Boundaries have been a buzzword for a while, but what they really? (And are we even doing them right?) Today we welcome Dr. Abby Medcalf onto the show to talk to us about how boundaries keep people in rather than keep them out. She gives us advice and examples on healthy boundaries, how to keep them, and why you shouldn't justify them. Learn more about Dr. Abby Medcalf and her book Boundaries Made Easy here: https://abbymedcalf.com/ Have a question for us? Call 323-364-3929 or email us at podcas...
Jan 16, 2024•52 min•Season 7Ep. 2
This year I am trying to worry less, and it’s a hard resolution to measure. But I have a theory about needing to do less of something: Adding more. If I try to do more, will I have time to worry? I wrote a blog post last week that kicked off this topic in our weekly podcast. Penn and I talk through what we want more of in 2024 (which Penn is super on board with for the sole reason that it rhymes. Thank goodness I didn’t think of this in 2025.) I asked a bunch of you want you wanted more of in 20...
Jan 09, 2024•38 min•Season 7Ep. 1
My motto lately has been: "That sounds like a January problem." So when it came to the last podcast of the year, I decided to make it a problem for our lovely team: Ann Marie Taepke and Sam Allen. Hear the 4 of us discuss the best moments from the podcast this year, what Penn & I have learned about each other, and some behind-the-scenes fun. (Should we have Sam and Ann Marie on again?) Have a great holiday break, we are taking two weeks off and will be back on January 9th. See you in 2024! H...
Dec 19, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 6Ep. 51
I don’t buy lottery tickets. Not because I have moral opposition, but because I know I’ll never get this lucky ever again. Ten years ago, we won the internet lottery. We posted a video we titled, “ XMAS JAMMIES ” and it went viral. To be clear, we didn’t intend for millions of people to watch that video. It changed our lives forever (it's even how you're listening to this podcast now!) This week we talk about the lessons we've learned over the last 10 years. I wish I had better words to express ...
Dec 12, 2023•41 min•Season 6Ep. 50
I have to admit, I roll my eyes when people tell me to slow down and enjoy things. When I first heard the phrase ‘Calm Christmas’ my mind heard the word lazy. There are so many obligations and traditions that are expected of us this time of year, how can you possibly slow down? This week we talked to Beth Kempton, author of Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year: A Little Book of Festive Joy , to help inspire calm in us this season. Calm can mean different things to different people. Beth encourage...
Dec 05, 2023•50 min•Season 6Ep. 49
Have you ever gotten a gift so bad that it's hilarious? This week we needed a laugh so we asked you for your worst gift stories. You did not disappoint. (Also, did you hear cheese or Jesus? Let us know PLEASE!) Have a question for us? Call 323-364-3929 or email us at podcast@theholdernessfamily.com. Play Our Game Shop Our Merch Grab Our Book Join Our Newsletter Kim and Penn are online content creators known for their award-winning videos, including original music, song parodies, and comedy sketc...
Nov 28, 2023•39 min•Season 6Ep. 48
Penn and I are no strangers to sports. We both enjoy playing recreationally, watching matches, and our kids are competitive too. There’s so much to admire about professional athletes. But what can we learn from them? This week we have world-renowned sports psychologist, Dr. Nicole Detling, on the podcast to talk about how to get our heads into a winning mindset. Dr. Nicole has consulted athletes for 25 years, including Olympic and Paralympic medalists, world champions, professional athletes in t...
Nov 21, 2023•49 min•Season 6Ep. 47
Last month, I announced my Slow 60 Challenge in an attempt to minimize anxiety and unnecessary stress in my life. Maybe you’ve probably heard of the “Hard 75 Challenge” - my Slow 60 is completely the opposite. This week on the podcast, I talk to Penn about my Slow 60 Challenge and how I am doing with it. While I haven’t been able to achieve my goals everyday, I don’t get too hung up if I slip. I make a promise to myself to try again tomorrow. In America, we live in a society that values busyness...
Nov 14, 2023•41 min•Season 6Ep. 46
This week we try our first Holderness Book Club! Nikki Erlick, author of The Measure , joins us this week to discuss her New York Times Bestselling novel. (While I have read the book, Penn is representing the book club member who just comes for the wine.) We talk to Nikki about the inspiration around her book, how the pandemic influenced it, and she answers your questions. We stayed away from spoilers, so if you still want to read the book this will be a good starting point. The premise of the b...
Nov 07, 2023•39 min•Season 6Ep. 45
Kim and I have a phrase that we talk about in our marriage book : Name it to tame it. It’s the idea that when you say your fears out loud you take away some of its power over you. It was the inspiration for today’s podcast about naming what you are afraid of... without getting too heavy. I promise this is a fun podcast episode. We also call this exercise "naming the tarantula" - more on that in the pod. Another inspiration for today’s podcast was a recent video we did about Halloween costumes in...
Oct 31, 2023•39 min•Season 6Ep. 44
In our society of overabundance, we are constantly craving more, more, more. For me, I can't stop scrolling. It’s like a slot machine, but in this case, the slot machine is my phone. You know you can get something of value, you know you’ll eventually get a reward if you keep trying, and oh boy can you play it over and over again. Luckily, we had Michael Easter on the podcast this week to talk about fixing our craving mindset and rewiring our habits. Michael Easter is the bestselling author of th...
Oct 24, 2023•45 min•Season 6Ep. 43
We’ve all done it – looked into our dog’s eyes and wished we knew what they were thinking. We enlisted the help of our dear friend, Victoria Stilwell. She is the dog-training mastermind behind the hit show It’s Me or the Dog , the Victoria Stilwell Academy, and many other projects. She’s a big deal in the dog-training world and we were so excited to have her on this week’s podcast. We're trying a book club episode! On November 7th, we will talk to Nikki Erlick, author of The Measure . Send your ...
Oct 17, 2023•54 min•Season 6Ep. 42
We have a very special guest joining us for today's podcast. Academy Award-winning actor and New York Times bestselling author, Matthew McConaughey! Matthew graciously gave us some of his time to talk about his new children's book, Just Because . (It's fabulous and you can get it wherever books are sold.) We talk about dreams, creative inspiration, his Greenlights Grant Initiative, and if his three children finally think he is cool. (Spoiler alert, he may be with the rest of us parents on that. ...
Oct 10, 2023•37 min•Season 6Ep. 41
Recently, we put out a song parody in response to Taylor Swift showing up to watch Travis Kelce at the Kansas City Chiefs game. (The rush of a deadline is exciting for Penn’s ADHD brain as well as both of our former news journalist backgrounds.) After we hit publish on the video, we kept getting the same comment: "I wish you would sing every news story!" On this week’s podcast, we explore the idea of how it would sound if Penn sang the news and he gives us a behind-the-scenes look at his writing...
Oct 03, 2023•46 min•Season 6Ep. 40
I like to think I am a recovering ‘snow plow’ parent. You’ve heard of helicopter parents that hover over their children, right? Well, instead of just hovering, you remove all the obstacles for your kids in order for them not to experience disappointment. I think it’s hard for any parent to see their kids struggle, but the struggle is what builds resilience, right? This week on the podcast, we interviewed Jess Ekstrom to hear her story in entrepreneurship and her new book, Create Your Bright Idea...
Sep 26, 2023•53 min•Season 6Ep. 39
Who remembers what it was like to walk around the mall on a Friday night and seeing all your friends? It takes so long nowadays for my friend group to make plans. I miss the days when there was a standing social event you could just show up at. You couldn't text anyone to say you were there. You did laps around the mall and got to enjoy the surprise and delight of seeing people you knew. This week, Penn and I decided to avoid my anxiety and make Top 5 lists. What 5 things do you wish came back a...
Sep 19, 2023•50 min•Season 6Ep. 38
Penn and I have had our fair share of interactions with hospice as our loved ones grow older. There are so many people who don’t always have access to hospice care in the way they would like. But one thing I do know, the nurses who care for us in our final days are a special breed. One of these special nurses is Hadley Vlahos, a registered nurse devoted to hospice care. Hadley (or Nurse Hadley as she is known online) recently wrote a New York Times best-selling book The In-Between: Unforgettable...
Sep 12, 2023•32 min•Season 6Ep. 37
I am constantly wavering about being proud of my kids for good grades and feeling overwhelmed with how much work they have to do. The same goes for sports as I’m the loudest one cheering on the sidelines, but sometimes brought to tears when they have a hard loss. We wanted to discuss how to deal with setbacks, so we brought Michelle Icard onto the podcast to tell us how to turn failures into character-building moments, something she lays out in her new book, 8 Setbacks That Can Make a Child a Su...
Sep 05, 2023•42 min•Season 6Ep. 36
When you've been married for a long time, it's hard to learn something new about each other. Luckily, our producer, Ann Marie Taepke, joined us this week on the podcast to help. Inspired by our friends, Shawn Johnson and Andrew East (who did this on their podcast recently) we play "How Well Do You Know Your Partner?" Learn what I have pretend fights about, Penn's worst vacation, and why Penn thinks he married a cat. (I agree, by the way.) Also, do this with your partner by using the questions on...
Aug 29, 2023•58 min•Season 6Ep. 35
Some people get FOMO (the Fear of Missing Out) but I have FOMS (the Fear of Missing Sleep.) I go to bed early and I am an extremely light sleeper. Penn, on the other hand, likes to say up a bit later than me and... is a snorer. Recently, Penn had a cold and slept in the guest room and I had some of the best sleep of my life. It got me wondering, are there couples who have happy marriages and sleep in separate rooms? This week we have Dr. Shelby Harris, a licensed clinical psychologist who specia...
Aug 22, 2023•49 min•Season 6Ep. 34
It's back to school time and we honestly needed a little pep talk. So, Dr. Seidel joined us on the podcast this week to calm our nerves. Her biggest piece of advice? You have to let your kids fail. (As a perfectionist who wants to cover my kids in bubble wrap every single day, it’s hard to hear.) Parents often say, I’ll worry about my own needs later. However, Dr. Seidel says we need to put our own oxygen masks on first. There is no better way to teach our children than to model it with our own ...
Aug 15, 2023•46 min•Season 6Ep. 33
This week we were in the mood to laugh, so who better to invite back to the podcast than comedian Charlie Berens. Charlie is about to embark on his fourth stand-up tour, and he creates content for the internet just like us. He’s learned over time to stop chasing likes and algorithms and to focus on enjoying the process. Even if you don’t make silly videos for the internet, we’ve all fallen into the trap of “I’ll be happier when…” We keep moving the goalpost forward without taking time to admire ...
Aug 08, 2023•43 min•Season 6Ep. 32
I have the best, most loyal friends from different parts of my life but I’ll be honest, the idea of making NEW friends makes my pits sweat. I’m in my late forties, but even thinking about making new friends and all of a sudden I’m thrust back into my middle school when a group of girls made fun of me for walking into their circle and introducing myself. On the podcast this week, Penn and I spoke to Dr. Marisa G. Franco , a friendship expert who wrote the book “Platonic: How The Science of Attach...
Aug 01, 2023•43 min•Season 6Ep. 31
Penn got me kiteboarding lessons for my birthday. It was so cool, but also very painful. I learned a few life lessons when I went outside my comfort zone. Grab a Comfort Zone tee here! Ask a question or just say hi, by calling 323-364-3929 or emailing us at podcast@theholdernessfamily.com. If you like this podcast please consider leaving us a review! Shop Our Merch Play Our Game Grab Our Book Join Our Newsletter Kim and Penn are online content creators known for their award-winning videos, inclu...
Jul 25, 2023•44 min•Season 6Ep. 30
Our guest today is Dr. Gladys McGarey , a visionary doctor and co-founder of the American Holistic Medical Association. Dr. Gladys is 102 years old and known as the mother of holistic medicine. Dr. Gladys has lived an amazing life - she had six children, ran a medical practice for six decades, beat cancer twice, and still walks 3,800 steps a day. She just released her new book, The Well-Lived Life: A 102-year-old Doctor’s Six Secrets to Health and Happiness at Every Age . Ask a question or just ...
Jul 18, 2023•35 min•Season 6Ep. 29
True story, when Penn first got diagnosed with ADHD in the mid-90s, his doctor handed him a book called Driven To Distraction . It was a brand new book by Dr. Ned Hallowell about ADHD and it was groundbreaking at the time. Penn's doctor encouraged him to read it to understand his brain. Penn said, "Great!" And then he proceeded to leave it in the backseat of his car... forever. This week we come full-circle and interview the ADHD OG, Dr. Ned Hallowell on the perception of ADHD, what we should do...
Jul 11, 2023•34 min•Season 6Ep. 28
On the podcast this week, we are answering your questions, but we picked questions you can also ask your family! These are great discussions for a summer roadtrip or around the dinner table. We discuss everything from goals, happiness, and fun conversation starters like: If you had to move, where would you go? One big thing Penn and I share is a love for travel. Some of my favorite family memories are days spent on the go—from skiing to beach days and everything in between. This may not be a sur...
Jul 04, 2023•45 min•Season 6Ep. 27
For some reason, this summer feels busier than our regular school year. Our teen and pre-teen kids are involved in camps, sports, studying for SATs, and thinking about college. When I was their age, I was happy to hang with my friends and maybe get a part-time job scooping ice cream. Nowadays, teens are looking for internships to put on college resumes. What happened to summer? What happened to slowing down? We invited Carl Honoré, an international bestselling author, broadcaster and the voice o...
Jun 27, 2023•57 min•Season 6Ep. 26
I probably say sorry at least twenty times a day. Of course I want to take accountability, but sometimes I apologize when I didn’t do anything wrong. Which got me thinking, is there a problem with saying sorry too much? This week on the podcast, Penn and I invited Award-Winning Leadership Strategist & Global Peak Performance Consultant to Fortune 500s, Shadé Zahrai , to talk to us about what our sorries mean and what to say instead. If you have “Saying Sorry Syndrome” you can flip from apolo...
Jun 20, 2023•48 min•Season 6Ep. 25
It’s the start of summer, which means going to the pool, grilling out, and heading to the beach… all of which usually include an adult beverage. But lately, Penn and I have been drinking less. For me, too much drinking greatly impacts my sleep. For Penn, cutting back on drinking is about protecting his brain health and trying to prevent Alzheimer’s disease which runs in his family. We discuss our experience with being sober curious and social pressures around drinking. Are you in a similar boat?...
Jun 13, 2023•52 min•Season 6Ep. 24
