Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness

Have you ever loved doing something and then forgot why you loved it in the first place? Same. This week, we’re talking with the incredibly thoughtful (and incredibly delightful) John Green about why we all need creativity in our lives and how to find our way back to the things that bring us joy.

John is a #1 New York Times bestselling author who is returning to fiction for the first time in nine years with his new novel, Hollywood, Ending. Our conversation goes everywhere from why making art is part of being human to why it’s hard not to care about likes, views, and algorithms. We talk about the vulnerability of creating something, doing things simply because you love them, and how we both may want to live under a rock and salinger... yes, that is a verb now.

And because this is Laugh Lines, we also discuss the books Penn and John wrote when they were eight, why Penn reenacted a college basketball game with dolls on TV, and we make the case for bringing back saxophone solos. (Careless Whisper, anyone?) Please let us know what your weird dreams are in the comments so we can get them interpreted... and tell us your thoughts on Penn's Sunny voice. We love to hear from you! Leave us a message at 323-364-3929 or write the show at podcast@theholdernessfamily.com. You can also watch our podcast on YouTube.

We love to hear from you. Leave us a message at 323-364-3929 or write the show at podcast@theholdernessfamily.com. You can also listen to this show wherever you get podcasts.

Pre-order Get It Done & Have Fun
Get the book, Hollywood, Ending
Learn more about Good Store

Visit Our Shop
Join Our Newsletter
Find us on Substack
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Follow us on Facebook

00:00 Welcome to Laugh Lines
6:51 Clay Aiken Is Here!
8:31 North Carolina Roots
21:20 Behind-the-Scenes of American Idol
36:03 What The Gen Zers Are Saying - Sponsored by Yahoo! Scout
40:20 Sexuality Obsession
49:00 Being A Dad
52:11 In The Studio
1:00:38 Rewind or Fast Forward

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!

00:00 Welcome to Laugh Lines
4:55 Today's Guest is John Green
7:06 Return to Fiction
11:54 Hollywood, Ending
20:06 Partners In Health
29:10 Our College Experiences
32:55 Penn's Sports Reporting
37:11 Why Is Music Whisper-y
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Friends, the Clay Aiken came to our attic! This week on Laugh Lines, Penn and I had SO much fun sitting down with multi-platinum singer, Clay Aiken, to talk about behind-the-scenes American Idol stories, what it means to show up as your true self, and what's next!

We discuss auditioning with 80s theme songs, ADHD, Southern accents, flip phones, and what Clay is like when no one is watching. We also talk about what happens when you reach the stage of empty nesting and start asking, “Okay... now what?” Clay took time to raise his son, Parker, and now he's finding his second act by returning to something he realized he missed... performing. He is about to release his first new album in nearly two decades and y'all, his first single is a BOP. The new album comes out September 25th. And because this is Laugh Lines, I somehow end up teaching Clay about perimenopause. Never a dull moment here...

This week, we also get to the bottom of Gen Z slang with the help of Yahoo Scout (so we finally know what a situationship means). Try Yahoo Scout. #YahooPartner #YahooScout #ad We love to hear from you! Leave us a message at 323-364-3929 or write the show at podcast@theholdernessfamily.com. You can also watch our podcast on YouTube.

Listen to Clay Aiken's new album
Pre-order Get It Done & Have Fun

Visit Our Shop
Join Our Newsletter
Find us on Substack
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Follow us on Facebook

00:00 Welcome to Laugh Lines
6:51 Clay Aiken Is Here!
8:31 North Carolina Roots
21:20 Behind-the-Scenes of American Idol
36:03 What The Gen Zers Are Saying - Sponsored by Yahoo! Scout
40:20 Sexuality Obsession
49:00 Being A Dad
52:11 In The Studio
1:00:38 Rewind or Fast Forward

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.

Technology is such a huge part of our kids’ lives, especially at school, that we don’t always stop to ask: Is all of it actually helping them learn? This week, neuroscientist and educator Jared Cooney Horvath gave us a lot to think about. (And considering I haven’t been able to help with our kids’ math homework since elementary school, I definitely had some questions.)

Jared joins us to explain what happens when screens replace handwriting, textbooks, and face-to-face interaction. We talk about the difference between using technology to “offload” work versus “outsourcing” skills we haven’t learned yet, why preparing kids for a digital future might actually mean less tech in the classroom, and whether AI is taking things one step too far. But the best news? No one is stuck. Attention, memory, and learning can improve, and there are changes parents and schools can make right now.

Penn and I also lean all the way into our Gen X roots, including the rotary phone (aka the original fidget spinner.) Turns out we may be advocating for less tech while being extremely entertained by very old tech. We love to hear from you! Leave us a message at 323-364-3929 or write the show at podcast@theholdernessfamily.com. You can also watch our podcast on YouTube.

Get Jared's Book, The Digital Delusion

Pre-order Get It Done & Have Fun
Visit Our Shop
Join Our Newsletter
Find us on Substack
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Follow us on Facebook

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!

00:00 Welcome to Laugh Lines
4:57 Schooled By Gen Z
12:28 Welcome, Jared Cooney Horvath
15:33 Too Much School Tech?
20:06 The Power of Handwriting
24:22 Change In Schools
28:55 The Use of AI
35:05 When To Use Tech
39:03 How To Make Change
42:01 How Teachers Feel
46:10 Deep Note Taking
53:!2 The Good News
57:10 Knowledge & Creativity
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My mom passed away last week after a very long battle with Alzheimer’s and dementia. If you’ve ever loved someone through this disease, you probably understand how complicated that grief can be. There is sadness and loss, but there can also be relief (and guilt for feeling that relief.) I’ve been around Alzheimer’s for almost 40 years, and I’m still learning that all of those feelings can exist at the same time.

My Mom was a doer, a giver, and someone who spent her life serving her family and her community. And in one final act of service, she donated her brain to Alzheimer’s research. Knowing that her gift could help families like ours someday is an incredible source of hope.

We talked about all of this in the show and we also found ourselves laughing through grief. We discovered that writing an obituary can really make you question your own life accomplishments, discussed what food should be served in our memory, and learned that the preferred vehicle for riding into the great beyond is a Chrysler Pacifica.

One of the greatest gifts my mom left us was her detailed “death wishes.” She made her choices known so we didn’t have to make them for her. It made me realize that talking about what you want after you’re gone doesn’t have to be morbid. It can actually be an incredible act of love for the people you leave behind.

Thank you for the outpouring of love you’ve given us since this news broke. We are so lucky to have you here. We love to hear from you! Leave us a message at 323-364-3929 or write the show at podcast@theholdernessfamily.com. You can also watch our podcast on YouTube.

For more information on Alzheimer’s Brain Donation
Our guide to Write Your Own “Death Wishes”

Pre-order Get It Done & Have Fun
Visit Our Shop
Join Our Newsletter
Find us on Substack
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Follow us on Facebook

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!

00:00 Welcome to Laugh Lines
3:04 Complicated Feelings
11:21 Make A Death Wish
15:53 Our Death Wishes
28:22 Mary's Final Act
37:12 Men Supporting Men
41:42 Dropping Lola Off
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even when everything is going right, parenting a neurodivergent kid can be emotional. (And yes, I cry this episode... twice.) This week, Penn and I are joined by our friend, child psychologist, and author Dr. Emily King, to help teach us what our neurodivergent kids need to learn and be successful.

We talk about why “just try harder” doesn’t work, how to know when to push your kid, why girls can fly under the radar, and how small systems like checklists can make a huge difference. We also get emotional talking about our own experiences navigating school accommodations, and Dr. Emily gives some words of encouragement we can use with our own children.

Not only does Dr. Emily King help kids with ADHD, autism, learning differences, and giftedness... she also had an incredible voice. So obviously, we couldn't leave without a surprise song parody to summarize the show. (And she even sings it with us! Should we do more of these?) This conversation left us feeling less overwhelmed, and reminded that success doesn’t have to look the same for every kid. I hope it does the same for you.

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

Get Emily’s new book, The Neurodivergent Learner
Pre-order Get It Done & Have Fun
Visit Our Shop
Join Our Newsletter
Find us on Substack
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Follow us on Facebook

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!

00:00 Welcome to Laugh Lines!
4:56 Welcome, Dr. Emily King
7:40 Defining Neurodivergence
12:35 Uneven Development
14:08 Neurodivergent Translations
17:08 The School System
25:53 Gender Differences
32:23 Getting Diagnosed
42:30 Verbal Doesn't Work
48:36 Celebrating Wins
55:14 Surprise Instant Parody
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.