Ben Hansen of SciFy's Fact or Faked, Paranormal Files and lots of Surprises and prizes this week! 9/8/2012

Summary: If there ever was a week of BTE Radio you decided to miss, this would not be it. We have loads of surprises, prizes and Ben Hansen from the Sci Fy channels Fact or Fake Paranormal Files joining us this week on the show. Lon and Eric are estatic and honored to welcome Ben to this weeks show as we talk to the Lead investigator and star of the hit Sci Fy show Fact or Faked Paranormal Files, Ben Hansen. Plus we have an extra special prize to give away and a HUGE surprise to announce as well! This show is so big, we'll be lucky two hours will be big enough to hold it all so you're just gonna have to tune in this Sunday night to find out what is in store for everyone! About Ben! Ben grew up primarily in Utah, the 2nd oldest of six children. Supportive parents encouraged him to fully pursue all of his interests. Like many of his friends, Ben’s dad enrolled him in sports and coached dozens of his athletic teams while his mom signed him up for piano and trumpet lessons and kindled within him an interest for music. Ironically, she was also the one who taught him how to fish, camp, and shoot a gun while his dad preferred to teach life’s lessons on the court and baseball field. Because his parents were so supportive, Ben developed an obsession for trying new things, especially if it involved earning certifications and licenses. These endeavors included becoming a licensed airplane pilot, amateur radio operator, licensed falconer, certified SCUBA diver, hang glider, Search and Rescue dog handler, and earning the Eagle Scout award in Boy Scouts (in large part thanks to his mother). He graduated with honors from the University of Utah with a Bachelors degree in Sociology, certification in Criminology and Corrections, a Spanish minor, and a year of study abroad completed in Australia. Ben maintains his Spanish fluency and has used it quite frequently in his work and personal life. Inspired by TV shows like The X-Files which were popular while he was in high school, Ben cemented an interest in both a desire to work in public service for an investigative agency and an insatiable desire to explore mysteries of the unknown. After graduating college, he worked for several private and public agencies, including investigating child sex crimes and severe physical abuse on the Utah County Sex Crimes Task Force. His training and work later brought him to work in the position of Special Agent for the FBI. His time serving at the state and federal levels gave him over six years of formal experience in investigating a wide range of crimes and national security details. Feeling as though he might someday return to public service, Ben also felt compelled to seize an opportunity presented to him to assist in forming a new investigative reality TV show. Departing from the mainstream paranormal shows prevalent at the time, this new show would not only conduct observation-based field investigations; it would focus primarily on alleged evidence already at hand. The age of the Internet has brought with it the sharing of thousands of allegedly paranormal viral videos and photographs. People with a sincere curiosity for the unknown are often left with the tremendous and exciting task of sifting through the hoaxes and naturally explainable cases. Ben and the show developers felt that after a methodical process of experimentation, whatever evidence remained unexplained... also became more compelling. From this concept was born the SyFy hit television show Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files. Having been with Fact or Faked from the beginning, Ben leads a team of five specialists who travel the world looking for answers to these mysteries. Confronting the relationship of seeing and believing, the team has witnessed and documented dozens of unbelievable events. Many people recite the phrase, "I'll believe it when I see it." Balancing an innate human longing for rational explanation with the acceptance of witnessing undeniab(continued)