PLATE & PONDER: Empty-Nesting with Jen & Chris Fenton

Send us Fan Mail BREAKING: We're Back with a BANG!  Sorry for the hiatus, folks—Jen and I have been crushing miles on the road like absolute beasts. But hold onto your seats because Chris is flying SOLO for the FIRST TIME EVER! Picture this: Me, behind the wheel, racing from Amsterdam, NY to Albany Airport, dropping truth bombs and wild stories non-stop. Buckle up—this episode is PACKED with...

Send us Fan Mail Empty-Nesting Parents, Picture this: Imagine it's Spring Break, and the sun-soaked beaches of MANHATTAN BEACH are calling louder than any alarm clock. In this explosive episode of PLATE AND PONDER, we dive headfirst into the ultimate frat house and lacrosse-team frenzy—think epic beer pong tournaments & beach dice where the stakes are high, the laughs are endless, the sun...

Send us Fan Mail EPIC SPRING BREAK BOMBSHELL: McGill Prodigy Hudson Waldorf Spills VC Secrets, AI Revolution Hype, and Hollywood Obsessions That'll Blow Your Mind!  Ever wonder how a college kid turns Spring Break chaos into a launchpad for billionaire dreams? We snagged Hudson for 45 minutes of PURE FIRE on Plate & Ponder – and it's UNMISSABLE! Here's the JUICY scoop: AI Takeov...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of "Plate & Ponder" we dive into tough subjects on a secular level with very special guest, Pastor Bryon Bos of Manhattan Beach's South Hills Church.... This episode is for everyone -- whether atheist, Jewish, Christian, or whatever... That's the beauty of Bryon, as he explores some of the most difficult challenges from a unique perspective...

Send us Fan Mail Finally... the moment so many listeners have made so clear that they wanted back - and ASAP... Jen Fenton is on the mic - again!  She's back from across-the-Pond and shaking things up. We are fully audio this episode, but we will be back to video soon enough. Plate & Ponder's technical team is working around the clock to make that happen! Until then though, we hit so...

Send us Fan Mail Florida Real Estate is a hot topic to so many, so this episode brings to light some of the true reality of that volatile, yet valuable market. Even better, it allows me to catch-up with one of my longest-time besties, GREG COHEN - we're talking a 50-year relationship! Not kidding!! Don't worry though, Jen will be back for the next episode. But I will say that it was fun...

Send us Fan Mail With Jennifer Empty-Nesting in Europe, I Plate & Ponder with former Uber-Agent-now-turned-film-producer, Emile Gladstone, who recently moved to the South Bay after he and his family were directly affected by last year's tragic Palisades fire. Our multi-decade relationship has led to many-a-deep-conversations over hundreds of bottles of wine and cigars, and this discussion...

Send us Fan Mail Jennifer Fenton joins Plate & Ponder LIVE FROM LONDON!!! Yeah, it may be Presidents Day Weekend here in USA, but across the Pond, they're still a bit sore from that whole "taxation without representation" issue, and the fact that we didn't play by the rules during that pesky little war... I mean, did they really expect us to also stand in formation in forma...

Send us Fan Mail Ok, I get it... Everyone LOVES Jennifer... BUT, she's off to Europe with her father and sister for a VERY WELL-DESERVED father-daughter(s) vacation, so I'm home alone........ So what's better than exploring empty-nesting with my favorite people from my 54 years of life...  So why not start with one of my original besties, Billy Mac! He has been empty-nesting for a l...

Send us Fan Mail We'll make it fast, so we can get back to the second half... but Jen and I joined up with the Phil & Katie Brodkin to broadcast live from a luxury box high above the field... providing an alternative to the various other halftime shows occurring during America's Favorite and Most-Watched Game - THE SUPER BOWL! Yeah, we talk about our favorite plays during the first h...

Send us Fan Mail 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:...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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 disord...

Send us Fan Mail 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 col...

Send us Fan Mail 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 wi...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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,...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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 HURRICAN...

Send us Fan Mail 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 r...

Send us Fan Mail 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 accomplishme...

Send us Fan Mail 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 towar...

Send us Fan Mail 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 Plat...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail (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 hu...