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

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...

Send us Fan Mail Yeah, we were an empty house for only a beat... That Thanksgiving to Christmas return to school barely lasted more than a blink of an eye, and now the kids are back!  Game on!  First one back to the South Bay is the VIP of VIP's, Lauren Crotty. Part of the family of South Bay Royals known as The Crottys!!! She's a Georgia Bulldog, and once we get thru the catching-up chi...

Send us Fan Mail A final Sunday evening before we go FULL-HOUSE for the next month with the kids home for the holidays... That means one last leisurely dinner with our friends Katie & Phil Brodkin (and our epic dogs). Then the chaos of college kids will sweep thru our little beach town! Most importantly on this episode, we celebrate the TENTH BIRTHDAY of our favorite furry friend, FLYNN! Then...

Send us Fan Mail Yes, Los Angeles has tunnels, and we've used them! Want to know where they are? We tell you! And what happened to the old Water Cooler? You know, the one that we all gathered around and conversed about who-knows-what -- regardless of political affiliations, religious beliefs, or what-have-ya... And what about the television shows we discussed around those said-coolers? And, o...

Send us Fan Mail For all of us newbie empty-nesters, our small town felt completely overrun by college kids returning home to get some free meals, have mom do their laundry, catch-up with old friends at their former stomping grounds, and, eventually, leave a little bit of havoc in their wake... And it all repeats again in a few weeks after Finals! So yes, we discuss that a bit... But we also hit s...

Send us Fan Mail EMPTY NEST = FULL NEST = OUR TOWN IS PACKED WITH KIDS HOME FROM COLLEGE! AND WE LOVE IT!!!! We have Eric & Jenna Brodkin, Dash Seiffer, and Kaylie & Dylan Fenton as our VIP GUESTS on this amazing episode. It's a short one, because they all have things to do (PG-13 Kind of Stuff), but we do cover: Some Glazing... Puppies... Thanksgiving Favorites... COVID Connections.....

Send us Fan Mail Empty-Nesting? Say what? We don't have that today! It's Thanksgiving, and we have a FULL HOUSE, so our son, Dylan Fenton, joins the podcast to share his insights from Montreal, Canada, where he attends McGill University, playing lacrosse with some living legends (lots of shoutouts) and studying international business (while also finding some time to be a bro at Zeta Psi)...

Send us Fan Mail EMPTY NESTING HIATUS ALERT!!!!!!!!!! We have one kid back from Tulane - Kaylie! One more, Dylan, coming home later this week! It's Thanksgiving! AND WE HAVE A FULL HOUSE IN THE WORKS! So why not talk to our kids about life and global issues over dinner and a drink....  Serious Topics Include: Fake Plastic Christmas Trees vs The Real Thing AI as a Tool for College AI vs Human...

Send us Fan Mail Oh boy...... We have fans around the world, and we have fans who are also VERY close friends (and fellow empty nesters!)..... How about having two of our most favorite friends join us on Episode 11??? Well, that's what we did! Manhattan Beach's finest people, Katie & Phil Brodkin. EMPTY NESTERS who love to plate, ponder, and gab... so we have LOTS in common!!! Seriou...

Send us Fan Mail We are back... Been a week, but the NOLA SET Conference & Tulane Parents Weekend interrupted our flow.... But all for good reasons. Yeah, it rained in LA (not kidding!), and we got a leak in our roof. So it goes... But on the fun-side, we met some great football recruits, chugged beers at The Boot, ate insanely good Gumbo, hung with our epic daughter, met her friends, danced t...

Send us Fan Mail Yes, lacrosse season is over in Montreal (HUGE SHOUT-OUT TO THE MCGILL REDBIRDS MEN'S LACROSSE TEAM!), but don't you worry, we can still helicopter parent with the best of them. This empty-nester team is heading to NOLA to see our daughter!  Get ready for us, Kaylie!! On a serious note, we do talk FAA delays that affected our Canada trip last weekend. AND THEY RAN OUT OF...

Send us Fan Mail We're handing over the keys to friends to watch our dog and home for the weekend, but before we go: 1 - Can we pay the people in the control tower? Please! If anyone deserves their regular paycheck, it's the people who keep us safe in the skies! &  2 - What is the meaning of life? What makes someone truly happy?  We know a few answers to those questions for us - a) w...

Send us Fan Mail It's a solo performance, so we'll call this one "Episode 7.5"... Chris does an early morning tv appearance on Yahoo Finance to discuss: 1) The Industry's anxiety around the expected Warner Brothers Discovery sale. 2) Solutions for the terrible trend of off-shoring tv & film production. 3) The importance of engaging consumers worldwide now that Hollywoo...

Send us Fan Mail Just when we thought it was other people who had the problem, Jen & I realized we have the same manic issue. We may actually take the outcomes of games our children play way too seriously... Hmmm... No way... That couldn't be true... Or is it?  We discuss the adrenaline rush.  Cortisol Release.  And the physiological response of watching sports.  Go Dodgers.  Go Redbirds....