Now that my daughter is in Driver’s Ed, she likes to remind me when I’m not completely following the rules of the road. So much so that the other day I reminded her how long I’ve been driving. You guys, I’ve been driving for over 30 YEARS. (How did that happen?) To combat this, we got nostalgic and played some fun games to remind us of our youth. Personally, I was reminded that I hate it when I don’t know the answer to something. Especially in a game. Play along with us and see how many you can ...
Nov 01, 2022•36 min•Season 4Ep. 53
We've gotten so many good questions from you recently, we dedicated our podcast to answering them! In this episode, we cover evolving dreams, insecurities, and post Amazing Race blues... and why your heart should always be open. Tell us what you like, ask a question, or just say hi. Call 323-364-3929. Your support means the world to us. If you like this podcast please consider leaving us a review. We also love feedback. Email us at podcast@theholdernessfamily.com. We wrote a book! Learn more her...
Oct 25, 2022•48 min•Season 4Ep. 52
In honor of Penn's birthday, we decided to ask the question: What would 10-year-old Penn think of his life now? It’s easy to get caught up in the busyness of life and sometimes forget to really appreciate what you’ve accomplished. I know there’s a lot of hard things in life that really suck, but sometimes you look back and are actually grateful in some way for hard things you’ve been through that led you to where you are today. Tell us what you like, ask a question, or just say hi. Call 323-364-...
Oct 18, 2022•46 min•Season 4Ep. 51
What’s that emotion that’s excited but a little nervous? Nervcited? Well, I’m nervcited because our new game Family Faceoff has just launched into the universe (and we asked you listeners to call-in for this episode to play it with us!) Family Faceoff is officially available for pre-sale now and will ship in 3 weeks. We made Family Faceoff, becuase we are game people. A rainy day, vacation, or even just 20 minutes after dinner on a school night. Penn and I wanted to create a game that would get ...
Oct 11, 2022•48 min•Season 4Ep. 50
On this week’s podcast, I walked Penn through my month of mental health discovery, what worked, and what has room for improvement. The more we talked, the more insight Penn had on how my mind works. Speaking of how minds work, it should come as no surprise that we somehow detoured to a story of Penn performing the Heimlich maneuver on our friend (she is fine). We learned that, in a crisis, Penn will be the first to perform a life saving technique, and I’ll be the one bringing you a high-quality ...
Oct 04, 2022•46 min•Season 4Ep. 49
In recent years, I often have shied away from parenting podcasts and books because the older our kids get, the more I feel like they're "cooked." For better or worse, the damage of my parenting has been done. That is, until I started parenting coaching with our friend Dr. Hope Seidel. Through our sessions, we've reframed the way I parent for the better starting with the basis of our unique family values. (In our discussion too you will hear how many themes are similar to our marriage book on com...
Sep 27, 2022•43 min•Season 4Ep. 48
Let me start by saying I have the best wife on the planet. Let me also say that even though Kim and I wrote a book about marriage (and went to marriage counseling) we are still passengers on this flight. We are still learning. The reason I’m telling you this is because we opened our podcast this week fresh off a fight. Tears and all. I went on a really fun guy’s trip recently, and I forgot to thank my wife for handling all the things while I was gone for 5 days. She addressed it and initially I ...
Sep 20, 2022•36 min•Season 4Ep. 47
ADHD is a spectrum neurodiversity, which means that everyone has at least just a little of it. Because ADHD is Penn's superpower, he gives his best tips to achieve hyperfocus, aka concentration nirvana, in this week's podcast. Hyperfocus means you can tune out everything around you, completely freeze time and space (well, in your mind) and focus on one single task. (Sounds pretty great, right?) When you finally achieve hyperfocus, it feels like time is standing still. Penn often forgets what tim...
Sep 13, 2022•41 min•Season 4Ep. 46
Now that the kids are back in school, I’ve decided to use September to focus on my own mental health . I’ve talked openly about how I’ve battled anxiety and depression. I know what it takes for me to feel better, now I just have to do it. On this week's podcast I take Penn (and YOU!) along for the ride as I explore meditation techniques with Susan Lee of Body & Brain. Susan helped us with a very approachable and easy way to meditate that instantly lowered our blood pressure. She reminded us ...
Sep 06, 2022•40 min•Season 4Ep. 45
This week we explore your questions, but we keep circling back to a few themes of our own. Tell us what you like, ask a question, or just say hi. Call 323-364-3929. Your support means the world to us. If you like this podcast please consider leaving us a review. We also love feedback. Email us at holdermesspodcast@gmail.com. We wrote a book! Learn more here: www.theholdernessfamily.com/book Join our Facebook family: www.facebook.com/theholdernessfamily Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/t...
Aug 30, 2022•45 min•Season 4Ep. 44
This week on the podcast, we spoke to Dr. Anthony Fauci about the current state of COVID and advice for parents on the upcoming school year. We had a mix of fun and serious questions planned. Early on in the interview, we asked what the pandemic was like for him and his family on a personal level. He said he couldn’t answer that because their experience isn’t typical. “My children get threatened, they get harassed… I’ve had people who are now in jail because they’ve been convicted of literally t...
Aug 23, 2022•41 min•Season 4Ep. 43
The past few years have been rough for all of us, especially teachers. As we approach a new year of school, we want to learn more how to support both our kids and teachers, especially those in a neurodivergent situation. We called our friend, Child and Family Psychologist, Dr. Emily King, to ask her advice on the subject. Now that there is much more awareness and research about neurodivergent learning, there are ways the education system can be improved to meet the needs of all learning styles. ...
Aug 16, 2022•53 min•Season 4Ep. 42
I tend to carry the weight of other people’s happiness on my shoulders. I want the people I care about to be happy; so much so that I let it weigh me down mentally and even physically. My friend so very wisely brought up a great point: Why is happiness the goal? On today's podcast, we discuss the pursuit of happiness, our behind the scenes filming antics, and Penn shares an update on his life right now. Mom’s health has been declining, only a month after the loss of his Dad. Our year has had maj...
Aug 09, 2022•44 min•Season 4Ep. 41
Ever since our daughter, Lola, has been getting older, people have been telling me how much "trouble" I'm in as a Dad. That basically, I'm going to have to chase the boys away with a stick... and it's starting to bother me. (Like all of the sudden, my daughter isn't going to be able to handle herself and by God, CAN she handle herself.) So Kim and I called up Dr. Lisa Damour, clinical psychologist and author of two New York Times best sellers, to unpack this cultural phenomenon and explore bette...
Aug 02, 2022•49 min•Season 4Ep. 40
“So what did you do with your winnings from The Amazing Race ?” is probably the most common question we get asked recently. But when we asked this wonderful community if you had questions for us (WHEW…) you came up with some good ones that were not that. On our latest podcast we answered the The Amazing Race money question in full detail and so many other really, really insightful questions that may even spark meaningful discussions in your house. Like, “If you listed all the things you love, ho...
Jul 26, 2022•52 min•Season 4Ep. 39
Five years before I was born, 650 million people worldwide watched us walk on the moon. Hot take: I believe that the James Webb Telescope is more important than that. I know that the Webb doesn’t have the same “big picture” gravitas that the moon landing had. But as far as scientific progress and discovery, Webb is more important when you look at the big picture, AND WHAT A BIG PICTURE IT IS. Today we interview Keith Parrish, the Commissioning Manager for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) at...
Jul 19, 2022•1 hr•Season 4Ep. 38
We say all the time, but our podcast really is our favorite thing we do. It’s when we actually sit down together for a dedicated time and have conversations about our marriage, family, or things we are trying to learn more about. On today’s episode, we intended to start with a call-in question from a listener and her dad about how to get started making a podcast. That answer took a journey into a nuanced conversation, but that's one of the great things about having a podcast. You have space to r...
Jul 12, 2022•54 min•Season 4Ep. 37
If you met Penn's Dad, you’d know where Penn gets his personality from. He was an absolute legend. He lit up every room he walked into, dedicated his life to his community, and founded local charities to help those in need. Haywood Holderness passed away earlier this month. There’s been a lot of ‘laughter through tears’ at our house remembering him. About 10 years ago, he wrote out specific instructions about everything he wanted when he passed. This week on the podcast, we remember Penn’s Dad a...
Jun 28, 2022•43 min•Season 4Ep. 36
In the months leading up to the birth of Lola, Penn was really nervous about becoming a Dad. We didn’t have practice with other kids. We never even had a dog. So we decided to get a fish, as if that would somehow help us prepare to become parents. Needless to say, that fish died within 2 weeks. What a way to start our parenting journey. On today’s podcast, we called our friend, pediatrician and parenting coach, Dr. Hope Seidel , to talk about the expectations vs reality of raising kids. Dr. Seid...
Jun 14, 2022•39 min•Season 4Ep. 35
We know people come to our channels to laugh and escape, but the things happening in our world right now are not a laughing matter. So we decided to do this week’s podcast episode in two parts. We started by calling our senator. Currently, there are two gun control bills that have been stalled in the Senate. I know the idea of calling into a political office can be a terrifying (as an introvert even calling to order Chinese food can stress me out.) I hope listening to me call my senator shows th...
May 31, 2022•36 min•Season 4Ep. 33
This week called our friend, Dr. Marcy Caldwell , to ask her the Question of the Day: How many adults, specifically women, are going undiagnosed with ADHD? As always, Dr. Caldwell had some great insight for us on what it’s like for an adult to have ADHD and why it can be so difficult to diagnose especially in adult women. We also learned that the expectations of modern life can overtax any neurotypical brain, which looks like an ADHD brain under stress. Does this mean we all have ADHD? Later on,...
May 24, 2022•50 min•Season 4Ep. 32
When it comes to our marriage, I would definitely say I’m the big dreamer. I adore a 5-year plan and especially a color-coordinated vision board. But this week’s question gave me pause: “What are some big life goals you want to accomplish?” I think the last two years with the constant worry and fear of the pandemic, politics, and world news, I feel some goal-setting burnout. Don’t get me wrong, I still get really excited about being creative and the work we do every day. I’m just scared to verba...
May 17, 2022•42 min•Season 4Ep. 31
Penn and I have learned to be understanding of how each other’s brains work. He gives me grace when I need to get things in order and I try my best to give him patience when I close the cabinet doors for the 5th time. On this week’s podcast, we interviewed the women who turned organizing in rainbow order into an entire brand. Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin are creators of The Home Edit and stars of the hit Netflix series, Get Organized with The Home Edit. THEY EVEN INSPIRED PENN TO GET ORGANIZED...
May 10, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 4Ep. 30
As many of you know, we talk openly around here about mental health and the specific challenges we deal with in our own lives. We’ve written songs , podcasts , and blogs about these topics, and one of the most common questions we get from you guys about this is “how do I help my kid who struggles with these issues?” If you were following along last week, we introduced a new podcast format we are trying out with segments, so we took all of your feedback for our question of the week which is: “How...
May 03, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Season 4Ep. 29
Our podcast is our favorite thing we do. It’s like a built in day-date every week where we get to sit down and chat together for an hour. Sometimes we chat about serious topics between ourselves or other times we invite a special guest to teach us something. It really brings us a lot of joy. With the world continuing to be so serious, we’ve found ourselves seeking out things that bring us joy and levity. We want to look for the “extra” in the ordinary everyday. We thought maybe all of you out th...
Apr 26, 2022•43 min•Season 4Ep. 28
I feel very fortunate to have had our careers and health for the past two years, but I have been in an emotional slump. I'm fighting mine by amping up my extrovert time (shocker I know) but I am determined to push past this slump. Penn has been in a recent slump with his tennis hobby. He realized he has been putting more emphasis on his athletic performance instead of just having fun. Penn and I discuss how to know when a hobby isn’t serving us in good ways. Also we discuss the first stop on my ...
Apr 12, 2022•33 min•Season 4Ep. 27
Now that The Amazing Race has concluded, Penn and I have been interviewing as many of our co-contestants as possible. To wrap up these bonus podcast episodes, we brought in fan-favorite and host of The Amazing Race, Phil Keoghan! Phil gave his behind-the-scenes take on what it’s like to be on the other side of the mat each week. As one of the Producers of the show, Phil has been there through all 33 seasons to see each of the contestants and challenges play out. We asked Phil who he predicted to...
Apr 07, 2022•57 min•Season 4Ep. 26
Growing up there were the beliefs we hung our hats on before we were old enough to know better. Recently, I wrote a blog post about these past ideals (even ones that I've said to my own kids) that I'm trying to unravel now. We've all had missteps that have made us who we are today, but it's good to know when those idioms aren't serving us. You all came in HOT with some contributions to my list so we talk about yours too! Also... Penn explains lottery number science. So there's that. Don’t forget...
Apr 05, 2022•53 min•Season 4Ep. 25
My birthday was this past weekend, and it got me thinking about goal setting and aging. Usually, I am a very goal oriented person. However, with the world so out of sorts in the past two years, I haven’t really spent time thinking about achieving new things. Even though I'm in my mid-40’s, I still feel young. I also see many people in our lives getting older and I know I'm not (that) far behind. This week, I came up with a list of three ways to hopefully help me make the most of my life now and ...
Mar 29, 2022•48 min•Season 4Ep. 24
Recently, we asked you to send us your questions and you had a ton of great ones on marriage. Come on a double date with us while we discuss what to do when you and your partner want different things, our pet peeves, and Penn’s desire to create a man purse. (Do we need a podcast about all his crazy ideas?) Tell us what marriage questions we missed! Don’t forget to call us and leave a message - we might play your question in next week’s episode. Tell us what you like, ask a question, or just say ...
Mar 22, 2022•48 min•Season 4Ep. 23
