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You're listening to the Radcast, a top 25 worldwide business podcast. If it's radical, we cover it.

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Here's your host, Ryan Alford. Hey guys, what's up? Welcome to the latest edition of the Radcast. I'm a little under the weather as you can tell. I don't have that booming voice like normal Chris, but I'm doing my best. It's our weekly marketing and business news of the week here on December 22nd, 2023. Merry Christmas to you, my friend. Merry Christmas to you.

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Hey, even though you're under the weather. Yeah, I feel okay. The voice is just, I'm on the tail end of it. It's more the nasally and the raspiness. So, yeah, apologize tonight. I have my normal radio voice, but the show must go on.

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Another holiday in the trenches for you and the family, huh? Oh yeah. I was having flashbacks, like the last two seasons, I think we've had a little bouts of something hit, like the first week of Christmas vacation. Because Nicole, literally this morning was like, she said something, I was having deja vu, because that's where it was last year. So this was a shitty way to spend our first week off. I'm like, I was having deja vu, because I think last year this same shit happened.

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But yeah, it's going through, but you know what, man? We rise above, we make no excuses and we're here, ready to bring it. Hey, we appreciate everyone out there. Merry Christmas to everyone. I'll give you a happy holidays, but I'm gonna tell you Merry Christmas too. So you can like it, love it or hate it. The, but, and I mean it in all sincerity, because tis the season to be jolly.

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I'm ready to watch me some Christmas vacation. That's all I'm saying. That's right. Classic. Yes. I hope everyone, wherever you are, however you are, we appreciate you listening. And I hope you're on your way. We record this the 22nd. It's close to season time here. You could be in the sleigh ride ready going on to Christmas Eve. Who knows when you're listening to this? So it could be Christmas morning.

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You're listening to the Radcast, so definitely Merry Christmas. I don't think we'll be having a white Christmas this year, Chris, in either South Carolina or Florida. No, not either. Yeah. That is the one thing I get jealous of. I see the white Christmas, I'm like, oh, that'd be cool. Yeah, I agree. It would be nice. That is beautiful, huh? Yes. Couple show notes for those of you. If you're new, then this will be new information.

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If you've been following along in one of our 1 million plus downloads a month, then some of this will be new, some of it won't. But as we get down to the end of the year here, today's fairly light on the news. A lot of people are shutting it down, including our favorite people like Taylor Swift and Elon Musk. There's not the antics are on the lighter side this week, but next week we'll definitely be, we'll do it a prerecorded. We've got some specials, some different things, some comedic things, a few things in marketing, but

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And then we will be kicking off the new year with our first guest, Dave Asprey, the original biohacker, the godfather of biohacking. We'll be coming on. We've already recorded that episode in full transparency and it's a bomb. It's everything you need to hear to get the year started. We got hacks, we got tricks, we got Dave going off on who knows what. If you follow Dave, you know him, he speaks his mind. And like him, love him or not, he believes in what he does.

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and he's been wildly successful. Enjoyed that conversation that will kick off your Radcast in 2023. We will have some program notes as it relates to this show that will start in February. Kick around some ideas as the Radcast network goes live and broader with what we think will be 40 to 100 shows next year under the Radcast Media Network. So be on the lookout for that. You'll see a lot of news, notes, different things on this show.

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other shows and the like. It's exciting news, Chris. It's very exciting news. Expansion. So I look forward to. Yes. I'm sitting here in the Radcast Studios. The team has put up our Radcast trademark right above where I'm looking at your face, Chris. I get to see, it's like beaming at me. The gold seal. Sawyer put that up there, I think, with Cameron Sawyer. I don't know, I'll give him both credit. And it's like just shining on me, the trademark.

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that we've worked so hard for. Something to be proud of. Hey, no one else can do it. Those cease and desist letters are going out, baby. I don't think until you've been in a position where you're trying to do a company or trademark, you really appreciate the value of a trademark. Yeah, everybody's like, why is that even, it matters. And since we just went, we went through the renewal of the vague K1, I'm like, I'm extra happy for you. I'm like, I really, I feel that.

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I know it didn't come easy. It's a pain in the ass. Now you're about to send him a bunch of Merry Christmas, he sent a SIS letter, so I'll call your competitors. Yes, exactly. There's a couple of them. Couple of them. You know who you are. We're coming for you. Politely. We're gonna be nice. I'm actually just gonna be nice about it. Perfect. Just be like, yeah. I'm gonna turn the guard dog on you immediately. Just we'll see where it goes. And look, we're all about value here. Let's turn it into it. So trademarks. Let's talk about that from a marketing perspective.

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So the reason you get that is to protect your rights. It's both past, present, and future rights to the name and the usage of logos and name. It's usually safer to get the name mark. Sometimes you wanna get the logo marked too, depending on how special it is, but you really get protected under the name ultimately. And it just keeps people, if you have an idea or a business, even if you didn't intend for it to become gigantic or huge or whatever.

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It just protects you in case that it does. And even if you don't want it to be huge, you wanna protect your name and someone's not popping up next to you. Either for us being another show, for a business being another brand. And so a lot of people understand that, but there is a lot of legalities and things behind it. And when you get into selling a company, the valuations increase, there's a lot of reasons for doing it and protecting those rights.

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We want to keep it about value here, Chris, the lessons. It's a protection on your investment, on your time, your energy, your idea. Exactly. And so if you, but be prepared. It takes about 18 months, if you're lucky. Ensign Doe, he's over the cash. Exactly. Those vloggers is supposed to be like that. And they'll say, you can do it yourself.

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don't do it yourself. No, no, just cough up the dough. Cough up the dough. Get it done right. Write the check and just know that the first check isn't the last check. It's like something always comes up. It's funny how that is with lawyers. I love them and then sometimes I want to kick them. Just being honest. Yeah. But. It's necessary evil. Yes, they are. And we joked about Taylor Swift.

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But I did think this was funny. He found this from usatoday.com. Recreate Taylor Swift's time cover with your dog to win doggy daycare. Pet owners have been inspired by Taylor Swift's Time Person of the Year magazine cover featuring her cat, Benjamin Button. This has led to a trend where people recreate the cover with their own pets, posting their best blue steel photos on social media.

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Content creator and comedian Ryan Schitzel, something like that, participated in this trend by recreating Swift's cover with his one-year-old pup, Burke, named after his celebrity crush, John Krasinski's middle name. Wow. The trend has gained popularity, as pet owners creatively mimic the iconic magazine cover featuring Taylor Swift and her cat. I thought this was pretty funny. I caught him.

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I don't even have a pet, but when I get one, just so I can do this cover. Maybe I need to do a little Storm T. Swift collab. You should do that. Just take it. And Sawyer could probably put a background line or something. Sawyer could totally put something together quickly on that. So send it to Sawyer. Deal. Sawyer, come in your way, brother. But it's fun. And I just wanted to make sure that Swift got her attention.

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We were joking around about new names for the podcast for next year and the Swiftie cast was already taken. So who knows? She's always in the news. She's in the weekly news. Yes, she is. What are there like some go-to, this next article brings up another one of my favorite movies of the season. Are there go-to movies for you in the holidays that are the ones that you're just going to watch? They're going to make the cut.

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What are they? Definitely. Home Alone, That's Been Runnin', Elf, Christmas Vacation. The Grinch, I feel like makes its way on always. Oh yeah. And last night, Home Alone 2 was on in the background. Yeah, love that. It's so over the top, but I know everything's gonna happen because my kids have watched it 8,000 times, but it's.

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It's got its own warm place in the heart. But this article comes from a marketing dive. Warner Brothers marks 20, guys, it's been 20 years, 20 years of Elf with a Roblox experience. We haven't talked about Roblox experiences in a while. The meta, the metaverse sort of. Warner Brothers motion picture group is commemorating, that was more difficult to say than I thought it was gonna be, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the holiday classic Elf.

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with immersive, it's always immersive. That's like their favorite word on these. If there is a, oh, I gotta get on tandem here. Sorry, little head cold, little head cold, little foggy. Just go with it. You've listened up to this point, you can stay with me. So, but everyone, if the metaverse or anything like that, immersive, we're gonna have an immersive experience. Like every marketer, every CMO, every quotes, like, we have an immersive brand experience.

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Every event I read it's an immersive experience an immersive event I people literally use a the source on something better, please. Yeah, are you carrying your MERS in your immersive? Experience I didn't realize it was a trigger word till you brought it up and now I'm like you're triggered now You know, you're right. That's what I'm saying. That's what we do on this show. We get you nodding You're going you know what Ryan's got a point there every time I hear immersive

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developed in collaboration with Fairview Portals, and Super Social, the virtual experience allows participants to don elf hats and assume roles like Wish Taker, Toymaker, and Gift Wrapper. Those are three of my favorite names. Wish Taker, Toymaker, and Gift Wrapper. Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum, and Tweedle something.

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In Santa's workshop, players are rewarded with presents and digital wearables for their contributions. The ongoing activation aims to attract new audiences, particularly among the younger demographic. This is reading repeat on all these things. Only reason I talked about it is because I love Elf and I love Will Ferrell. And I thought it was fun that they're doing something.

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I'm gonna get my kids on Roblox later and we're gonna go dive into this. I'm gonna tell you that right now. So I left the house today. They were playing Fortnite. And I think we're gonna get into the Elf on Roblox and report back on how this goes. But. I would. Yeah. As long as I can be the wish taker. I think you're all three.

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a wish taker, toy maker, or in the gift wrapper. Daddy's writing the checks and probably wrapping the presents too for all those gifts. You're a man of many names, I think. I think so. And my wife does a lot of the, does all the wrapping. I'll give her that. I'll take those wishes though, wish taker. I thought it was a negative thing at first. Are you accepting wishes or are you taking them? You know what I mean? Yeah. It's a little weird. Like I read it like it's a negative. Could be like wish grant takers. I thought this was like a scary character.

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The wish taker. Yeah. All your wishes are gone. There's no more wishes for you. Anyway, too much fun here. It's the holiday season folks, lighten up. And if you wanna learn from me directly, join my newsletter, RyanOffer.com backslash newsletter. Sign up, I give daily advice on marketing, personal branding, podcasting, life. Give that a shout, join that, it's free, it's daily. Just like this show, give away our best advice.

13:51

Hey, what holiday marketing discussion wouldn't be complete without Moon Pie discussion? Forget you. Are you Moon Pie guy?

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Not particularly. I think that's how most people answer that question. I had to go for- If we asked 100 people, I bet you 80 of them would say something to the equivalent of that really. Yeah. No, exactly what they are. But if I'm in that category of food, I'm more likely to grab that oatmeal cream pie. I, oh, for sure. I just, there's something about the moon pie that's just like too much or something. Yeah. Taking one pint of a-

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One bite of a Moon Pie is like the equivalent of eight bites of something else. It's like the double layer, the marshmallow. Like, I feel like I'm like, I don't even know what I'm getting into. It didn't taste bad, but it's just, I don't know. And Moon Pie is never going to sponsor us now, but I'm just, I'm just, that's all right. It's okay. It doesn't align. I agree. I'm, it's a polarizing, polarizing dessert.

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All it's making me realize is there's a small segment of the population that absolutely loves these things and they're carrying the whole company Because if you're right You me 80% of people, you know exactly what it is. You're never reaching for it when you're walking in the mobile gas station Oh, it's always the one like you if you go into like a deserted town and They got like Evan's snacks

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They're all empty, but there's two Moon Pies left. It's like that and two black liquor sticks. And I could be starving and I wouldn't buy it. And I'm like, yeah, no. That Moon Pie from 1967, I'm gonna pass on that. But back to the article for Marketing Dive, our favorite marketing source by the way, Marketing Dive is the bomb. If you're into marketing news, we need to give them some love here at the end of the season.

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Marketing dive calm moon pie known for its marshmallow filled snacks something like that launched a global ad campaign specifically targeting Extraterrestrials also known as et's collaborating with agency Tombras good agency in Knoxville, Tennessee Like this guys and enthusiasts focused on unidentified Anomalous phenomena. I have no idea how I made through that and I'm not sure I did anomalous. Yeah, I did

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I made it UAP. You did? I did it. The brand crafted out of home ads in a language purportedly comprehensible only to aliens. How'd they learn that language? These ads were strategically placed in UAP hot spots, such as Washington, Roswell.

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and New Mexico. Moon Pie, maybe Roswell, New Mexico, I'm combining words here, and cities. Moon Pie aims to capitalize on the heightened interest in UAPs, spurred by recent congressional hearings on the subject. Moon Pie is known for good marketing. I will say this, their marketing's way better than the actual product. But this is fun. And I am, and it's scary, because I'm starting to...

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think that there really UFOs are out there. It's starting to be like undeniable. There's something, that's for sure. Yeah, but all these videos was shit flying around, they have no idea. I guess we'll figure it out one day. Which, now that we're reading this, I am a little surprised other brands haven't tried to use such like a viral newsworthy event to, what do you call it, borrowed interest? Look it, I'm learning. Hey, you got it. Borrowed interest, shared interest, yes.

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But that's what they did. It's called news jacking as well. There's lots of news around the extraterrestrials, ETs, and UAPs. We're just gonna call that from now on. Never saying those three words again. But, and they're tapping into that and people, it's top of mind. People are real fucking scared that aliens are gonna get them because there's all these videos that keep coming out like every conspiracy theory ever.

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So they tap into that and hey, sell some more Moon Pies. I'm still not buying a Moon Pie though. This is me. I love to- Not for me. I like to get in, send me a DM on Instagram if you're a Moon Pie lover or hater. I wanna do, I wanna do, we need, this is where we need like live polls. Like next year if we go daily with this show, I'm gonna do a live, like live polls or something. Cause-

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I need to know like real time. Cause I have a feeling more people don't like. Call us in. Yeah. Call in and tell us about how much you love Moon Pie. Real quick in the room. Cameron Sawyer, Moon Pie yes or no? Yeah, exactly. It was a, just for everyone looking, we got a absolute no and we got a eh, which is I think you're gonna get a lot of eh. And it's just polite cause you don't wanna like it cause it doesn't taste bad. But when you really get after it, you don't really want it.

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You take two bites and you're like, eh, that was a bad decision. Yeah, yeah. You should have gone for the nutty buddy. Should have gone for the nutter bar, like the Swiss cake roll, like something like, Little Debbie's got like 12 options that are better than the Moon Pie. Literally, that's what it is. Is there so many better options right in front of you? Yeah, yeah. The peanut butter roll, come on. Little Debbie's got like a whole freaking.

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cupboard full of things better than the moon. Good marketing. So there you have it. Instagram's launching a bunch of new features. Some I understand, some I don't. Some about AI. I think every company's trying to put AI in something. Like every app I use now, like here's your new AI feature that'll never fucking work. It gets in your way. And just to say we have an AI feature. I'm all for technology to improve, for experience.

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But I'm not for technology's sake. And I think we're starting to hit this. We're jumping the shark early on the AI. Instagram has introduced a generative AI-powered background editing tool. God, I was hoping they would. For users in the United States, the tool part of Meta's generative AI initiatives allow users to change the background of their images and stories using props.

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You gotta have a prompt engineer just to change your story background. When users tap on the background editor icon, they receive ready prompts like on a red carpet, being chased by dinosaurs, or surrounded by puppies. Users can also create their own prompts to customize the background. That's as far as I'm going to go on that. I think we get it. It's fine. It's cool. I don't know.

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I know it's like different ways to express yourself. I get, how much you wanna bet? That's not in the article. But how much would you want to bet? I will bet you $1,000 hard cash that someone at Instagram used that quote or something very quotes to it when this came out.

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We want people to be able to express themselves in different ways. I guarantee you that's the blanket statement when features like this. And I'm like, people are getting paid just to come up with this shit. And I'm like, if you came up with stories, dude, get a raise. That was communication. That was a way to do things that was different than the normal posting and all that. Even if they ripped it off from Snapchat, whatever it was, whoever it was. I don't care. Okay. That was cool. But backgrounds just on prompts. Come on, man.

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I don't know, man. I mean, you're gonna use that, Chris. You're not bringing anything new. You're just simplifying Photoshop for the average person in my mind. Yeah, I don't, I... I won't, not something I've used, so... There's some creator out there that's gonna DM me and they're gonna go, I actually find this very useful, Ryan, and be like, good for fucking you, because you got nothing better to do than to prompt your ass on Instagram. I just wanna get my story up and have some communication back and forth.

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How much more time do I need to spend like making what we're gonna talk about? Let's just get it up so we can talk about it. I don't want this selfie up, man. No, I'm having just quick selfies. Everything's got so complicated. Everything's a production now. Look at me, I'm eating a moon pie. I did it. On the moon with my template background. Exactly, that's all I wanted to say. I feel comfortable with doing selfies, but I don't, but you know why, Chris?

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because the skins never look better. Tell me. Caldera Lab, calderalab.com. Use Rad Ryan, you get 20% off. The most premium, the best men's skincare delivered right. Look, I didn't even know men's premium skincare existed. I'm like, you go to the drug store, it's like Suave or trying to use my wife's stuff. And then I'm like, okay. Got in touch with Caldera Lab, they gave me a call. We're like.

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That guy will work. I'm like, send me this stuff. I used it for three months. I'm like, holy shit. I was actually surprised it worked. I'm skeptical. Y'all hear the cynicism in my voice a lot of times. But Caldera Lab works. And they've been a great official skincare partner of Ryan Alford and the Radcast here. And I must say, Chris, you look like you're even glowing here. I know you're at mom and pop's place there in Florida. You're already on.

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your break, you're already relaxed, but I'm seeing at least a couple years have dropped off of your face. Oh, there's no doubt. Yeah, I've been, I like it a lot. I like the face wash, the oil. I was actually looking yesterday. I can tell a difference. And it smells good, it just feels good, it's nice. I've never been one to pat my cheeks, but something about when I put that stuff on, I just wanna like pat the cheeks about it. I don't know why. Something I don't even know about. You're gone, man.

24:13

But all seriousness, I just, it took some bags out. I got some bags going on. You got four kids, four companies. I've not tried the icon yet. I need to get that. For the bags. Dude, oh, that is, that's the one. It's right here. Look, it's right here. Sitting right here. I could apply this right now, but I don't want to scare anyone by just how those bags disappear in real time. It does work quickly. I will say that.

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But go, in all seriousness, this is our favorite sponsor of the year because this works and we've got a lot of great feedback from people that have bought it. CalderaLab.com, Rad Ryan, you'll get 20% off your entire purchase and these are good people making premium products right here in the United States. So go support them. We appreciate them. Chris, what's your big Christmas plans?

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No, I'm just hanging out with the family. Everyone's in town. All my nephews, so just being, being Uncle Chris, just feed him cookies and bribing him with snacks. Is Storm with you? He is, however, today he's with he's with a dog sitter for the day. My parents had a Christmas party. Had to the house for the evening and then go pick him up today. Understood. Storm is Chris's.

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Chocolate lab there. He's chocolate, isn't he? He's gotta be chocolate. Oh yeah. This big chocolate boy sometimes likes to make an appearance on the- The only lab on the face of the planet that doesn't like walks. Yeah. He is a- He's a water god through and through. He is a water, oh he does like the water. Every time I see you post those videos, he's nuts. We do appreciate everyone, whenever, wherever, however you are. Merry Christmas to you. It's been a light episode.

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keeping it light here at the end of the year. We appreciate everyone. We'll have a fun episode next week. We've got some trends. I found a really cool article. I was gonna save it, do it today, but I'm gonna save it for next week. It's actually some trends for next year, some insights, along with some fun things and fun lists. So we'll be recording that for next Friday. We appreciate everyone and we appreciate you, Chris Hanson. Appreciate you and Cameron Sawyer too. Oh yeah, we appreciate all the team here.

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Saw your eyes. My Cameron, we appreciate everyone. And happy holidays and a happy new year if we don't see you on the other side. For Ryan Alford and Chris Hansen, we'll see you next time on the Radcast.

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To listen or watch full episodes, visit us on the web at theradcast.com or follow us on social media at our Instagram account, the.rad.cast or at Ryan Alford. Stay radical.