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Oh my... the world seems to be spiraling, but we just continue to plate... and ponder... And yes, our daughter wants more care packages, and our son, when booking his flight back to LA for Spring Break with 5 of his friends... decided to take multiple layovers in order to find the absolute BEST AIRPORT BARS! But that's not even the serious subjects... What are, you ask? Well: 1 - Putting a Dairy Queen walk-up in downtown Manhattan Beach... where, most importantly, the smallest size to order is a medium, and it has to be an Oreo Cookie Blizzard. 2 - Chris's retirement MUST include a Walmart style greeter, full-time job, entertaining dogs at Healthy Spot Doggy Day Care... And yes, he has songs he has been writing for those pups too.... 3 - And 3, whats gives with BITCOIN. WE TALK BITCOIN AND A LOT OF IT. And, most importantly how distrust in the system led to BITCOIN'S Bonanza, but also, when it was revealed Jeffrey Epstein was partially behind Bitcoin, it caused the faith in the block-chain governed asset to wane... and wane super fast! WE ARE PLATE AND PONDER! Please follow, download, enjoy, and review... Til next time, have a BLIZZARD and pet a dog!

Oh boy... Oh Boy, does Chris want to talk about all things Jeffrey Epstein... The most symbolic figurehead and instigator of the America's populist movement -- on both the right and the left! Epstein personifies the complete breakdown of confidence by the masses in our financial, judicial, and government system... And all we continue to learn about Epstein continues to foster more and more distrust and skepticism, as well as make those with Tin Foil Hats more emboldened and accurate (as crazy as that sounds)! Yes, we do Plate & Ponder serious subjects over dinner, so HANG ON... Epstein is just one of those topics. The other, is MOLTBOOK.... AI AGENTS ON THEIR OWN REDDIT. Heard about it yet? No? Well you will? And this is only the beginning... And, of course we hit on the outfits (or lack thereof) at the Grammys and the fact that our son is coming with 5 of his lacrosse teammates to Manhattan Beach for Spring Break! Yippee! Enjoy, and thank you Romania for joining our fanbase of international markets! Til Next time....

Well... that was a fun episode... yes, Jen almost called it off when I went on too long about our favorite 37 global markets, but eventually, we got into the groove and boy did we take off! Our most heated debates were over: 1 - A Heated Rivalry and whether content needs to always be "universal" or can it play to a niche. 2 - The insanely massive attention deficit disorder that our current news-cycle possesses and why there is ZERO follow-up to any story, whether it's: Bulter, PA Assassination Attempt Mangione & United Health Care MN State Lawmaker Assassinations  Jeffrey Epstein Charlie Kirk  Venezuela  Gaza  Beckhams & More.... 3 - And finally, the genius of Jim Cameron vs the overindulging length of the latest Avatar movie... THANK YOU TO ALL 37 MARKETS! WE ARE PLATE & PONDER!  Please follow, download, enjoy, and review... Til Next Time... LIVE LIFE TO ITS FULLEST!

Ok... A real bummer recording a show after watching the LA Rams lose a tight one... Congrats to the Patriots and the Seahawks (and to the USC QB who will bring home a ring in two weeks!).... On today's episode, we fight thru it and keep the energy high, discussing: Uncle Bernie Sander's (Bad?) Breath. Jay Peak Ski Resort closing for the first time ever due to extreme cold. (300 inches of snow and counting!) Sundance Film Festival moving to Boulder, CO next year. The Storm of the Century. Spring Break options for our college kids. Summer Internships - TIME TO GET ON IT, KIDS! And, of course, general empty-nesting thoughts and advice and challenges... AND A SHOUT-OUT TO OCEANA! We finally have fans down there. Thank you New Zealand and Australia.......  Til next time... Download, follow, enjoy, and review. We appreciate you all!!!!!!

Sorry for the delay between episodes, but Chris had to bolt out of Nashville last night before the winter storm OF THE CENTURY... and things were quite busy during the days prior...  That said, we delivered on this one! Hope it was worth the wait! Not only do we give a shout-out to Nashville's incredible music scene, but we hit the topics that affect us all... and we do it with GUSTO: TikTok - why the heck is it still in the USA? Netflix - boy, do they know us well! And they prove it again and again! That includes Matt Damon and Ben Affleck too! China - YES, there are problems there. And what gives with Canada nowadays? Carney's mancrush on Xi is a bit too much! And, we round it out with how amazingly well Chris knows Jen... and vice versa! We are PLATE & PONDER! Please follow, download, listen, and review. Til next time.... Survive the storm and LIVE LIFE TO ITS FULLEST!

First things first, sorry about my sneeze on the last episode. Apparently a few listeners almost drove off the road after being surprised with that monstrous bellow! Secondly, we've been busy living life - empty-nester style!... And what a crazy weekend for us. Not only did we stay out past 10pm, but we made it til 1am -- TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW! An EPIC Country Music Concert and an even more adventurous fling with a speakeasy behind a barber shop and the 80's/90's cover bands that resided behind that locked door... So we avoided talking about Trump, Greenland, Iran, Minnesota, ICE, and everything else, and instead focused on the now, being present, and living life without ruts or overwhelming routines. And, of course, we started our countdown to the BIG CANES VICTORY in the National Championship -- or so we hope! JUST DO IT. JUST LIVE EVERY MOMENT TO ITS FULLEST. JUST BE ALIVE! We are EMPTY-NESTING. SO JOIN US. Follow, download, enjoy, and review... Til next time...... GAME ON! Beach Life Festival:  https://www.beachlifefestival.com/ Igloo Festival Montreal:  https://igloofest.ca/en

First off, Jen gets feisty with some really fun banter... We had a very energetic dinner discussing what to talk about during this episode...  And it spilled into the episode itself! And that makes it extra fun! Serious topics include:  Iran ICE MN Law Enforcement Police Proper Training China  And,  Then we bring it back to more fun banter. And a full-out Mic drop! Please follow, download, enjoy, review, and spread the word! 

Welcome to our second episode of this already intriguing year of 2026! Yes, we hit on Minnesota, Iran, and Venezuela as part of our serious subjects, but... Importantly... we pivot towards more fun and enjoyable topics like the Golden Globes, our favorite films of the year, Tim Chalamet, GLADIATOR, the Sky Bar, etc..... AND, even better, Jen dives into her personal George Clooney story! But alas, when we can't deny the anxiety filling the air around the globe and also here in the USA anymore, we remind ourselves of the importance in paying attention and relishing the BEAUTIFUL SUNSETS that often bless us, no matter where any of us live (though some may see them more frequently than others...)!  And boy, did we have a GREAT one tonight here in sunny southern California.... Until next time, please download, follow, enjoy, and review... and please spread the word too. 34 Countries and Counting......  WE ARE, PLATE & PONDER: Empty-Nesting with Jen & Chris Fenton

Sorry about the delay between episodes, but we were in 5th gear enjoying the final week of hanging with high-energy college kids before the... the.... super sad... send-off!...... And that, just happened, TODAY! So what better way to get over that emotional distress than to KICK OFF 2026 with another EPIC episode of our podcast! During this 39 minutes, we cover: THE MIAMI HURRICANE'S AWESOMENESS JOHNNY DEPP HARD ROCK STADIUM CAPACITY AND TICKET SALES FOR THE NATTY BEIJING'S SOFT POWER PROWESS MY HUMBLE BRAGS COOL NEW SOUND EFFECTS & MUCH MUCH MORE... Please follow, download, enjoy, and review. We are in 33 NATIONS NOW! It's GO TIME!!!!

So much to cover... So little time...  First off, we just spent 4 days hibernated with the Brodkin family in Fallbrook, CA. 4 Acres of awesome outdoor fun and a pretty darn cool pad to boot... And nothing too pricey either. The important part:  Getting two families together to spend quality time together while our four, college-age kids are all home. Priceless!  No horse in this race (IE, we are not promoting this property for any other reason than it was fun, and we recommend it.), but we do want to share the link: https://www.vrbo.com/2939116 Secondly, Jen and I play a great game of "Would You Rather?" reflecting both on life overall and the year of 2025! One item mentioned was a published op-Ed I was extremely proud of, YET NO ONE really read it - at least compared to others I have written. See for yourself (link below) why I was bummed out about that. (hint: I wrote about the BEAUTY of humanity rather than the more marketable polarization affecting humanity.) https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2024/02/08/chapman_and_combs_prove_excellence_through_unity_works_150458.html Third, we hit upon our wishes and thoughts of what's to come in 2026... Please follow, download, enjoy, and review!  Until next time, please have yourselves and safe and happy New Years......  And here's to a fantastic 2026 for all of us! J & C

Phil and Katie Brodkin (w/ a cameo by Jenna Brodkin) join us again as we breakdown this past year and our excitement for the upcoming one! It's hard to believe, but yes, it's almost 2026! Serious subjects include: 1 - What we are thankful for. 2 - Habits we want to continue and build further upon. & 3 - The importance of both resilience and reflecting on accomplishments. And we add some fun shout-outs and epic banter in this episode too... Please download, follow, enjoy, and review... Happy Holidays!

Well... the day started very early... 3am to be precise... thanks to a leak in our bedroom that decided to drop H2O on Jen's beauty sleep! (Don't worry. Our home-from-college-kids slept til noon!) Ah yes, the wonders of atmospheric rivers in Southern California... They just don't make roofs like they used to! But other than that, Christmas Eve is moving nicely towards a fun evening with Santa, his reindeer, and gifts under the tree on Christmas day!  Our serious topics include: 1 - The latest "Avatar" Movie (and a side-note on running-times). 2 - Chris Nolan's upcoming "The Odyssey" adaptation. And 3 - A follow-up on the Brown University tragedy and the always unfolding Adventures-in-the-Epstein-Files saga. Please sit around the fire, grab a glass of eggnog, and enjoy the latest episode of PLATE & PONDER: Empty-Nesting with Jen & Chris Fenton! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And, oh yeah, we cover Venezuela too! After a brilliant Sunday morning surf session with family and friends, we cover some serious topics that will continue to be discussed throughout the holidays: 1  The Epstein Files 2  Brown University Incompetency (and the tragedy we must not forget that happened there) 3  And where did all this Venezuela stuff come from?  Bottom-line, we Plate & Ponder, EMPTY-NESTING-STYLE! Please follow, download, review, and enjoy!  Happy Holidays!

Ok, don't fault us, but we did go down the rabbit-hole of what happened at both Brown University and MIT this past week. The tragedy affecting so many generated a nation-wide passion to find the person responsible. BUT, in the process, we also witnessed some bizarre behavior, events, and narrative that created powerful fodder for conspiracy discussions... We tackle that, and even admit our own personal flaws of falling into that said conspiracy trap... or, are we justified for doing that? What will history tell those looking back on this tragic past week?.... Let's all hope that the deceased suspect is, in fact, the evil one responsible.  We then segue into the question, "Are driverless cars safer than cars with a human driver?"  I say "yes". Jen says "no". Time will tell....... And, oh yeah, we are now in 25 Countries around the world! SO THANK YOU! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Please follow, download, listen, and review! We are, PLATE & PONDER: Empty-Nesting w/ Jen & Chris Fenton HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

(Photo: "Stand By Me") - The late (and great) Rob Reiner was prescient. Maybe we can't handle the truth... Or perhaps many in leadership want to make sure we never come to know it. Whether red or blue or green or purple, it simply doesn't matter. This past weekend was tragic, and a symptom of much of what isn't working within our system... the system of humanity. Yes, this show is about escapism and bantering about interesting subjects that fascinate us all on a daily basis. It's also about the trials and tribulations of empty nesting... Something that's brand new for many of us... But it also has to address serious topics with a deep respect. So yeah, we talk about our dislike of Los Angeles Airport during the holidays (and most every other time). And our love of having the kids home for the holidays too. And the holiday fireworks and the fun celebrations this time of year. But we also had to address this weekend. From the tragedy on Australia's Bondi Beach, to the horrors at Brown University, and, of course, to the brutal ending of the talented Rob Reiner's illustrious life. Our hearts are broken. It's Plate & Ponder: Empty Nesting with Jen & Chris Fenton...