Ben Richards is the newly crowned 2026 Freeride World Tour Men’s Ski Champion — and the very first, FIS World Champion. Ben just wrapped up one of the most impressive seasons in FWT history, and today, Ben and Jonathan go through each of his runs on the tour. They also talk about his background; how his approach to comp skiing has evolved over the years; and, you’ll hear a cool story about the ski Ben used to blow all of our minds.

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We’d love for you to share with us the stories or topics you’d like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News; ask your most pressing mountain town advice questions, or offer your hot takes for us to rate. You can email those to us here.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Blister Summit Starts Today! (1:19)

Shoutout: New BLISTER+ Members (2:02)

Fresh Off Your Win, What Have You Been Up To? (4:12)

Ben’s Background in Skiing (5:15)

When Did You First Get into Freeride Comps? (8:33)

The Legendary Community of Kiwi Skiers (12:59)

Progression as a Comp Skier (14:13)

Dissecting Each Run:

1st FWT Tour Stop: Baqueira Beret, Spain (19:51)

2nd Stop: Val Thorens, France (25:44)

3rd Stop: World Champs in Andorra (28:12)

Dealing with Cancelled Comps (32:16)

4th Stop: Haines, Alaska (34:18)

5th Stop: Verbier & the Bec des Rosses (40:05)

Skiing Lines at Super-High Speeds (47:21)

Hearing from the Biggest Names in Skiing (49:11)

The Ski You Competed On: Armada AntiMatter 114 (50:50)

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Bikes & Big Ideas

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Cody & Jonathan are back to review the news, including Cody’s impressive recent completion of Norman's 13 with Tommy Caldwell & Bjarne Salen. They also discuss ‘alpine divorce’; ‘dirty singles’; recap the FWT, and do an Oscars’ Edition of ‘What We’re Reading & Watching.’

Note: We Want to Hear From You!

We’d love for you to share with us the stories or topics you’d like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News; ask your most pressing mountain town advice questions, or offer your hot takes for us to rate. You can email those to us here.

RELATED LINKS:

BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered

Blister Summit 2026

Enter Our Free Weekly Gear Giveaways

CHECK OUT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELS:

Blister Studios (our new channel)

Blister Review (our original channel)

TOPICS & TIMES:

Blister Summit Next Week! (1:12)

Norman’s 13 (8:29)

Freeride World Tour recap (25:23)

Castle Peak Avalanche Report (32:15)

Alpine Divorce / Legal Repercussions in the Backcountry (39:44)

The Most British News (55:26)

Mountain Town Advice: The ‘Dirty Single’ (59:19)

What We’re Reading & Watching: The Oscars’ Edition (1:10:23)

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Bikes & Big Ideas

GEAR:30

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On this 400th episode of the Blister Podcast, Mike Rogge and Jonathan Ellsworth discuss the recent landmark legal ruling against social media platforms; the future of technology regulation and the shift toward healthier media consumption; parenting in the digital age; and some very exciting things going on at Mountain Gazette, and the forthcoming issue of MG #205.

Note: We Want to Hear From You!

We’d love for you to share with us the stories or topics you’d like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News; ask your most pressing mountain town advice questions, or offer your hot takes for us to rate. You can email those to us here.

RELATED LINKS:

BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered

Blister Summit 2026

Enter Our Free Weekly Gear Giveaways

CHECK OUT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELS:

Blister Studios (our new channel)

Blister Review (our original channel)

TOPICS & TIMES:

Blister Summit (1:20)

New Blister+ Members (2:32)

Episode #400 of the Blister Podcast (3:30)

Jonathan & Mike take on the Slot Bar (9:51)

Facebook & Youtube found liable (15:39)

What comes first, changes to the algorithm or an age restriction? (31:36)

Keeping kids away from things that aren’t helpful to their development (39:47)

Addictive algorithms on social media platforms (47:46)

Mountain Gazette 205 (54:12)

Heading to the National Library of Congress (1:05:29)

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Blister Cinematic

CRAFTED

Bikes & Big Ideas

GEAR:30

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.