Last year, I was the mom crying in the Target parking lot while buying dorm room supplies. This year? Our daughter Lola is back home after her freshman year of college, and apparently... she knows things. So we handed her the microphone.

In this episode of Laugh Lines, Lola shares everything she wishes she'd known before moving into her dorm - from making friends in those first overwhelming weeks to building good study habits, surviving finals, handling competitive clubs, and why you definitely do NOT need twenty athletic tops (I would like the record to show I tried to say this while we were packing). We also asked Lola your questions from Instagram about homesickness, roommates, calling your parents, transferring schools, ADHD organization, dorm must-haves, and what actually matters when you're preparing for college.

Whether you're sending your first kid to college, heading there yourself, or just wondering how someone can get hit by a car and still make it to a meeting on time (yes, that happened), we hope this conversation makes the whole transition feel a little less scary. If you have more college questions, let us know - we may have to bring Lola back for another round. We love to hear from you! Leave us a message at 323-364-3929 or write the show at [email protected]. You can also watch our podcast on YouTube.

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Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness is an evolution of The Holderness Family Podcast, which began in 2018. Kim and Penn Holderness are award-winning online content creators known for their original music, song parodies, comedy sketches, and weekly podcasts. Their videos have resulted in over three billion views and over nine million followers since 2013. Penn and Kim are also authors of the New York Times Bestselling Books, ADHD Is Awesome: A Guide To (Mostly) Thriving With ADHD and All You Can Be With ADHD. They were also winners on The Amazing Race (Season 33) on CBS. 

Laugh Lines is hosted and executive produced by Kim Holderness and Penn Holderness, with original music by Penn Holderness. Laugh Lines is also written and produced by Ann Marie Taepke, and edited and produced by Sam Allen. It is hosted by Acast. Thanks for listening!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Laugh Lines, Penn and I cover a lot of ground... from career advice for creative dreamers to one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of our childhood: Whatever happened to the prize inside of box of Cracker Jacks? We discuss the World Cup reactions, answer your questions about public speaking and irrational fears, and explain why I identify as an iPhone with a very questionable battery. We also issue a challenge to our listeners... how long can you watch a TV show without your phone?

Plus, Penn debuts a brand-new segment called Gen X Cold Case, and let's just say if you ever earned a Pizza Hut personal pan pizza for reading books or treasured a temporary tattoo from a cereal box, this one's for you. What's the biggest Gen X "cold case" you still wonder about?

We love to hear from you! Leave us a message at 323-364-3929 or write the show at [email protected]. You can also watch our podcast on YouTube.

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Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness is an evolution of The Holderness Family Podcast, which began in 2018. Kim and Penn Holderness are award-winning online content creators known for their original music, song parodies, comedy sketches, and weekly podcasts. Their videos have resulted in over three billion views and over nine million followers since 2013. Penn and Kim are also authors of the New York Times Bestselling Books, ADHD Is Awesome: A Guide To (Mostly) Thriving With ADHD and All You Can Be With ADHD. They were also winners on The Amazing Race (Season 33) on CBS. 

Laugh Lines is hosted and executive produced by Kim Holderness and Penn Holderness, with original music by Penn Holderness. Laugh Lines is also written and produced by Ann Marie Taepke, and edited and produced by Sam Allen. It is hosted by Acast. Thanks for listening!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Laugh Lines, I learned two things about myself: I'm deeply triggered by people yelling at graduation ceremonies and I'm officially old enough to be attacked by Love Island. I also learned that I seriously dislike the phrase "that's the way it is" and feel it needs to be banned immediately.

Penn and I cover a lot of important topics from our couch this week, including: Our week without air conditioning, "Gen X revenge" involving a dumpster, and what it's like having a son away in France for 3 weeks. We also spend way more time discussing bidets than any respectable podcast should.

Thanks for being here with us... let us know if you're Team Hoot & Holler or Team Follow the Rules, if you're saying yes to more things as you are getting older, and if you unpack immediately or live out of your suitcase. (Also, should we take a shing-cation?)

We love to hear from you! Leave us a message at 323-364-3929 or write the show at [email protected]. You can also watch our podcast on YouTube.

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Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness is an evolution of The Holderness Family Podcast, which began in 2018. Kim and Penn Holderness are award-winning online content creators known for their original music, song parodies, comedy sketches, and weekly podcasts. Their videos have resulted in over three billion views and over nine million followers since 2013. Penn and Kim are also authors of the New York Times Bestselling Books, ADHD Is Awesome: A Guide To (Mostly) Thriving With ADHD and All You Can Be With ADHD. They were also winners on The Amazing Race (Season 33) on CBS. 

Laugh Lines is hosted and executive produced by Kim Holderness and Penn Holderness, with original music by Penn Holderness. Laugh Lines is also written and produced by Ann Marie Taepke, and edited and produced by Sam Allen. It is hosted by Acast. Thanks for listening!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Laugh Lines, we're making a strong case that the Running Man may be more powerful than we ever realized. After reading a fascinating study on dancing and brain health, I convinced Penn to join me for one of my dance classes to see if shaking it off could help keep cognitive decline at bay. What followed was a reminder that Gen X may have one competitive advantage over younger generations: We absolutely crush the Running Man. (Why can't Gen Z do this?!)

We talk about the surprising importance of community as we get older, and why getting outside your comfort zone never becomes easy, and we share what we learned speaking to a group of lifelong learners. Plus, we dig through some classic Gen X relics from our attic, including a Trapper Keeper, boombox, globes, metal lunch box, and flip phones. Along the way, Penn debuts options for an Alzheimer's jingle, we discuss a meteorite over Martha's Vineyard, and I continue my quest to get more than one-word text messages from our son on a foreign exchange student trip. Dust off your best Running Man, and join us for a conversation about staying curious, connected, and (hopefully) mentally sharp.

We love to hear from you! Leave us a message at 323-364-3929 or write the show at [email protected]. You can also watch our podcast on YouTube.

More information on the dance study

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Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness is an evolution of The Holderness Family Podcast, which began in 2018. Kim and Penn Holderness are award-winning online content creators known for their original music, song parodies, comedy sketches, and weekly podcasts. Their videos have resulted in over three billion views and over nine million followers since 2013. Penn and Kim are also authors of the New York Times Bestselling Books, ADHD Is Awesome: A Guide To (Mostly) Thriving With ADHD and All You Can Be With ADHD. They were also winners on The Amazing Race (Season 33) on CBS. 

Laugh Lines is hosted and executive produced by Kim Holderness and Penn Holderness, with original music by Penn Holderness. Laugh Lines is also written and produced by Ann Marie Taepke, and edited and produced by Sam Allen. It is hosted by Acast. Thanks for listening!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever found yourself stuck in the paralysis of too many choices? This week, we're joined by Shawn Johnson East and Andrew East to talk about their new book, Courage to Commit. Yes, Shawn is an Olympic gold medalist. Yes, Andrew played in the NFL. And while they are both super talented and successful, their lives have taken commitment and work.

We live in a world that constantly tells us to keep our options open. But when you choose something, whether it's a relationship, a career path, a healthy habit, or even a workout routine, it can actually bring more peace and less anxiety. Shawn and Andrew share stories from marriage, parenting, athletics, and business, including the lessons they've learned from sticking with hard things and the mistakes they've made along the way. (Plus, Penn learns more about presidential biographies than he ever wanted to.) 

If you're feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or just need a reminder that growth usually happens one small commitment at a time, I think you'll really enjoy this one. We love to hear from you! Leave us a message at 323-364-3929 or write the show at [email protected]. You can also watch our podcast on YouTube.

Pre-order Get It Done & Have Fun

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Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness is an evolution of The Holderness Family Podcast, which began in 2018. Kim and Penn Holderness are award-winning online content creators known for their original music, song parodies, comedy sketches, and weekly podcasts. Their videos have resulted in over three billion views and over nine million followers since 2013. Penn and Kim are also authors of the New York Times Bestselling Books, ADHD Is Awesome: A Guide To (Mostly) Thriving With ADHD and All You Can Be With ADHD. They were also winners on The Amazing Race (Season 33) on CBS. 

Laugh Lines is hosted and executive produced by Kim Holderness and Penn Holderness, with original music by Penn Holderness. Laugh Lines is also written and produced by Ann Marie Taepke, and edited and produced by Sam Allen. It is hosted by Acast. Thanks for listening!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a visit to a memory care facility turns into a brainstorming session for the ultimate Gen X Retirement Home "in the year of our lord Dolly Parton 2026"... This week on Laugh Lines, Penn and I reflect on a visit with his mom and find ourselves imagining a future filled with Oregon Trail reenactments, Running Man lessons, prank calls, and Pantera during music hour. We talk about the surprising connection between music and memory, why laughter and grief often show up together, and what we'd want waiting for us in our own retirement community.

We also dive into a conversation about aging after someone on the internet suggested my eyebrows needed help. That leads to a bigger discussion about beauty standards, the pressure women feel to age "correctly," and why it's so hard to stop caring what other people think. We also explore women supporting women, the loneliness epidemic among men, and what healthy community and connection might look like for all of us. Plus a walk down memory lane with Mr. Microphone, if we should do a psychic podcast, and more Gen X nostalgia. Laugh Liners, don't forget your homework assignments!

We love to hear from you! Leave us a message at 323-364-3929 or write the show at [email protected]. You can also watch our podcast on YouTube.

Pre-order Get It Done & Have Fun

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Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness is an evolution of The Holderness Family Podcast, which began in 2018. Kim and Penn Holderness are award-winning online content creators known for their original music, song parodies, comedy sketches, and weekly podcasts. Their videos have resulted in over three billion views and over nine million followers since 2013. Penn and Kim are also authors of the New York Times Bestselling Books, ADHD Is Awesome: A Guide To (Mostly) Thriving With ADHD and All You Can Be With ADHD. They were also winners on The Amazing Race (Season 33) on CBS. 

Laugh Lines is hosted and executive produced by Kim Holderness and Penn Holderness, with original music by Penn Holderness. Laugh Lines is also written and produced by Ann Marie Taepke, and edited and produced by Sam Allen. It is hosted by Acast. Thanks for listening!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Penn and I are back from vacation and sharing our biggest realizations… including why people who travel with carry-on luggage only might actually be in a cult (but after losing our luggage twice in one trip, we are joining it!) We take official carry-on vows, talk about why you should never have a massage if you think you might crap your pants, and we time travel with music from scrubbing grout on Saturday mornings with Chuck Mangione and to the orthodontist chair with The Alan Parsons Project. (Send us your time travel songs!)

We also unpack hearing tests, first class passenger behavior, and why lesbians may be the last remaining defenders of the compact disc. This episode is equal parts chaotic travel reflections, childhood therapy session, and a digestive emergency cautionary tale. (And to the man who proudly knew the Laugh Lines phone number by heart at Jen Hamilton’s book event… this is your official invitation to call in and do the credits next episode. We’re still impressed.) We love to hear from you! Leave us a message at 323-364-3929 or write the show at [email protected]. You can also watch our podcast on YouTube.

Pre-order Get It Done & Have Fun

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Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness is an evolution of The Holderness Family Podcast, which began in 2018. Kim and Penn Holderness are award-winning online content creators known for their original music, song parodies, comedy sketches, and weekly podcasts. Their videos have resulted in over three billion views and over nine million followers since 2013. Penn and Kim are also authors of the New York Times Bestselling Books, ADHD Is Awesome: A Guide To (Mostly) Thriving With ADHD and All You Can Be With ADHD. They were also winners on The Amazing Race (Season 33) on CBS. 

Laugh Lines is hosted and executive produced by Kim Holderness and Penn Holderness, with original music by Penn Holderness. Laugh Lines is also written and produced by Ann Marie Taepke, and edited and produced by Sam Allen. It is hosted by Acast. Thanks for listening!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Laugh Lines, we invited two of the funniest dads on the internet to join us. We interview Dave Ogleton (@fitdadceo) - the viral King of Dad Jokes and author of So Dad It’s Good. And we also talk to Chip Leighton (@the_leighton_show) - the viral creator behind those hilariously confusing teen text exchanges and author of Dad, Can You Not? Dave and Chip help us answer life’s biggest parenting questions. Questions like: Does every Dad start laughing before he tells a joke? Is cringe a love language? What time is noon? And can Penn survive a dad joke competition with a professional internet dad? (Results were… humbling.)

We laugh our way through your Laugh Line teen texts, accidental family catchphrases (Nana Fell LOL) and the realization that every parent in America is apparently raising the exact same child. We also discuss why your teenager asking you dumb questions and rolling their eyes at your jokes might actually be their weird way of staying connected. This week is funny, painfully relatable, and hopefully makes you feel a little better about this whole parenting thing. (And please enjoy Penn's experimental "thunderpants" joke...)

We love to hear from you! Leave us a message at 323-364-3929 or write the show at [email protected]. You can also watch our podcast on YouTube.

Learn more about Dave Ogleton

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Get Chip's book

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Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness is an evolution of The Holderness Family Podcast, which began in 2018. Kim and Penn Holderness are award-winning online content creators known for their original music, song parodies, comedy sketches, and weekly podcasts. Their videos have resulted in over three billion views and over nine million followers since 2013. Penn and Kim are also authors of the New York Times Bestselling Books, ADHD Is Awesome: A Guide To (Mostly) Thriving With ADHD and All You Can Be With ADHD. They were also winners on The Amazing Race (Season 33) on CBS. 

Laugh Lines is hosted and executive produced by Kim Holderness and Penn Holderness, with original music by Penn Holderness. Laugh Lines is also written and produced by Ann Marie Taepke, and edited and produced by Sam Allen. It is hosted by Acast. Thanks for listening!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If your family calendar currently looks like a game of Tetris designed by a sleep-deprived raccoon… welcome to Maycember. It's called Maycember because it's busy like December without any of the fun twinkle lights. But here’s a little secret: Penn and I are almost out of Maycember… and it’s kind of amazing.

We talk about what it’s like to finally reach the other side of the chaos and why, for those of you currently crying in a school parking lot while hot-gluing a costume together, there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. Penn and I also talk with award-winning journalist Rachel Feintzeig, whose New York Times essay about “considering underachieving” made parents everywhere feel deeply seen. Should we all be shooting for a Medium Maycember? We say yes.

We introduce our GPA scale (General Parental Anxiety) and rank Maycember activities from “totally manageable” to “absolutely not” - and somehow we end the episode talking about a Beastie Boys parody song about charging cords. As one does. If you’re deep in Maycember right now — hang in there... one day you will have a chill May. We promise. We love to hear from you! Leave us a message at 323-364-3929 or write the show at [email protected]. You can also watch our podcast on YouTube.

Learn more about Rachel Feintzeig

Read Rachel's article about Underachieving

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Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness is an evolution of The Holderness Family Podcast, which began in 2018. Kim and Penn Holderness are award-winning online content creators known for their original music, song parodies, comedy sketches, and weekly podcasts. Their videos have resulted in over three billion views and over nine million followers since 2013. Penn and Kim are also authors of the New York Times Bestselling Books, ADHD Is Awesome: A Guide To (Mostly) Thriving With ADHD and All You Can Be With ADHD. They were also winners on The Amazing Race (Season 33) on CBS. 

Laugh Lines is hosted and executive produced by Kim Holderness and Penn Holderness, with original music by Penn Holderness. Laugh Lines is also written and produced by Ann Marie Taepke, and edited and produced by Sam Allen. It is hosted by Acast. Thanks for listening!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’ve been following along, you know Penn recently found out he has two copies of the APOE4 gene - basically the “high risk” genetic lottery for Alzheimer’s. And while we thought we were prepared for that news… we weren’t. It hit hard. For both of us. But this episode is not about fear. It’s about hope.

This week we are sitting down (again!) with Dr. Richard Isaacson (the brain behind Penn’s prevention plan and one of the leading voices in Alzheimer’s prevention) to answer YOUR questions. And wow, did you have questions. We discuss what to actually ask your doctor, what Penn is doing right now, prevention strategies that are showing promise, and how close we are to affordable, at-home Alzheimer’s risk testing. Spoiler: closer than you’d expect. But the biggest thing we discuss? Why genes are not your destiny.

We also get very real about the emotional side of this, like what it’s like to love someone who might face this disease, what caregiving actually looks like, and why doing something now matters so much. If you or someone you love has concerns about Alzheimer's, this show is for you. Because for the first time, this doesn’t feel like a ticking time bomb. It feels like something we can actually fight. We love to hear from you! Leave us a message at 323-364-3929 or write the show at [email protected]. You can also watch our podcast on YouTube.

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Get free prevention support with Retain Your Brain

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Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness is an evolution of The Holderness Family Podcast, which began in 2018. Kim and Penn Holderness are award-winning online content creators known for their original music, song parodies, comedy sketches, and weekly podcasts. Their videos have resulted in over three billion views and over nine million followers since 2013. Penn and Kim are also authors of the New York Times Bestselling Books, ADHD Is Awesome: A Guide To (Mostly) Thriving With ADHD and All You Can Be With ADHD. They were also winners on The Amazing Race (Season 33) on CBS. 

Laugh Lines is hosted and executive produced by Kim Holderness and Penn Holderness, with original music by Penn Holderness. Laugh Lines is also written and produced by Ann Marie Taepke, and edited and produced by Sam Allen. It is hosted by Acast. Thanks for listening!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.