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PLATE & PONDER: Empty-Nesting with Jen & Chris Fenton

PLATE & PONDER: Empty-Nesting with Jen & Chris Fenton

Written by: Jen & Chris Fenton
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Join a powerhouse married couple—empty nesters turning their kitchen table into a hub for unfiltered conversations on life's big questions. She's a dedicated inner-city charter school director, elected official, and former school board president; he's a seasoned media executive, professor, and author. Together, with decades of experience in parenting, politics, public service, and purpose, they sip wine, share a meal, and dive deep into current events, cultural shifts, geopolitical headlines, and the hilarious highs and lows of empty-nest life.

Expect candid debates, heartfelt stories, intriguing interviews, belly laughs, and no-holds-barred insights that challenge your views and spark your curiosity. Perfect for fans of thoughtful political podcasts, relationship dynamics, and real-talk commentary.

Unscripted. Unfiltered. Unapologetically real. Grab a seat—new episodes weekly. Download & Follow now to join the conversation!



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Episodes
  • "BAD COUNSELORS" - 1200 American Reasons this Film ROCKS & the Stories Behind It!

    "BAD COUNSELORS" - 1200 American Reasons this Film ROCKS & the Stories Behind It!
    May 21 2026
    Send us Fan MailJen comes back to cohost this special (Trailer Link:) BAD COUNSELORS episode to mostly keep me in check from sounding too much like an infomercial, but honestly, I'm so inspired by this film that I'm not sure she was successful.In this episode we talk about how we beat the odds - the decade long process from idea to movie screen with BAD COUNSELORS. In fact, not only did we break records -- we CRUSHED them. From first reading the script on November 18, 2024 (and guess what? we exposed the original title of the script!) to rolling cameras May 2025 to hitting 1000-plus screens nationwide this July 22!How bout them apples!!!We also talk about all the players on this very blessed team from the amazing actors, to the crew members, to the producers, and to the writers and director - and, we even touch on all the NCAA Athletes and vendors involved after the cameras stopped rolling and the work to find a big audience begins.Bottom line, we hit it all... so if you're interested in knowing how a movie comes together and what the needs to ALL GO RIGHT for a movie to be great, you're listening to the right episode of #PlateAndPonder! Enjoy!! #BADCOUNSELORSMOVIEwww.badcounselors.comAnd here's the #RealClearPolitics op-Ed we refer to in the episode:Hollywood Sold Out. I’m Betting on America to Bring It Back!As production flees overseas and jobs disappear at home, a fully American-made film offers a path forward.By Chris FentonFor years, I helped Hollywood chase the world… And now I regret it.I sat in many rooms where movie deals were struck to open China’s market and others around the world, attract international audiences, and globalize production efficiencies. We believed we were building a more efficient entertainment industry without borders, powered by billions of consumers, cheap labor, and foreign incentives.In many ways, we succeeded—especially by short-term financial measures. But for America’s longer-term interests, we failed miserably.We told ourselves global commerce would lead to convergence, better monetization, and shared values. Instead, we created a slow-moving trainwreck of imbalance. Markets like China protected their domestic film industries with quotas, censorship, and restricted revenue shares, while Hollywood recklessly adapted for access. Scripts were adjusted. Pro-American themes, even in their most subtle forms, were nullified. Storylines softened. Creative decisions bent to the realities of mandates from the Middle Kingdom to the Middle East. This creative-stifling behavior complemented Hollywood’s fervent drive to keep production costs low by finding cheaper labor and grander incentives than America provided. Capitalism trumped patriotism, but at the time it simply felt like smart business. Looking back, however, the cost is now painfully clear.Los Angeles alone has lost more than 40,000 film and television jobs in recent years—roughly a quarter of its entertainment workforce. Production employment is down nearly 30% since 2022. On-location filming has dropped more than 20% in the last year alone and nearly 40% over the past decade. Atlanta—once the crown jewel of “Hollywood South”—saw production spending collapse from $4.4 billion in 2022 to roughly $2.3 billion today, a nearly 50% drop. Hollywood offshores more than 60% of its production annually now. As a result, America has lost a major economic engine along with significant global cultural influence. Hollywood didn’t slowly decline—it hollowed out—as did the industry’s appetite to project pro-American idealism globally.This isn’t a temporary slowdown. It’s deeply structural. Like many other industries, Hollywood chased efficiency and global scale for decades. Productions moved wherever incentives were strongest and labor was cheapest. Financing followed international capital. And foreign governments offered subsides aggressively, pulling jobs, expertise, and infrastructure out of the United States—often while using ruthless protectionist policies to nurture their own domestic players.The result was predictable. Reckless globalization didn’t just change where and how Hollywood’s films are made—it changed who makes them and stars in them too. Today, a disproportionate share of top-tier, box-office-leading English-speaking actors come from the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. American-born stars account for less than half of the industry’s biggest global draws—despite the United States representing roughly three-quarters of the English-speaking world. Studios increasingly cast British and Australian actors as Americans, not just for talent but for global market appeal.Hollywood didn’t just export its films—it imported its priorities and American interests, favoring global optimization over domestic industry investment.We assumed American dominance in entertainment was permanent. It isn’t. Even worse, many are ok with that.If we want Hollywood to remain the global...
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    38 mins
  • Kids Crash Our Empty Nest. Chaos Results. Chris Goes SOLO & Drops Balls & Strikes on the US-China Summit!

    Kids Crash Our Empty Nest. Chaos Results. Chris Goes SOLO & Drops Balls & Strikes on the US-China Summit!
    May 19 2026

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    8 DAYS of non-stop DMs and texts from you legends screaming “WHERE’S THE NEW EPISODE?!”
    The empty nest? Officially CRASHED. Both kids are back home for the summer and the Fenton household is pure chaos.

    So I (Chris) said screw it — grabbed the mic solo, jumped straight into my wheelhouse with zero script and maximum flair, and delivered the most unfiltered take you’ve heard on last week’s “historic but ho-hum” US-China summit.

    No holding back. No bias. Just straight-up balls-and-strikes commentary with laughs, eye-rolls, and the kind of real talk that makes you spit out your coffee. You’re gonna hear exactly how I think that whole thing went down… and trust me, it’s equal parts ridiculous and revealing.

    This is Plate & Ponder like you’ve never heard it — raw, solo, and ridiculously on point.

    Drop a DM if you’ve been waiting for this one, smash that like button, and share it with every empty-nester (and full-house parent) you know!

    Jen’s back next week… but this one? This one’s all me.

    #PlateAndPonder #EmptyNestLife #ChrisGoesSolo #USChinaSummit #BallsAndStrikes #NoBiasJustFacts #EmptyNestersUnite #PodcastHumor #RealTalk #FamilyChaos #FentonFam
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    35 mins
  • "Empty Nest Whiplash: College Kids Home, Dirty Rooms, Full House Joy & Mother's Day Magic"

    "Empty Nest Whiplash: College Kids Home, Dirty Rooms, Full House Joy & Mother's Day Magic"
    May 9 2026

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    In this heartfelt and hilarious episode of Plate & Ponder: Empty-Nesting with Jen & Chris Fenton, the empty nest gets flipped upside down when the college kids come home for a visit. Jen and Chris share the wild whiplash of going from peaceful empty-nesting to full-house chaos — dirty rooms, mountains of laundry, late curfews, a barking dog, and a constant stream of friends coming through the door.

    Amid the beautiful mess, they celebrate the pure joy and deep love of a full house and having their family back under one roof. The conversation also turns to the importance of Mother’s Day, the inspiring story of its founder Anna Jarvis, and the staggering $38 billion Americans spend honoring moms each year. Plus, they dive into the excitement of the hockey playoffs and swap stories about those notoriously gross college apartments.

    Funny, honest, and overflowing with heart — this episode is a must-listen for every parent navigating the rollercoaster of kids coming home.

    #EmptyNestWhiplash
    #CollegeKidsHome
    #FullHouseChaos
    #DirtyLaundryDays
    #MothersDay2026
    #EmptyNesterLife
    #MomLifeUnfiltered
    #ParentingWhiplash
    #PlateAndPonder
    #FullHouseJoy

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    37 mins
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