champions on the side, right and
all that. So we're driving it's still dark out at
at six am, and we're just seeing the sunrise as
(04:16):
we're driving through Kansas back into Missouri, and I watched
the sunrise. We got to Arrowhead. The gates weren't even
open yet we got there. By the time we got
to Arrowhead, it's probably about six thirty or so, six
thirty six forty five. The gates opened at seven thirty
(04:36):
in the morning. So we're there's a line of cars
to get into tailgates. There's no way at Yeah, this
ridiculous hour it was. It was nuts. So we're waiting
there and Ralph Wreckett, Ralph the guy the different record, Ralph,
not the radio record, Ralph, it's a different record, olaha exactly.
So he's kind of starting up the barbecue in the back,
(04:58):
trying to get the the thing ready and the smoker
hit a smoker, and then we are seven thirty the
gates open. It's a mad dash, right, everyone's you know,
scrambling to get their cars placed and the griddle and
the barbecues out and all that stuff, and you know,
right there, and I didn't have to do anything. I
just sat in the bus. Everyone did everything. You know.
(05:19):
I was just a guest, so I didn't have to
worry about it. And by the gates open at seven thirty.
By eight am, we are ready to go. We are
eating Smokehouse barbecue. I know you don't like barbecue, but
for the rest of us who like barbecue, can my
Bob's favorite barbecue place. Now, when you go to a place,
(05:42):
you've got to go where the locals go. Yes, always,
And I don't live there. My friend Bob Fescal of
the Morning Guy loves Smokehouse barbecue. I just cannot say
enough good things about it. And I was like, oh whatever,
it's probably just like all these other places A dime
a dozen. And no, I don't even like chili. I
refuse often to eat chili. But they serve barbecue brisket
(06:06):
chili at eight in the morning, and it please the
greatest thing I've ever eaten, no way. And then they
had burnt ends, barbecued burnt ends, which were delicious as well.
And I'm drinking alcohol and eating barbecue and all that,
and I paused my fast. I said rare and appropriate,
and I did a shorter fast and just had a
(06:27):
wonderful time walked around great people watching, Alex, I can imagine.
Are you usually go out to the forest by yourself?
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Yes, I don't.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
You don't strike me as a people watch like a
human zoo doesn't really interest you?
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Am I not anymore? No, you're correct.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
It used to like I used to be very enamored
by Disneyland trips here in SoCal or going to the
B Trick, et cetera. But I have It's funny you
mentioned that I have completely one eighty and I prefer
to be exclusively alone or with my lady and we
go do something, but we prefer to do it by ourselves,
like when we go to the Hot Springs or something.
It's on a week day. Like we don't like to
be around other people because it's almost like the energy
(07:04):
conflicts now with where we're going. And especially when you
say people watching, I'm pretty sure I've seen it all
at this point, so there's not much.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
More to see.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Yeah, No, I have noticed, like like I think you're
moving more towards like unibomber status where you live in
a shack in Montana. I would love to call me
your hermit's way away from everyone and just send like
explosive letters. I don't know if I'll do that part,
but yeah, I do want my own little place away
from it all. That's self sustainable. I just want to
(07:30):
have my own ecosystem.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Basically off the grid. Oh yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Have you picked a state you're gonna move to?
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Well, Ben, if it's off the grid, I can't tell
you that, can I?
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Well no, I mean you can tell me, okay, because
I mean it's off the grid. I won't be able
to find off the grid around the woods somewhere in Montana.
I mean, I love you, I consider you a friend,
I like you a lot. You're You're important, thank you,
but not that important. I'm not going to the moods
of Montana.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Go on, what if I have brisket at eight am
for you?
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Well, I mean maybe then maybe then will consider it.
But I I'm an introvert, as you know, but I
love from time to time going to Venice Beach and
wandering around and looking at all the weirdos, all the
my fellow human beings.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
Right Ben, I'm telling you, this is the one thing
that COVID took from us and it'll never happen again.
Was the three am Walmart trips. Those were where you
could see some of the most interesting people in the world.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Yeah. Well, the good news is even at three in
the afternoon at Walmart, you still see some very interesting, right,
human beings, some very interesting.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Questionable human beings. Are you really human? I don't know
right now.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Yeah, so we we tailgated from eight in the morning
when the foods was served, until about eleven eleven fifteen
Kansas City time. Because being in the Midwest, I'm not
used to this. Obviously, in California and most of my
experiences on the East Coast or the West. On the
East coast, the games kick off at one o'clock, but
(09:02):
in Kansas City it's an hour before hour back from
Eastern time. So the game kicked off at noon. And
the Chiefs have been so good. How good have they been?
The Chiefs have been so good that they normally play
later in the day. They normally play at three o'clock
or at seven o'clock. They don't typically play at noon.
(09:25):
So this is like a rare treat. People can get
up early and celebrate and eat and be merry and
drink and all that stuff, and the game starts at noon,
and so we got into the stadium about eleven twenty
or so. Never been to Arrowhead awesome, watched many games
my childhood on big national TV games and saw some
(09:48):
great moments there, certainly recently with the Chiefs. So got
in and settled in. Had seats at the fifty yard line,
which are I know you're not a football guy, Alex,
those are primo seats. Why primo seats? I got hooked up.
I got spoiled. I did. I got spoiled. Bob and
(10:09):
the guys in Kansas City from ninety six point five
to the fan, they took good care of me, really
good care. So it was. It was awesome at a
great time, and all that watched the game he had
access to. Bob and the station have a luxury box,
so we were able to go in there from time
(10:30):
to time and hang out with some of the executives
from the radio station and some of the you know,
the big advertisers were there and I got to schmooze
and had at a fine time. And the game came
down to the very end and Denver looked like they
were gonna win. It was all set up, and then
(10:51):
the Chiefs blocked the field goal on the final play
of the game and procured a two point win, and
the crowd went wild. It was my my guy, Bob Fesco,
the Morning Guy. I was standing behind him as that
play unfolded. And the thing that I will remember for
years and years is when the Chiefs won the game,
(11:14):
it was like watching one of those televangelists on TV,
because it was it was insane his reacit. It was
like it was like a religious experience, you know what
I mean, You know, as somebody's like shaking feeling joy
and it's like.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
There's no way.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Yeah, you get that from if you're really invested in sports,
you get that. And you know, there's not a lot
of things in life that can give you that feeling,
you know what I mean. I mean, I don't know
what you for you like in your world? What what
gives you that kind of feeling?
Speaker 4 (11:47):
Maybe out hugging a tree, a fresh redwood that hasn't
been hugged in a while, ye squoia the giant forest
or something like that. Right, I'll be honest with you.
If I see a view for the first time I've
never seen or find like this secret ghetto or a
place that not too many people know about, and I
experienced it on my own, I'd say it's close to
that feeling.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Ben Yeah, all right, well, well fair enough. We had
a great time. It was just perfect, and I was
very worried because we stayed to the very end of
the game. There was some talk we might leave early
if the game was a blowout. If you know, Kansas
City won by lot, lost by a lot, and and
Ralph and the guys because they're regulars, the locals, they
knew which exit to go to. We got out of there.
(12:27):
There was no traffic. I've never been to I've been
to a lot of NFL games of years, I've never
been to one without traffic.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
So I don't know how.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
They figured that out. But it was, you know, sixty
thousand people all leaving at the same time and no traffic,
which was which was pretty nice, and just that it
just a wonderful day. Went out, had some more barbecue
last night in Kansas City. Drove my wife around a
little bit, showed her some of the places I had
seen on Saturday. Went over, had a had a meet
(13:00):
and greet with my friend Bob at his house over
in Kansas, and we hung out with him and then
got up early and moved back to LA. I flew
back to LA and that was wow. That was that.
So it was just a perfect weekend. And then unfortunately
I came back to LA and I was on a
rocky mountain high or a Kansas City high, and came
(13:22):
back and lost not dead, but many of our colleagues
lost their job unfortunately on Monday. So it was not
not a great day. After a great weekend, I felt
like I was on top of the world. I came
back and I was like, oh boy, can I go
back to Kansas City. It was like that line You're
not in Kansas anymore from Wizard of Oz. I was like,
(13:44):
I'm not in Kansas anymore. I'm in the big city.
And it ain't pretty. It's not not pretty. And if
you missed it, we did have Eddie on the Friday
podcast chance to do what I thought was a therapeutic
show Alex because in radio, as in, you don't get
(14:06):
a final show now, you never know it's your final show.
It's just your final show. They don't tell you. And
so I didn't get to work with Eddie on Sunday
and the Monday because I was traveling back and I
wasn't doing the show that night. So when I worked
with you the next night, there was no Eddie. The
chair was empty. And so getting to do the show
(14:27):
this week to record an episode of the podcast, it was,
as I keep going back to that word therapeutic, I
can imagine something I needed to do. And you know,
Eddie said he'll come on the podcast from time to time,
so we'll put him on and you'll have a good time.
Now let's get to the mail bag.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
It's thank you very much, ohio Al who sent that
one in beautiful man sent that in a while ago.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
So this is the mail bag, actual letters from actual
consumers of the show. Now I was not going to
start with this, but since you're here this weekend, I
wanted to start with this, producer, Okay, yeah, because this
is right in your wheelhouse, because this is something we've
talked about in the past. This one comes from Mike
(15:32):
who is in Austin, Texas, and Mike says, I want
to know, as a fellow media guy, Ben, what are
your thoughts on what happened to Alex Jones and his
his business info Wars and so, Mike, I don't know
(15:54):
that the masses know this. Maybe they do by now.
This happened several days ago, happened a couple days ago.
But the the story, uh, the the satire website, The Onion.
You've heard of that, right, the Onion. Yes, yeah, the
people that own The Onion have purchased Info Wars. They've
(16:17):
acquired Alex Shones website. Yes, a satirical website. The Onion
has purchased the Info war Wars Empire from Alex Jones.
It was a court ordered auction and all this because
of that lawsuit, the Sandy Hook story years ago, and
(16:40):
the the payment that you know, there's no way Alex
Jones you have that kind of money. Nobody does the
amount of money that has to pay. So so anyway, Uh, yeah,
the Onion purchased info Wars, and Mike asked what I
thought about I mean, I really haven't thought uh out it.
(17:01):
I know you you've talked about Alex Jones and what he
was able to do by one man. He started that
in the nineties, yeah, and uh, late nineties and built
up a pretty decent sized media company, considering it was
a a mom and pop shop had a lot of followers,
and uh was certainly on the on the fringes. Even
(17:23):
if you love Alex Jones, you would admit he's on
you know, on the fringes. And yeah, he ended up,
you know, saying some things that he should not have
said and about the families of Sandy Hook and was
ordered to pay one point five billion. Imagine that's one
(17:43):
point five billions.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
Was he supposed to do any of that?
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Yeah? I mean, oh my gosh, there's no chance unless
you're Elon Musk, you know, right, that's just a Tuesday
for him. Yeah. So anyway, so that's it. The the onion,
I guess is a gag bought bought the info Wars
web site and took him, took him out of business. Wow.
So I really haven't thought about it much, Mike. I mean,
it's you know, it's what happens when you get soon
(18:08):
gets involved in all that stuff. I don't even know
how it works. Could Alex Jones just starts something else up?
I mean I would assume possibly, But yeah, I mean money, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
That's tough, you know.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
I think the thing that sucks the most about it is, like,
as you mentioned, it was a mom and pop right,
So it was before real social media or anything like that.
He started his own brand really about trying to find
truth within a world. And he was one of the
first people to release the videos of Bohemian Grove. This
little secret place in the Sanford Francisco or San Fernando,
(18:41):
San Francisco was Where's Cisco.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:43):
Yeah, it's supposed to be like a secret meeting of
the wealthy and the elites, and they have their own
rituals and et cetera. And he was like one of
the first to bring a lot of these things up.
And then he had like such a drive to bring
people's awareness to chemtrails or like one of the most
prominent things I saw on TikTok and stuff. He's like,
you're making the frogs gay, you know, Like he has
like these little things where he gets so into it
(19:05):
that I can see why a lot of people were
turned off by him, because there's like a proper and
improper way of doing things.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Ben.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
And you know this perfectly because you're in media. You
talk for a living, you talk very well for a living.
That it's how you say things and the way you
say it and what's behind it. So if you're giving
people a lot of things that they've never thought about
or heard, or that's on a deeper level. If you're
yelling and screaming and almost sporading people's eardrums about it,
it can kind of almost like take away from the taste.
(19:35):
It's like if you like spicy food, right Ben, if
it's too spicy, do you really enjoy it then anymore?
Speaker 3 (19:41):
You know?
Speaker 4 (19:41):
Like so, I it's kind of like a double edged
sword for me because a lot of the stuff he
talked about and I'm by no means like an info
war fan.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
I've never even looked at the website myself.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
I just know that a lot of the stuff he
did talk about had some validity of things to investigate
about food and different chemicals and et cetera, and what's
going on behind the scenes fifty one, Like it's really interesting.
I like to think outside the box. But again, he
hurt himself because I think he got caught up in
the whole thing, which a lot of people do in media,
which is the ego that he wanted to be like
(20:11):
always the first one. So like Sandy Hook, it's all fake,
all this this is It's like, Okay, Well, even if
you have this insight or maybe some intel or things.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
That you believe. You gotta be careful about certain things.
Speaker 4 (20:23):
I mean, we even had something happen here that one
time with Doug and stuff. You know, like it's it's
the way you do it, how you say it. And again,
I mean, he could have really been true or right,
but it doesn't matter now because again, the way that
everything works in the system, et cetera. When you bite
the hand that feeds Ben, you're only gonna get away
so long with doing that. And so unfortunately this was
(20:45):
finally something that brought him down and then it almost,
in my opinion, the reason why it does suck again
is that it takes away everything he's done now. So
it doesn't matter if he really did some good stuff
or brought up something that should have been talked about.
This is all that resembles now, and this is all
that'sa and it's it kind of it's it's a lot
of heartbreak.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Yeah, and the thing that he's obviously on the fringe,
Alice Jones, but he did a lot of stuff like
Art Bell when I grew up, did stuff, but he
did it in a very calm delivery, and he was
he would ask questions, yes, quizzing people. But as you said,
the abrasive style the firebrand of Alex Jones, and he was.
(21:26):
He was intertwining, he was combining like storytelling, and some
of it was embellishment, but the way he delivered it,
you couldn't tell what was embellishment. And I learned early
on in my broadcast career, I had a program director
who pulled me aside. He kind of taught me the
birds and the bees of of how this works, and
(21:47):
it was the most important lesson I've gotten in terms
of liability. And he said, listen, Ben, in this country,
you cannot be sued for your opinion. So you can
say whatever you want on the radio or television or
whatever medium you're on, as long as you say this
(22:09):
is my opinion, because nobody can sue you for having
the wrong opinion. But when you report it as fact,
when you reported as this is what happened and it's
not fact, you've crossed the rubicon, and that's where you
end up getting in a lot of trouble. So if
Alex Jones had said exactly what he said but said
this is my opinion, I don't have any proof this
(22:31):
is my opinion. He would have never been sued, he
would have not lost Info Wars, and that would have
been that that's wild. Yeah, So it's just a simple
thing you add on in adendum, and it gets you
out of legal trouble because in any court, you're not
if you're in media and you give an opinion, you say,
this is my opinion. And we still have that in
(22:54):
this country, and we still have that. But the power
it also goes back to Alex Jones, to the power
of storytelling. Yes, and how humans have communicated since the
very beginning of time via stories, right, and if you're
an orator a communicator, and you have and he's certainly
not Charles Dickens or Shakespeare, but those are people that
(23:17):
have been gone for a long time and we still
reference their work. The great storytellers of our time like
Lewis Carroll or more modern JK. Rowling, right, Steven Spielberg,
people like that to tell story, Walt Disney, the modern storytellers.
So it's it's interesting, but thank you for that, Mike
(23:39):
steven Tempe writes in he says, Ben, Now I want
to address this because I've gotten a version of this
email from like fifteen different people this week. Okay, Ben,
why didn't you give up some of your multi million
dollar salary to keep Eddie on the payroll. You are
a selfish asshole and I'm not listening to your show anymore.
(23:59):
I don't care if you read this email, Steven Tempe. Well,
thank you, Steve. I appreciate your passion. Now. I love
the fact, Alex, that many people believe that I am
making multiple millions of dollars doing a radio show from
(24:20):
two am till six am in the morning.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
Well, I do see your Bentley Park next to Steve
Harvey's when he's here. Ben, just say.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Yes, I am Alex. I am genuinely honored and flattered
that you think I make that kind of It really
warms my cockles that you believe that to be true.
And I promise you, Steve and all you other wacka doodles,
that if I did make that kind of money, I
(24:49):
promise you I would have cut a big fat check
to Eddie Garcia. And not that it would have mattered
because they had to get rid of him on the payroll.
I guess whatever. I don't know how that works, but
that's not my business. But I would have done everything
in my power. I unfortunately, I don't want to say
how much I make. It's not important to say. People
(25:10):
get upset if I say it. But there are jobs
that some of you have. You make more money than me,
which is fine. I like my job. That's fine. But
this misperception, Alex, it's out there, so it's wild.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
So that's actually a thing.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
There's a lot of people that think I'm making millions.
I'm making coward money, Okay, And I promise you, yeah,
that's that's not close sending bu as far from that
as can be, right.
Speaker 4 (25:41):
Dude, one thousand. Even the fact that they think you
had any plot or play to decide any of that
had in that like what yeah?
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Yeah. Jake from the Bay Area right since says this. Hey,
he says, been, this bit with Eddie is getting laid off,
is played out. You need to end to this thing.
Stop the bit, bring the big Zamboni back. That's from Jake.
He thinks that this is all a bit. Is it
a bit, Alex? Is this a bit? Are we doing
a bit here?
Speaker 4 (26:09):
No, to my knowledge, we are not. Because just like you,
I came back on Tuesday after taking Monday off to
be at a hot spring and found out that, yeah,
the entirety of what we knew was no longer the same.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
So yeah, this is our world had fundamentally changed.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
Yes, you know.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
So yeah, anyway, what do we have? Rick writes, and
he says, I just woke up he wrote this the
other day. So I browing some coffee, getting ready to
hear the four am overnight report from Eddie, and I
hear a different voice did the four am overnight report,
which I thought was unusual. Then you came back and
you started dancing with an explanation about what had happened,
(26:49):
and the two had worked together for twenty years. And
then the dreaded announcement. Now I thought you were about
to make and you did make it that Eddie was
no longer on the show. And he said, what the
hell can go wrong? And on a Tuesday, he says,
then he rips the presidential election. He says, firing Eddie
(27:10):
is unconscionable. Well, he got laid off, he didn't get fired,
which is a technicality, right when you get laid off.
And it had nothing to do at all with the
performance of Eddie.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
No zero, Freddie's persona and.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
For that matter, everyone that got let go by the company.
This was not a performance based situation at all. And
I don't know exactly how they make the sausage, and
nor do I really want to know, But from what
I've been told is a lot of companies. It's not
just in radio. We are affected by it because we're
(27:44):
in radio. Yes, but this is the time of the year,
in November and December where you clear the books. Yes,
you get rid of some people off the payroll. Yes,
because that way it helps you going in the following year. Yes,
and you keep costs down. And there's reasons for that.
(28:05):
And so from what I understand, I believe that to
be the reason this happened. I don't know, Maybe I'm wrong,
Maybe somebody gave me some bad information, which my opinion,
that's what I've heard, So who knows. But anyway, Rick
was very upset by this. He said he he's loved
the show and pucked the world and all of that
and wants Eddie back. He found the show. He said
(28:28):
he used to listen to k Fan in Minnesota and
stop listening because some of the stuff that they were
doing on the air, and he listens to our show
and Jonas's show, Two Pros and a Cup of Joe,
and he says, now what do I do? He says,
with Eddie being gone, he says, how do I get
(28:48):
my hockey? Well, Eddie's guy's own podcast, as he talked
about on Friday, the Puck Podcast. So just listen to
that and hopefully at some point maybe Eddie will come back.
I know, Alex, before you worked at the company in nine,
I was. I was laid off, I was whacked. I
(29:09):
was still in the a teen January twentieth of nine. Wow.
I was out of work. And six months and twenty
six days later they brought me back.
Speaker 3 (29:19):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
So it does happen, yes time, Yes, all right, Masshole
Mickey writes, and he says, greeting's been and fellas. I
really hope you were doing well this weekend after such
a great trip to Kansas City and then get a
Mike Tyson punch to the gut and to hear what
happened to Eddie. The militia, as you know, are not happy.
(29:46):
That is. I've certainly heard the full throated anger, Masshole Mickey.
He says, my question for you guys is what cheers
you up when you're sad. I'm sure a lot of
malle militia could use some advice. All right, Alex, you're
you're a self help guide. What cheers people up when
they're sad?
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Well, See, that's such a complex and simple question at
the same time, because I think when it comes down
to you realizing that everything doesn't matter, and we give
matter meaning, that's when you start to see things differently
and being so tribilistic as humans, and we get so
caught in the things we love in rotation and humans
(30:26):
by just instinctual nature, we have a hard time letting
go or accepting things end. It's a really tough thing
to find a way to be happy in it. But
I think a simple thing again is just to know
that you should always be happy it happened, even though
it sounds cliche, than not at all. And I think
the beauty is knowing that something so real had a
place to exist. You should take comfort in knowing you
(30:49):
got to experience it rather than never knowing it at all.
That's a big thing for me.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
So nothing matters, yes, but kind of everything does.
Speaker 3 (30:59):
Yes. It's crazy right.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Parallel dimensions, Like nothing really matters in the end because
we'll all be gone and that. But then at the
same time.
Speaker 4 (31:07):
It's all beautiful in the matters. Yes, wild right, I
love it. So just smile, go outside, put your feet
in the ground, maybe go for a walk, or go
back and re listen to some of your favorite ones.
That's the best way to know it ever happened.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Yeah, well it is, it isn't and we listen. Eddie's
not dead for sure. Yeah, And a lot of people
seem to think he's dead, but he's not. It's and
I've tried to explain this, and some of my radio
friends have been, you know, very very good to me,
and they point this out over the ears like that,
(31:43):
there's just it's just a little different the connection that
you have with like for Eddie's a great example, like
the radio the magic. Yes, it is not a relative,
it's not. It's not something you're not gonna like hang
out with us in real life, although an occasional Mallard
meet and greets. But yet, and I feel the same
(32:03):
way about my consumption to media that it is so
much a part of your being. It's part of your routine,
you know, you know, radio show, a lot of our
guys work in factories and they're every night they listen
for four hours. We like to think we give them
some solace. So there's that. And then but if you're
it's you get up. You hear these voices. These are
(32:25):
voices that are part of your your life. And when
all of a sudden you don't get that, it's it's
a body blow, right, it's it really is, and it sucks,
and it's not fair and and all that and unfortunate
as the way you know this stuff works, and you
(32:47):
don't get any warning. Joey the Bellman writes in real quick.
I know we have much time, he says, Bill Miller
and Ben Maler could be one of the funniest bits
you've come up with. Must be tough without Eddie, you
guys were a great team. Sucks, it's Joey the Bellman. Yeah,
well that's uh. You know, necessity is the mother of invention.
And you know Eddie used to do the toss backs
(33:07):
to me. But Eddie's not there anymore, and they didn't
replace Eddie. So I'm on my own, and so I
decided I would go Phil Henry and just make a
you know, make a I used to do Bill Miller
back in the day. And I brought Bill Miller back.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
I brought him back. That's all we have halftime for
I believe thanks to Mike and Fullerton. I saw alf
the Alien o'pineer. But we're we're short on time, so
we gotta get out. I'll be back tonight, God willing.
I'll be back on the radio eleven o'clock in the west,
two am in the East with another fresh week of
(33:42):
the Ben Matler Show. And uh, now what about you
Alex here you'll be Are you back tomorrow?
Speaker 2 (33:48):
La?
Speaker 1 (33:48):
God Willing?
Speaker 4 (33:48):
Yeah, I mean hey, as of now, that is the plan,
and I plan.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
To just do it every day to the fullest.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
All right, And again your podcast, how can people follow
your your work there?
Speaker 3 (34:00):
Ben?
Speaker 4 (34:00):
Just look up three words Shallow Oceans podcast, because in
a world that seems so vast, it's really not as
deep as you think.
Speaker 3 (34:06):
Ben.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
All right, And if you're listening to this early here
on this Sunday, don't forget Benny Versus the Penny still
available on Peacock and regional cable television. Check that out,
little gambling show, Benny Versus the Penny, and talk to
you next time later. Skater
Cut booms.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
If you thought four hours a day, twelve hundred minutes
a week was enough, think again. He's the last remnants
of the old republic, a sole fashion of fairness. He
treats crackheads in the ghetto cutter the same as the
rich pill poppers in the penthouse. Wow. The Clearinghouse of
hot takes break free for something special. The Fifth Hour
(00:23):
with Ben Maller starts right now.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
In the air everywhere. It's a football Sunday, National Football League,
and this is the unofficial pregame show to your football Sunday.
Here the Fifth Hour with me, Ben Mahler. Danny g
is away on assignment on a tropical island, far far away,
and so in his place we have my friend Alex
(00:53):
ty Shirt, Alex the vegan as I like footballer. Yeah, you,
thank you for that. Very nice years. The seventeenth day
of November and I did not finish the Malard travelog,
so I wanted to start with that again. I talked
about the malor meat greet, talked about the barbecue a
(01:14):
little bit. But on this Sunday morning. Now you've known
me for a few years now, Alex, you know that
I am not a morning person doing the overnight show.
I go to bed in the morning. Yes, I have
crackhead hours. I don't wake up in the morning for
anything other than maybe a plane, right, maybe a plane.
(01:37):
So on Saturday, we did the Mallor meat greet. We
had a great time, went out, had some app We
were so full from the Mallard chicken fingers. They're so
big that we just had some appetizers and a couple
of drinks and then that was it and called it
a night. Because I had on NFL Sunday, Week ten
of the NFL season, we had had a four thirty
(02:02):
am wake up call.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Stop it.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Yeah, four thirty am wake up call on a Sunday.
And it wasn't to go to church. Well, it was
the Church of Pigskin is what it was. So get
up at four thirty. Uh, your wife has to get
ready and all that she had to get prepared for
the day. I had to wake up because I was
driving the rental. So we drove and we met up
(02:27):
outside a Bass Pro shop somewhere in Kansas. And I'm
not exactly sure what town in Kansas, but it was
right across the border. So we we meet. The meet
point is the place we meet. The meeting point is
I think we were meeting at six am was the time.
So we left it. The left hotel at five thirty,
(02:49):
got up at four thirty, left hotel at five thirty,
got there at six o'clock. We parked the car and
I met my friend Bob, the radio guy, and his
buddy Ralph. These are all his friends, so Ralph, his kid.
Bob's family was there, his daughters, his wife. There were
(03:10):
some other people that were there as well that are friends.
And Ralph pulls up in a Kansas City Chiefs mini bus,
which is amazing. It's painted for you know, obviously Chiefs
colors and all that. And this is the tailgate bus.
We're there to tailgate.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Right stop it.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Yeah. So I have been tailgating a couple of times,
but never like this. It's just different. And so we
leave our cars. I guess I shouldn't say that part
out loud, but we leave our cars outside the bass
Pro shops. Okay, we get on the little short bus.
I've been on a short bus before. I know a
thing or two about short buses. Yeah. So I get
(03:54):
on there and this thing is is painted, it's it's
got the Chiefs Red He's got all kinds of sayings,
Chiefs Kingdom, super Bowl Champions on the side, right and
all that. So we're driving it's still dark out at
at six am, and we're just seeing the sunrise as
(04:16):
we're driving through Kansas back into Missouri, and I watched
the sunrise. We got to Arrowhead. The gates weren't even
open yet we got there. By the time we got
to Arrowhead, it's probably about six thirty or so, six
thirty six forty five. The gates opened at seven thirty
(04:36):
in the morning. So we're there's a line of cars
to get into tailgates. There's no way at Yeah, this
ridiculous hour it was. It was nuts. So we're waiting
there and Ralph Wreckett, Ralph the guy the different record, Ralph,
not the radio record, Ralph, it's a different record, olaha exactly.
So he's kind of starting up the barbecue in the back,
(04:58):
trying to get the the thing ready and the smoker
hit a smoker, and then we are seven thirty the
gates open. It's a mad dash, right, everyone's you know,
scrambling to get their cars placed and the griddle and
the barbecues out and all that stuff, and you know,
right there, and I didn't have to do anything. I
just sat in the bus. Everyone did everything. You know.
(05:19):
I was just a guest, so I didn't have to
worry about it. And by the gates open at seven thirty.
By eight am, we are ready to go. We are
eating Smokehouse barbecue. I know you don't like barbecue, but
for the rest of us who like barbecue, can my
Bob's favorite barbecue place. Now, when you go to a place,
(05:42):
you've got to go where the locals go. Yes, always,
And I don't live there. My friend Bob Fescal of
the Morning Guy loves Smokehouse barbecue. I just cannot say
enough good things about it. And I was like, oh whatever,
it's probably just like all these other places A dime
a dozen. And no, I don't even like chili. I
refuse often to eat chili. But they serve barbecue brisket
(06:06):
chili at eight in the morning, and it please the
greatest thing I've ever eaten, no way. And then they
had burnt ends, barbecued burnt ends, which were delicious as well.
And I'm drinking alcohol and eating barbecue and all that,
and I paused my fast. I said rare and appropriate,
and I did a shorter fast and just had a
(06:27):
wonderful time walked around great people watching, Alex, I can imagine.
Are you usually go out to the forest by yourself?
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Yes, I don't.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
You don't strike me as a people watch like a
human zoo doesn't really interest you?
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Am I not anymore? No, you're correct.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
It used to like I used to be very enamored
by Disneyland trips here in SoCal or going to the
B Trick, et cetera. But I have It's funny you
mentioned that I have completely one eighty and I prefer
to be exclusively alone or with my lady and we
go do something, but we prefer to do it by ourselves,
like when we go to the Hot Springs or something.
It's on a week day. Like we don't like to
be around other people because it's almost like the energy
(07:04):
conflicts now with where we're going. And especially when you
say people watching, I'm pretty sure I've seen it all
at this point, so there's not much.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
More to see.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Yeah, No, I have noticed, like like I think you're
moving more towards like unibomber status where you live in
a shack in Montana. I would love to call me
your hermit's way away from everyone and just send like
explosive letters. I don't know if I'll do that part,
but yeah, I do want my own little place away
from it all. That's self sustainable. I just want to
(07:30):
have my own ecosystem.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Basically off the grid. Oh yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Have you picked a state you're gonna move to?
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Well, Ben, if it's off the grid, I can't tell
you that, can I?
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Well no, I mean you can tell me, okay, because
I mean it's off the grid. I won't be able
to find off the grid around the woods somewhere in Montana.
I mean, I love you, I consider you a friend,
I like you a lot. You're You're important, thank you,
but not that important. I'm not going to the moods
of Montana.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Go on, what if I have brisket at eight am
for you?
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Well, I mean maybe then maybe then will consider it.
But I I'm an introvert, as you know, but I
love from time to time going to Venice Beach and
wandering around and looking at all the weirdos, all the
my fellow human beings.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
Right Ben, I'm telling you, this is the one thing
that COVID took from us and it'll never happen again.
Was the three am Walmart trips. Those were where you
could see some of the most interesting people in the world.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Yeah. Well, the good news is even at three in
the afternoon at Walmart, you still see some very interesting, right,
human beings, some very interesting.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Questionable human beings. Are you really human? I don't know
right now.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Yeah, so we we tailgated from eight in the morning
when the foods was served, until about eleven eleven fifteen
Kansas City time. Because being in the Midwest, I'm not
used to this. Obviously, in California and most of my
experiences on the East Coast or the West. On the
East coast, the games kick off at one o'clock, but
(09:02):
in Kansas City it's an hour before hour back from
Eastern time. So the game kicked off at noon. And
the Chiefs have been so good. How good have they been?
The Chiefs have been so good that they normally play
later in the day. They normally play at three o'clock
or at seven o'clock. They don't typically play at noon.
(09:25):
So this is like a rare treat. People can get
up early and celebrate and eat and be merry and
drink and all that stuff, and the game starts at noon,
and so we got into the stadium about eleven twenty
or so. Never been to Arrowhead awesome, watched many games
my childhood on big national TV games and saw some
(09:48):
great moments there, certainly recently with the Chiefs. So got
in and settled in. Had seats at the fifty yard line,
which are I know you're not a football guy, Alex,
those are primo seats. Why primo seats? I got hooked up.
I got spoiled. I did. I got spoiled. Bob and
(10:09):
the guys in Kansas City from ninety six point five
to the fan, they took good care of me, really
good care. So it was. It was awesome at a
great time, and all that watched the game he had
access to. Bob and the station have a luxury box,
so we were able to go in there from time
(10:30):
to time and hang out with some of the executives
from the radio station and some of the you know,
the big advertisers were there and I got to schmooze
and had at a fine time. And the game came
down to the very end and Denver looked like they
were gonna win. It was all set up, and then
(10:51):
the Chiefs blocked the field goal on the final play
of the game and procured a two point win, and
the crowd went wild. It was my my guy, Bob Fesco,
the Morning Guy. I was standing behind him as that
play unfolded. And the thing that I will remember for
years and years is when the Chiefs won the game,
(11:14):
it was like watching one of those televangelists on TV,
because it was it was insane his reacit. It was
like it was like a religious experience, you know what
I mean, You know, as somebody's like shaking feeling joy
and it's like.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
There's no way.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Yeah, you get that from if you're really invested in sports,
you get that. And you know, there's not a lot
of things in life that can give you that feeling,
you know what I mean. I mean, I don't know
what you for you like in your world? What what
gives you that kind of feeling?
Speaker 4 (11:47):
Maybe out hugging a tree, a fresh redwood that hasn't
been hugged in a while, ye squoia the giant forest
or something like that. Right, I'll be honest with you.
If I see a view for the first time I've
never seen or find like this secret ghetto or a
place that not too many people know about, and I
experienced it on my own, I'd say it's close to
that feeling.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Ben Yeah, all right, well, well fair enough. We had
a great time. It was just perfect, and I was
very worried because we stayed to the very end of
the game. There was some talk we might leave early
if the game was a blowout. If you know, Kansas
City won by lot, lost by a lot, and and
Ralph and the guys because they're regulars, the locals, they
knew which exit to go to. We got out of there.
(12:27):
There was no traffic. I've never been to I've been
to a lot of NFL games of years, I've never
been to one without traffic.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
So I don't know how.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
They figured that out. But it was, you know, sixty
thousand people all leaving at the same time and no traffic,
which was which was pretty nice, and just that it
just a wonderful day. Went out, had some more barbecue
last night in Kansas City. Drove my wife around a
little bit, showed her some of the places I had
seen on Saturday. Went over, had a had a meet
(13:00):
and greet with my friend Bob at his house over
in Kansas, and we hung out with him and then
got up early and moved back to LA. I flew
back to LA and that was wow. That was that.
So it was just a perfect weekend. And then unfortunately
I came back to LA and I was on a
rocky mountain high or a Kansas City high, and came
(13:22):
back and lost not dead, but many of our colleagues
lost their job unfortunately on Monday. So it was not
not a great day. After a great weekend, I felt
like I was on top of the world. I came
back and I was like, oh boy, can I go
back to Kansas City. It was like that line You're
not in Kansas anymore from Wizard of Oz. I was like,
(13:44):
I'm not in Kansas anymore. I'm in the big city.
And it ain't pretty. It's not not pretty. And if
you missed it, we did have Eddie on the Friday
podcast chance to do what I thought was a therapeutic
show Alex because in radio, as in, you don't get
(14:06):
a final show now, you never know it's your final show.
It's just your final show. They don't tell you. And
so I didn't get to work with Eddie on Sunday
and the Monday because I was traveling back and I
wasn't doing the show that night. So when I worked
with you the next night, there was no Eddie. The
chair was empty. And so getting to do the show
(14:27):
this week to record an episode of the podcast, it was,
as I keep going back to that word therapeutic, I
can imagine something I needed to do. And you know,
Eddie said he'll come on the podcast from time to time,
so we'll put him on and you'll have a good time.
Now let's get to the mail bag.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
It's thank you very much, ohio Al who sent that
one in beautiful man sent that in a while ago.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
So this is the mail bag, actual letters from actual
consumers of the show. Now I was not going to
start with this, but since you're here this weekend, I
wanted to start with this, producer, Okay, yeah, because this
is right in your wheelhouse, because this is something we've
talked about in the past. This one comes from Mike
(15:32):
who is in Austin, Texas, and Mike says, I want
to know, as a fellow media guy, Ben, what are
your thoughts on what happened to Alex Jones and his
his business info Wars and so, Mike, I don't know
(15:54):
that the masses know this. Maybe they do by now.
This happened several days ago, happened a couple days ago.
But the the story, uh, the the satire website, The Onion.
You've heard of that, right, the Onion. Yes, yeah, the
people that own The Onion have purchased Info Wars. They've
(16:17):
acquired Alex Shones website. Yes, a satirical website. The Onion
has purchased the Info war Wars Empire from Alex Jones.
It was a court ordered auction and all this because
of that lawsuit, the Sandy Hook story years ago, and
(16:40):
the the payment that you know, there's no way Alex
Jones you have that kind of money. Nobody does the
amount of money that has to pay. So so anyway, Uh, yeah,
the Onion purchased info Wars, and Mike asked what I
thought about I mean, I really haven't thought uh out it.
(17:01):
I know you you've talked about Alex Jones and what he
was able to do by one man. He started that
in the nineties, yeah, and uh, late nineties and built
up a pretty decent sized media company, considering it was
a a mom and pop shop had a lot of followers,
and uh was certainly on the on the fringes. Even
(17:23):
if you love Alex Jones, you would admit he's on
you know, on the fringes. And yeah, he ended up,
you know, saying some things that he should not have
said and about the families of Sandy Hook and was
ordered to pay one point five billion. Imagine that's one
(17:43):
point five billions.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
Was he supposed to do any of that?
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Yeah? I mean, oh my gosh, there's no chance unless
you're Elon Musk, you know, right, that's just a Tuesday
for him. Yeah. So anyway, so that's it. The the onion,
I guess is a gag bought bought the info Wars
web site and took him, took him out of business. Wow.
So I really haven't thought about it much, Mike. I mean,
it's you know, it's what happens when you get soon
(18:08):
gets involved in all that stuff. I don't even know
how it works. Could Alex Jones just starts something else up?
I mean I would assume possibly, But yeah, I mean money, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
That's tough, you know.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
I think the thing that sucks the most about it is, like,
as you mentioned, it was a mom and pop right,
So it was before real social media or anything like that.
He started his own brand really about trying to find
truth within a world. And he was one of the
first people to release the videos of Bohemian Grove. This
little secret place in the Sanford Francisco or San Fernando,
(18:41):
San Francisco was Where's Cisco.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:43):
Yeah, it's supposed to be like a secret meeting of
the wealthy and the elites, and they have their own
rituals and et cetera. And he was like one of
the first to bring a lot of these things up.
And then he had like such a drive to bring
people's awareness to chemtrails or like one of the most
prominent things I saw on TikTok and stuff. He's like,
you're making the frogs gay, you know, Like he has
like these little things where he gets so into it
(19:05):
that I can see why a lot of people were
turned off by him, because there's like a proper and
improper way of doing things.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Ben.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
And you know this perfectly because you're in media. You
talk for a living, you talk very well for a living.
That it's how you say things and the way you
say it and what's behind it. So if you're giving
people a lot of things that they've never thought about
or heard, or that's on a deeper level. If you're
yelling and screaming and almost sporading people's eardrums about it,
it can kind of almost like take away from the taste.
(19:35):
It's like if you like spicy food, right Ben, if
it's too spicy, do you really enjoy it then anymore?
Speaker 3 (19:41):
You know?
Speaker 4 (19:41):
Like so, I it's kind of like a double edged
sword for me because a lot of the stuff he
talked about and I'm by no means like an info
war fan.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
I've never even looked at the website myself.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
I just know that a lot of the stuff he
did talk about had some validity of things to investigate
about food and different chemicals and et cetera, and what's
going on behind the scenes fifty one, Like it's really interesting.
I like to think outside the box. But again, he
hurt himself because I think he got caught up in
the whole thing, which a lot of people do in media,
which is the ego that he wanted to be like
(20:11):
always the first one. So like Sandy Hook, it's all fake,
all this this is It's like, Okay, Well, even if
you have this insight or maybe some intel or things.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
That you believe. You gotta be careful about certain things.
Speaker 4 (20:23):
I mean, we even had something happen here that one
time with Doug and stuff. You know, like it's it's
the way you do it, how you say it. And again,
I mean, he could have really been true or right,
but it doesn't matter now because again, the way that
everything works in the system, et cetera. When you bite
the hand that feeds Ben, you're only gonna get away
so long with doing that. And so unfortunately this was
(20:45):
finally something that brought him down and then it almost,
in my opinion, the reason why it does suck again
is that it takes away everything he's done now. So
it doesn't matter if he really did some good stuff
or brought up something that should have been talked about.
This is all that resembles now, and this is all
that'sa and it's it kind of it's it's a lot
of heartbreak.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Yeah, and the thing that he's obviously on the fringe,
Alice Jones, but he did a lot of stuff like
Art Bell when I grew up, did stuff, but he
did it in a very calm delivery, and he was
he would ask questions, yes, quizzing people. But as you said,
the abrasive style the firebrand of Alex Jones, and he was.
(21:26):
He was intertwining, he was combining like storytelling, and some
of it was embellishment, but the way he delivered it,
you couldn't tell what was embellishment. And I learned early
on in my broadcast career, I had a program director
who pulled me aside. He kind of taught me the
birds and the bees of of how this works, and
(21:47):
it was the most important lesson I've gotten in terms
of liability. And he said, listen, Ben, in this country,
you cannot be sued for your opinion. So you can
say whatever you want on the radio or television or
whatever medium you're on, as long as you say this
(22:09):
is my opinion, because nobody can sue you for having
the wrong opinion. But when you report it as fact,
when you reported as this is what happened and it's
not fact, you've crossed the rubicon, and that's where you
end up getting in a lot of trouble. So if
Alex Jones had said exactly what he said but said
this is my opinion, I don't have any proof this
(22:31):
is my opinion. He would have never been sued, he
would have not lost Info Wars, and that would have
been that that's wild. Yeah, So it's just a simple
thing you add on in adendum, and it gets you
out of legal trouble because in any court, you're not
if you're in media and you give an opinion, you say,
this is my opinion. And we still have that in
(22:54):
this country, and we still have that. But the power
it also goes back to Alex Jones, to the power
of storytelling. Yes, and how humans have communicated since the
very beginning of time via stories, right, and if you're
an orator a communicator, and you have and he's certainly
not Charles Dickens or Shakespeare, but those are people that
(23:17):
have been gone for a long time and we still
reference their work. The great storytellers of our time like
Lewis Carroll or more modern JK. Rowling, right, Steven Spielberg,
people like that to tell story, Walt Disney, the modern storytellers.
So it's it's interesting, but thank you for that, Mike
(23:39):
steven Tempe writes in he says, Ben, Now I want
to address this because I've gotten a version of this
email from like fifteen different people this week. Okay, Ben,
why didn't you give up some of your multi million
dollar salary to keep Eddie on the payroll. You are
a selfish asshole and I'm not listening to your show anymore.
(23:59):
I don't care if you read this email, Steven Tempe. Well,
thank you, Steve. I appreciate your passion. Now. I love
the fact, Alex, that many people believe that I am
making multiple millions of dollars doing a radio show from
(24:20):
two am till six am in the morning.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
Well, I do see your Bentley Park next to Steve
Harvey's when he's here. Ben, just say.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Yes, I am Alex. I am genuinely honored and flattered
that you think I make that kind of It really
warms my cockles that you believe that to be true.
And I promise you, Steve and all you other wacka doodles,
that if I did make that kind of money, I
(24:49):
promise you I would have cut a big fat check
to Eddie Garcia. And not that it would have mattered
because they had to get rid of him on the payroll.
I guess whatever. I don't know how that works, but
that's not my business. But I would have done everything
in my power. I unfortunately, I don't want to say
how much I make. It's not important to say. People
(25:10):
get upset if I say it. But there are jobs
that some of you have. You make more money than me,
which is fine. I like my job. That's fine. But
this misperception, Alex, it's out there, so it's wild.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
So that's actually a thing.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
There's a lot of people that think I'm making millions.
I'm making coward money, Okay, And I promise you, yeah,
that's that's not close sending bu as far from that
as can be, right.
Speaker 4 (25:41):
Dude, one thousand. Even the fact that they think you
had any plot or play to decide any of that
had in that like what yeah?
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Yeah. Jake from the Bay Area right since says this. Hey,
he says, been, this bit with Eddie is getting laid off,
is played out. You need to end to this thing.
Stop the bit, bring the big Zamboni back. That's from Jake.
He thinks that this is all a bit. Is it
a bit, Alex? Is this a bit? Are we doing
a bit here?
Speaker 4 (26:09):
No, to my knowledge, we are not. Because just like you,
I came back on Tuesday after taking Monday off to
be at a hot spring and found out that, yeah,
the entirety of what we knew was no longer the same.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
So yeah, this is our world had fundamentally changed.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
Yes, you know.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
So yeah, anyway, what do we have? Rick writes, and
he says, I just woke up he wrote this the
other day. So I browing some coffee, getting ready to
hear the four am overnight report from Eddie, and I
hear a different voice did the four am overnight report,
which I thought was unusual. Then you came back and
you started dancing with an explanation about what had happened,
(26:49):
and the two had worked together for twenty years. And
then the dreaded announcement. Now I thought you were about
to make and you did make it that Eddie was
no longer on the show. And he said, what the
hell can go wrong? And on a Tuesday, he says,
then he rips the presidential election. He says, firing Eddie
(27:10):
is unconscionable. Well, he got laid off, he didn't get fired,
which is a technicality, right when you get laid off.
And it had nothing to do at all with the
performance of Eddie.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
No zero, Freddie's persona and.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
For that matter, everyone that got let go by the company.
This was not a performance based situation at all. And
I don't know exactly how they make the sausage, and
nor do I really want to know, But from what
I've been told is a lot of companies. It's not
just in radio. We are affected by it because we're
(27:44):
in radio. Yes, but this is the time of the year,
in November and December where you clear the books. Yes,
you get rid of some people off the payroll. Yes,
because that way it helps you going in the following year. Yes,
and you keep costs down. And there's reasons for that.
(28:05):
And so from what I understand, I believe that to
be the reason this happened. I don't know, Maybe I'm wrong,
Maybe somebody gave me some bad information, which my opinion,
that's what I've heard, So who knows. But anyway, Rick
was very upset by this. He said he he's loved
the show and pucked the world and all of that
and wants Eddie back. He found the show. He said
(28:28):
he used to listen to k Fan in Minnesota and
stop listening because some of the stuff that they were
doing on the air, and he listens to our show
and Jonas's show, Two Pros and a Cup of Joe,
and he says, now what do I do? He says,
with Eddie being gone, he says, how do I get
(28:48):
my hockey? Well, Eddie's guy's own podcast, as he talked
about on Friday, the Puck Podcast. So just listen to
that and hopefully at some point maybe Eddie will come back.
I know, Alex, before you worked at the company in nine,
I was. I was laid off, I was whacked. I
(29:09):
was still in the a teen January twentieth of nine. Wow.
I was out of work. And six months and twenty
six days later they brought me back.
Speaker 3 (29:19):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
So it does happen, yes time, Yes, all right, Masshole
Mickey writes, and he says, greeting's been and fellas. I
really hope you were doing well this weekend after such
a great trip to Kansas City and then get a
Mike Tyson punch to the gut and to hear what
happened to Eddie. The militia, as you know, are not happy.
(29:46):
That is. I've certainly heard the full throated anger, Masshole Mickey.
He says, my question for you guys is what cheers
you up when you're sad. I'm sure a lot of
malle militia could use some advice. All right, Alex, you're
you're a self help guide. What cheers people up when
they're sad?
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Well, See, that's such a complex and simple question at
the same time, because I think when it comes down
to you realizing that everything doesn't matter, and we give
matter meaning, that's when you start to see things differently
and being so tribilistic as humans, and we get so
caught in the things we love in rotation and humans
(30:26):
by just instinctual nature, we have a hard time letting
go or accepting things end. It's a really tough thing
to find a way to be happy in it. But
I think a simple thing again is just to know
that you should always be happy it happened, even though
it sounds cliche, than not at all. And I think
the beauty is knowing that something so real had a
place to exist. You should take comfort in knowing you
(30:49):
got to experience it rather than never knowing it at all.
That's a big thing for me.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
So nothing matters, yes, but kind of everything does.
Speaker 3 (30:59):
Yes. It's crazy right.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Parallel dimensions, Like nothing really matters in the end because
we'll all be gone and that. But then at the
same time.
Speaker 4 (31:07):
It's all beautiful in the matters. Yes, wild right, I
love it. So just smile, go outside, put your feet
in the ground, maybe go for a walk, or go
back and re listen to some of your favorite ones.
That's the best way to know it ever happened.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Yeah, well it is, it isn't and we listen. Eddie's
not dead for sure. Yeah, And a lot of people
seem to think he's dead, but he's not. It's and
I've tried to explain this, and some of my radio
friends have been, you know, very very good to me,
and they point this out over the ears like that,
(31:43):
there's just it's just a little different the connection that
you have with like for Eddie's a great example, like
the radio the magic. Yes, it is not a relative,
it's not. It's not something you're not gonna like hang
out with us in real life, although an occasional Mallard
meet and greets. But yet, and I feel the same
(32:03):
way about my consumption to media that it is so
much a part of your being. It's part of your routine,
you know, you know, radio show, a lot of our
guys work in factories and they're every night they listen
for four hours. We like to think we give them
some solace. So there's that. And then but if you're
it's you get up. You hear these voices. These are
(32:25):
voices that are part of your your life. And when
all of a sudden you don't get that, it's it's
a body blow, right, it's it really is, and it sucks,
and it's not fair and and all that and unfortunate
as the way you know this stuff works, and you
(32:47):
don't get any warning. Joey the Bellman writes in real quick.
I know we have much time, he says, Bill Miller
and Ben Maler could be one of the funniest bits
you've come up with. Must be tough without Eddie, you
guys were a great team. Sucks, it's Joey the Bellman. Yeah,
well that's uh. You know, necessity is the mother of invention.
And you know Eddie used to do the toss backs
(33:07):
to me. But Eddie's not there anymore, and they didn't
replace Eddie. So I'm on my own, and so I
decided I would go Phil Henry and just make a
you know, make a I used to do Bill Miller
back in the day. And I brought Bill Miller back.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
I brought him back. That's all we have halftime for
I believe thanks to Mike and Fullerton. I saw alf
the Alien o'pineer. But we're we're short on time, so
we gotta get out. I'll be back tonight, God willing.
I'll be back on the radio eleven o'clock in the west,
two am in the East with another fresh week of
(33:42):
the Ben Matler Show. And uh, now what about you
Alex here you'll be Are you back tomorrow?
Speaker 2 (33:48):
La?
Speaker 1 (33:48):
God Willing?
Speaker 4 (33:48):
Yeah, I mean hey, as of now, that is the plan,
and I plan.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
To just do it every day to the fullest.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
All right, And again your podcast, how can people follow
your your work there?
Speaker 3 (34:00):
Ben?
Speaker 4 (34:00):
Just look up three words Shallow Oceans podcast, because in
a world that seems so vast, it's really not as
deep as you think.
Speaker 3 (34:06):
Ben.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
All right, And if you're listening to this early here
on this Sunday, don't forget Benny Versus the Penny still
available on Peacock and regional cable television. Check that out,
little gambling show, Benny Versus the Penny, and talk to
you next time later. Skater
Host
Ben Maller
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