Touchdowns, Taxes and a Tone‑Deaf Spanish Speaking Halftime
The Ben Ferguson Podcast
iHeartPodcasts
4.8 • 5.4K Ratings
🗓️ 9 February 2026
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
1. Super Bowl & Cultural Commentary
- The discussion opens with dismissive reactions to the Super Bowl halftime show, particularly focusing on Bad Bunny.
- The Celebrity political signaling is a cultural backlash as exaggerated or performative.
- Cultural change is being pushed by elites rather than organically embraced.
2. California Tax Policy Critique
- California’s tax system punishes high earners and visiting performers, especially athletes.
- Example cited: NFL player bonuses allegedly being taxed at levels exceeding the bonus itself due to “duty day” rules.
- California is economically self-destructive, encouraging talent and businesses to leave the state.
- Texas and other low-tax states are contrasted as more economically rational alternatives.
3. “Follow the Money” – DEI & Philanthropy
- Mellon funding is:
- Promoting DEI-focused hiring
- Encouraging identity-based academic disciplines
- Influencing faculty pipelines from undergraduate fellowships through tenure-track positions
- This funding results in racial discrimination, ideological conformity, and activist scholarship, rather than academic merit.
4. Transformation of Higher Education
- Universities are depicted as having shifted from traditional scholarship toward activist-driven ideologies.
- Fields like military history or classical studies are framed as marginalized, while intersectional or abolitionist studies are favored.
- Philanthropic foundations are blamed for reshaping academia without democratic accountability.
5. Political Activism & Protest Funding
- Anti-ICE protests are described as organized, rehearsed, and financially backed, not grassroots.
- Protesters allegedly admit to being paid, reinforcing the claim that activism is professionally funded.
- This is framed as evidence of manufactured dissent and coordinated political agitation.
6. Virginia Governance & Immigration Policy
- Virginia’s Democratic leadership is accused of:
- Cutting cooperation with ICE
- Releasing criminal undocumented immigrants
- Advancing aggressive redistricting reforms
- These actions are framed as an “assault on democracy” and a warning sign ahead of future elections.
- There is no longer a meaningful distinction between moderate and radical Democrats.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.6 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:05.1 | So the Super Bowl happened and we decided we were going to talk about it. |
| 0:09.9 | Senator Cruz and I were deciding how we were going to talk about Bad Bunny. |
| 0:13.8 | And if you didn't understand a word he was saying in the Super Bowl, yeah, that was on purpose. |
| 0:18.1 | It's part of his anti-America hate-hate- hate-all agenda. Now, that's just the reality of the |
| 0:24.6 | situation. But how angry should you be? And also, there was an alternative, which is what I love about |
| 0:30.0 | this country. We're going to break all that down for you as Senator Cruz and I talk about that |
| 0:34.9 | and much more. Welcome, it is Vertical Senator Ted Cruz post-Super Bowl show. Nice to have you with us. Senator, I know you are just really excited about the halftime show. You didn't watch any of the game, though, but that part you were there for, I'm assuming, right? Well, it's Super Bowl Sunday. I will say I had the great joy of being on an airplane during a lot of the Super Bowl. |
| 0:55.2 | So I caught part of the third quarter, and that was about it. |
| 1:00.3 | So I didn't watch much. |
| 1:03.4 | I got a field goal that was about it. |
| 1:06.2 | I did not see the halftime show, although I did pull it up on my phone and watch part of it afterwards. |
| 1:12.5 | But, you know, look, I mean, the Super Bowl, a lot of times I'll go to a Super Bowl party. |
| 1:16.1 | In this case, I was just flying and landing in Texas, so got home midway through. |
| 1:24.7 | You know, I got to say a lot of the noise about the halftime show yeah I just found myself |
| 1:31.7 | not caring like I know that there were a lot of folks all worked up and on the right you're |
| 1:38.1 | supposed to be outraged that that that that you know bad bunny there was like no English spoken |
| 1:43.8 | I could have said the damn where the guy was saying. Yeah. Yeah. So, I'm not bilingual like you are, though, Senator. There's a difference. See, you understood it. I didn't. Benjamin, look, we Latinos, a little bit of Spanish won't kill you. Like, I just, you know, I don't like the guy's politics. at the Grammys, I thought he made an ass of himself, like saying, ice out. |
| 2:04.4 | That I, that I don't like, and I don't really like when celebrities try to force their politics on us. |
| 2:11.9 | But, you know, I watched him, like, in the sugar cane and dancing around. |
| 2:16.2 | I think most of the halftime shows are kind of silly. |
... |
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