Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness

For the last 7 years, The Holderness Family Podcast has been our most favorite thing we do. We love getting to talk to experts, having meaningful conversations between the two of us, and being a place where you can laugh. A lot has changed since we started the show, and we feel lucky that our audience is growing older with us. So in the spirit of that, we are re-launching our podcast. We are so excited to introduce you to Laug...

A year ago, our friend Charlie Berens asked Penn if he would open for him on his national stand-up tour. It was for a show in Durham, and Penn couldn't at the time. (I could tell he was almost relieved!) But when Charlie came back to NC this year and asked again, Penn said yes. To be clear, Penn has never tried stand-up comedy. And to my surprise, he was very nervous!

This week we go along on Penn's journey into trying stand-up...

I am so glad we're getting to a place where we don’t need to whisper the word "menopause" anymore. As you know, Penn and I have talked openly about my perimenopause journey. This week we have journalist and author (and our friend) Tamsen Fadal on the podcast to talk about her instant New York Times Bestselling book, How To Menopause. Tamsen talks about her story as well as advice from experts on how to reclaim your life during the ...

I’m at the point in my life when there is probably more behind me than in front of me. While my default setting seems to put me in a place of depression or anxiety - I’m bizarrely excited about whatever life I have ahead of me. So on this last year before I stand on the doorstep of my 50th birthday - I have a plan. I want to show up to 50 stronger, kinder, and with more joy. Listen on to hear about my 5 big goals.

Recommendation...

I've always been fascinated by how birth order shapes family dynamics, especially as we navigate this season of parenting. Penn and I are very aware that we don’t have many more years “on the record” with our kids. Have we done enough to help them become their best selves? This week, we’re chatting with Susan Dominus, an award-winning writer for The New York Times and a journalism professor at Yale. Her new book, The Family Dynamic...

For some, getting older can be hard, but we believe it needs a rebrand. We're not anti-aging... we're pro-aging! This week, our producer Ann Marie Taepke joins the podcast to lead us in a March Madness-style bracket to determine the best thing about getting older. We start with a sweet 16 and whittle it down to one champion with lots of laughs along the way. Stick around to hear the Top 5 things Gen X will have in their retirement ...

Colon cancer runs in my family. Between that and having ulcerative colitis (that is now in remission) I get a colonoscopy every couple years. By 2030, colon cancer is predicted to be the top cancer death for people younger than 50. That's why it's important to get your cancer screenings when they are recommended. And this year, it is Penn's turn to get his check-up. (That's right, we're talking all about butt stuff.)

We take yo...

When we wrote our book, ADHD Is Awesome, we got to meet a lot of you on tour. Many of you felt seen for the first time and many of you had no idea you had ADHD until you read it and got diagnosed. The majority of you were women. If we had one regret in writing our book, it was that we did not include more about how different ADHD presents in girls and women. But a big reason for that, is that it doesn't exist.

There is very lit...

This week, we peek behind the curtain about some new starts and life updates... we talk about changes to our podcast (please weigh in about the name!) as well as speaking engagements, streaming shows, and writing a children's book. It was super special to reflect on our favorite children's books in our Top 5 this week as well as Lola's. Knowing that she is going off to college later this year has made us both very emotional. If you...

Our podcast is a place to laugh, but it's also a safe space to get curious and learn. The rollback of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives have been a hot button issue in our nation. We wanted to dive into understanding DEI and the issues surrounding it, so we invited award-winning entrepreneur and inclusion expert, Donald Thompson, on today's show. Donald is a friend of ours with an extraordinary career creating and ...

We're back! We had so much fun last week answering your questions that we decided to make a Part 2. (Welcome to the sequel!) This week, we tackle communication tips, teens growing up, cryptocurrency, and we end the show with our Top 5 worst sequels of all time. Did we miss your question? Send it to us for a future episode and if you missed Part 1 check it out here.

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We love to hear from our listeners, so this week we decided to try something new... we give very unqualified advice to all your questions! We give advice about college, making friends, negative comments, and a very controversial question from "Scooter." (Are you team frontsies or backsies?)

Also, we give a life update about a recent trip to Charleston, South Carolina (and a fantasy Kim got to recently live out) as well as the T...

When we wrote our book Everybody Fights, So Why Not Get Better At It we talked about magic words in a relationship. There are phrases you can say during discussions or arguments that help bring down the temperature or help each other open up - so couldn't there be the same for our kids?

This week, we bring back one of our all-time favorite guests, Dr. Hope Seidel and get her advice about better communication. But we quickly lea...

We’ve done some episodes before about questions for your spouse (especially when we were all quarantining in the pandemic and looking for stuff to do) but this episode goes deeper. In this podcast, we talk to Casey and Meygan Caston, authors of 365 Connecting Questions for Couples. It’s an entire year of open-ended questions to use (so if you’re trying to grow closer in your relationship, it’s a great resolution for the new year.)&...

We're back! During the first weeks of a new year, Kim historically freaks out and copes by setting goals. As for me (Penn) I am not a goal setter. This week, Ann Marie helps us go back in time to last year's New Year Resolutions to see what stuck and what didn't. I also give my Top 5 things I am looking forward to. Thanks for being back with us after two weeks off!

PS. Here is Penn's full Wicked parody: https://www.youtube.com/...

Welcome to Part 2 of Behind The Music with Our Team! (If you haven't heard Part 1, you can tune in here.)

Every year on the podcast we do a round-up of our favorite moments, but this year we decided to do something a little different. This week we kick off a two-part series "behind the music" with Ann Marie Taepke and Sam Allen, our two of our integral team members. We had so much fun in this podcast, it had to be two parts. In ...

Every year on the podcast we do a round-up of our favorite moments, but this year we decided to do something a little different. This week we kick off a two-part series "behind the music" with Ann Marie Taepke and Sam Allen, our two of our integral team members. We had so much fun in this podcast, it had to be two parts. In Part One, we share our favorite videos and the stories behind creating them. We talk about why Kim loved brea...

Sometimes I can feel like I can conquer the world, and sometimes I don't want to get out of bed. 93% of time management and productivity books are written by men. (By the way, I love men but women are built different!) There are so many more nuances to women who are looking for help prioritizing and planning. So this week, we have a ladies-only episode where I interview Kendra Adachi, also know as "the Lazy Genius." Kendra is a 3-t...

Last month on the podcast, we played a bunch of Hallmark movie games in our Christmas Will Fix It episode. Penn and I had so much fun that we asked ourselves... should we talk to an actual Hallmark movie writer? Enter Julie Sherman Wolfe! Julie is an award-winning writer and producer who has written 26 MOVIES for Hallmark, including her most recent Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story. We had the best time talking to her about he...