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PLATE & PONDER: EMPTY NESTING w/ Jen & Chris Fenton

PLATE & PONDER: EMPTY NESTING w/ Jen & Chris Fenton

By: Jen & Chris Fenton
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About this listen

Dinner, Dialogue & Debate
Welcome to Plate & Ponder — where a longtime married couple, now proud empty nesters looking for a highly constructive way to occupy our time, pour a glass of wine, share a meal, and tackle the biggest stories shaping our world. She's an inner-city charter school director, elected official, and former school board president. He’s a media executive, professor, and author. Together, they bring decades of parenting, public service, politics, and purpose to the table.
From the joys and growing pains of an empty house to the cultural and geopolitical headlines you can’t ignore, this is a candid kitchen-table conversation that’s equal parts heart, humor, and hard truths.
Unscripted. Unfiltered. Unapologetically curious. Pull up a chair — dinner is served.

© 2026 PLATE & PONDER: EMPTY NESTING w/ Jen & Chris Fenton
Parenting & Families Personal Development Personal Success Relationships Social Sciences
Episodes
  • PLATE & PONDER - "Grammys Fashion, Jeffrey Epstein, & Reddit for AI Agents"
    Feb 3 2026

    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 more and more distrust and skepticism, as well as make those with Tin Foil Hats more emboldened and accurate (as crazy as that sounds)!

    Yes, we do Plate & Ponder serious subjects over dinner, so HANG ON... Epstein is just one of those topics. The other, is MOLTBOOK.... AI AGENTS ON THEIR OWN REDDIT. Heard about it yet? No? Well you will? And this is only the beginning...

    And, of course we hit on the outfits (or lack thereof) at the Grammys and the fact that our son is coming with 5 of his lacrosse teammates to Manhattan Beach for Spring Break! Yippee!

    Enjoy, and thank you Romania for joining our fanbase of international markets! Til Next time....

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    39 mins
  • PLATE & PONDER - "News-Cycle A.D.D., Heated Rivalries, & Jim Cameron"
    Jan 30 2026

    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 disorder that our current news-cycle possesses and why there is ZERO follow-up to any story, whether it's:

    Bulter, PA Assassination Attempt

    Mangione & United Health Care

    MN State Lawmaker Assassinations

    Jeffrey Epstein

    Charlie Kirk

    Venezuela

    Gaza

    Beckhams

    & More....

    3 - And finally, the genius of Jim Cameron vs the overindulging length of the latest Avatar movie...

    THANK YOU TO ALL 37 MARKETS! WE ARE PLATE & PONDER!

    Please follow, download, enjoy, and review... Til Next Time... LIVE LIFE TO ITS FULLEST!

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    38 mins
  • PLATE & PONDER - "Bernie Sanders, Sundance, Blizzards, Spring Break, & Internships"
    Jan 26 2026

    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 cold. (300 inches of snow and counting!)

    Sundance Film Festival moving to Boulder, CO next year.

    The Storm of the Century.

    Spring Break options for our college kids.

    Summer Internships - TIME TO GET ON IT, KIDS!

    And, of course, general empty-nesting thoughts and advice and challenges...

    AND A SHOUT-OUT TO OCEANA! We finally have fans down there. Thank you New Zealand and Australia.......

    Til next time... Download, follow, enjoy, and review. We appreciate you all!!!!!!



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    38 mins
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