This Is Who We Are

Summary

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Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness

Episode: This Is Who We Are (February 3, 2026)

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Episode Overview

In this heartfelt and candid episode, Kim and Penn Holderness open up about navigating the challenges of creating comedy and hope during turbulent times. Against the backdrop of recent violence in Minneapolis and widespread societal anxiety, the couple wrestle with their roles as creators, parents, and public figures. They address listener reactions to a recent post about a peaceful monks’ walk, discuss the tension between comedy and commentary, and reintroduce themselves—outlining the values and boundaries that drive their work. The episode is peppered with laughter, song parodies that never made it to air, and plenty of cookie cake.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Balancing Comedy with Heaviness (04:11–07:41)

• Kim and Penn open the show with music and light banter, quickly transitioning to the emotional weight following recent violent events in Minneapolis.
• Kim shares how she's been coping: "I've been eating nothing but gummy bears, you guys." (06:28)
• They reflect on the difficulty of producing comedy when the world feels heavy, recognizing many listeners seek their content as a respite.

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2. The Monks’ Walk for Peace (07:41–09:36)

• Kim describes a deeply moving experience witnessing 19 monks walking 2300 miles from Texas to DC for peace. She encourages listeners, "If they come through your community, I beg you to go witness this." (07:51)
• The couple attended the event, noting the somber, silent atmosphere and the sense of unity among onlookers:

  Penn: "The reverence and the dead silence... that was very empowering." (09:16)

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3. Public Reaction and the ‘Stay in Your Lane’ Dilemma (09:36–14:56)

• Kim shares the overwhelmingly positive feedback her social media post on the monks received, but also reads several negative comments telling them to "stick to comedy" and "don't use your account for political purposes."
• The hosts unpack what is—or isn’t—political, and their struggles with the expectation to entertain while ignoring important societal issues:

  Kim: "I was talking about a peaceful moment... and that was too political." (11:15)
  Penn: "...those people who came up to us... were saying, thank you for making us laugh during COVID... It's hard for me, too, to just do that when these things are going on." (14:46)

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4. Creative Process & Internal Debate (16:00–26:17)

• In response to calls to "shut up and dance," Penn quickly writes a satirical song, "Don’t Shoot People in the Head," and the team considers producing it—balancing the impulse to respond with humor against concerns of disrespecting those affected by violence.
• The creative process involved consultations with friends, family (especially their children), and trusted peers, ultimately leading to self-restraint out of concern for safety and impact:

  Kim: "...if it made our children feel unsafe walking around in real life... it's done." (17:31)

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5. Writing Parody Songs that Didn’t Air (25:06–26:17)

• Writer Anne Marie shares unused song parodies inspired by recent news, such as a “We Didn’t Start the Fire” rework:

  Anne Marie: "There was a 9 to 5 parody. 'Tumble out of bed to a tragic headline, but we have to pretend that we're fine so we smile and nod and try to come to life'..." (25:48)

• The team reflects on the delicate balance between levity and respect.

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6. Reintroducing Themselves: Core Values & Mission (26:17–34:30)

• Kim and Penn, with input from Anne Marie and Sam, explicitly articulate their approach and values:
  • Never punch down.
  • Give people permission to laugh.
  • Strive to model resilience, empathy, and humor for their children and audience.
  • Faith background influences:

    Kim: "The only Bible quote I know by heart is... 'Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.'" (28:46)
    Penn: "...Micah 6:8: 'What does the good Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God?'..." (28:54)

  • They see laughter and compassion as coexisting forces, not opposites (31:57).
  • On disagreement:

    Penn: "I want people around who disagree with me. I want to have intelligent debate..." (31:01)

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7. Listener Feedback: Joy as Resistance (34:30–36:24)

• The hosts highlight a powerful listener comment:

  Jennifer Kerner: “...Making art, even silly art, is an act of resistance. Joy is an act of resistance. The bad guys are counting on us being so exhausted by their relentless piling on that we feel guilty caring for ourselves or taking any kind of rest..." (34:37)

• Quoting Dan Savage (via Kim’s mom):

  “‘During the darkest days of the AIDS crisis, we buried our friends in the morning, we protested in the afternoon, and we danced at night. The dance is what kept us in the fight because it was the dance we were fighting for.’” (35:53)

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8. Coping Mechanisms: Cookie Cakes, ‘Feed’ Response, and Humor (42:05–45:27)

• The segment turns playful with a discussion about the “fight, flight, freeze, or fawn” responses now joined by “feed” (comfort eating) as a modern adaptation.
• Kim reveals her habit of buying a birthday cookie cake weekly for comfort—and Anne Marie presents a surprise cake on air (44:13).
• Listener Sarah from Alabama shares a church cake mishap that gave everyone a laugh:

  Kim: "If I got to church and... it said, 'Oh, my gourd, Becky, look at that butt,' I would pay double for that." (45:27)

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9. Segment Name Brainstorm & Epilogue (46:33–49:38)

• The team brainstorms a new name for Penn's usual “Three Piece Nuggets” closing segment, debating options like "crumbs of hope" and "Pen’s Chipnopsis."
• Final thoughts—Penn’s “Chipnopsis”:
  1. Doing comedy is hard right now, but that’s universally true for any job after a tough week.
  2. When debating, try to empathize with others’ perspectives, no matter their background.
  3. Sometimes bringing joy is itself an act of protest (49:22).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Kim: “We hope you stay for the humanity. We are human beings first. We are parents first, we are married first. And asking us to ignore what's happening in our country and in our world is just a bridge too far.” (13:53)
• Penn: "Sometimes bringing joy can be an act of protest, because that's what the people you're protesting against want to take away from you." (49:36)
• Anne Marie: “If something’s on your mind, you have to get it out of your head and put it on paper.” (25:06)
• Jennifer Kerner (Listener): “Joy is an act of resistance. The bad guys are counting on us being so exhausted by their relentless piling on that we feel guilty caring for ourselves or taking any kind of rest…” (34:37)
• Kim: “Bottom line: We’ll keep making you laugh, we promise. But we won’t pretend the world isn’t happening while we do. We’re here for joy, for laughter, and for standing with people who need it sometimes.” (33:08)

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Key Timestamps

• Musical intro and mood of the episode: 03:32–04:28
• Reflections on Minneapolis events and grief: 05:53–07:41
• Monks' peace walk experience: 07:41–09:36
• Dissecting social media reactions: 09:36–14:56
• Creative process and 'stick to comedy' debate: 14:56–19:52
• Parody songwriting and ethical dilemma: 25:06–26:17
• Reintroduction of values: 26:17–31:57
• Listener feedback & ‘joy as protest’: 34:30–36:24
• Cookie cake comfort and comic relief: 42:05–45:27
• Penn’s “Chipnopsis” wrap-up (comedy, empathy, joy): 49:22–49:38

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Tone and Takeaways

True to the Holderness style, the episode blends sincerity, vulnerability, and broad humor. Kim and Penn do not shy away from difficult personal feelings or societal discourse, interweaving honest reflection and their signature comedy (songs, cake banter, listener jokes). The team underscores their commitment to both laughter and humanity, inviting listeners to choose whether these values align with their own.

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For those who haven’t listened:
This episode captures the real-life struggles of content creators balancing their “lane” with the pull to be authentic, especially in challenging times. It highlights the importance of community, shared values, empathy, and finding room for joy—often with a side of cookie cake.

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Transcript

[Kim Holderness]

This episode is sponsored by gab.

[Penn Holderness]

As we know, the youth mental health crisis is all over the news and we know that social media is a huge driving factor.

[Kim Holderness]

Did you know the US Surgeon General warns that kids who spend more than three hours a day online are twice as likely to have depression and anxiety?

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, we are huge advocates for prioritizing mental health and that includes monitoring the time that we and our kids spend in front of devices.

[Kim Holderness]

I personally keep my phone out of the bedroom at night so I don't spend hours mindlessly scrolling rather than getting a good night's sleep.

[Penn Holderness]

Here's the good though. A company called Gab has solved that problem by doing something no one else is doing. Their approach is tech in Steps.

[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

From GPS tracking enabled watches for young kids to increase features and parent enabled apps on the phones for tweens and teens, each device grows with your child.

[Kim Holderness]

Bottom line, you don't have to give your kids a device that was made for an adult. Get them Gab, which keeps them socially connected safely.

[Penn Holderness]

Use our COD to get the best deal on something that'll make parenting easier and give you some peace of mind. Visit gab.com holderness and use that code.

[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

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[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

Plus, the new movement tracking camera allows Peloton IQ to count your reps and correct your form in real time and that takes the guesswork out of your workouts so you can train safer, lift smarter and make every rep count.

[Kim Holderness]

Go on a 45 minute run on the tread plus or a 5 minute stretch off of it with one smooth spin of the swivel screen. It offers endless ways to train for a well rounded routine routine no matter how busy you are.

[Penn Holderness]

As an avid Peloton user, I love that Peloton IQ creates a personal workout roadmap with weekly recommended classes led by instructors who match my mood, my vibe and my personality with features that help.

[Kim Holderness]

You plan, stay motivated and Achieve peak performance. I love that you can get your workout on while Peloton handles the rest.

[Penn Holderness]

So let yourself run, lift, sculpt, push and go. Explore the new peloton cross training tread.

[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

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[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

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[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

Because scent has an amazing power to improve the energy of a space, to express individuality and to enhance moods and feelings.

[Kim Holderness]

Discover what your space [e-mail] Moods get.

[Penn Holderness]

A free Pura set when you subscribe to 2 cents for 12 months.

[Kim Holderness]

That's pura.com Moods do you know heal the world.

[Penn Holderness]

Make it a better place. It's Michael Jackson for you and for me and the entire human race. There are people dying.

[Kim Holderness]

Hey everybody, I'm Kim Holderness.

[Penn Holderness]

Not for the living. Welcome to Laugh Lines for you and for me.

[Kim Holderness]

I feel like that should be the intro of the show.

[Penn Holderness]

Okay. Yeah, we get older every day. Got more wrinkles. That's okay. Yeah, we're laughing. When we age, life is like a comedy stage. And that's why. But we got laugh lines. Hey, it's laugh Lines. What's up? Sorry, we were just singing Heal the World. If you know what Heal the World.

[Kim Holderness]

Is and you know the lyrics, this.

[Penn Holderness]

Podcast is for you. If your middle school, high school honors chorus was asked to perform this at a benefit you went to Jordan.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay, so stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. There was a regular chorus.

[Penn Holderness]

Yep.

[Kim Holderness]

And then there was an honors course. So what did that. What. What sort of special privileges did the honors course get?

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, so a lot of. A lot of choreo.

[Kim Holderness]

A lot of choreo.

[Penn Holderness]

We went to. We went to visit our sister city, which is Durham, England.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay.

[Penn Holderness]

We also went to Barcelona on our. On our senior year trip with where our teacher was like this, we're gonna go there in a. In the spirit of peace and like, we're gonna blow their minds. And every show we went to, they were like, what in the world's going on over there, Mike?

[Kim Holderness]

You just made them Australian.

[Penn Holderness]

There was some cockney accent in Durham.

[Kim Holderness]

Like, they were like, so they weren't impressed with you. They were very sweet, but they're like, oh, poor guys.

[Penn Holderness]

My favorite memory of that entire trip was we all stayed with families.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay.

[Penn Holderness]

And there was this one kid who was, like, our age who, like, we, like, stayed with. And the parents tried to cook, like, American food. Like, the lady from Better Off Dead, like, you know, French dressing, but. And so they had, like, hamburgers and hot dogs, and the son sat down for dinner, and he went, I hate everything on the table. Sounded exactly like that.

[Kim Holderness]

We, as a family, quote that all the time. Everything on the table.

[Penn Holderness]

And my buddies David and Matt were with us. We couldn't laugh because we were trying to be polite. Aren't those high school trips the best? Where are we going with this show, anyway?

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah, guys, how are you doing? Isn't that, like, a weird. Like, how are you doing? The world seems very, very heavy right now. It's. And I feel like we're wait and transparency. We're recording this after a really violent weekend and one of our great cities in America in Minneapolis, Minnesota. And all eyes are on Minneapolis right now. So it is very weird to be trying to do our job, which is to make comedy when we are, as humans and citizens, just, like, very upset and depressed. I've been eating nothing but gummy bears, you guys.

[Penn Holderness]

I can confirm that. I tried to get you lunch yesterday.

[Kim Holderness]

And I was like, don't waste your money on a salad. Get me gummy bears.

[Penn Holderness]

Get me gummy bears. And then you sent me a picture of the specific gummy bears that you wanted. And then I went and I got you a damn salad because you need to eat something else. And some gummy bears.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah. And there's, like, a little emergency. We thought they were sold out, but he found some at the checkout. But I'm like, don't waste your money on broccoli. Just give me gummy bears. Yeah. So that's where we are.

[Penn Holderness]

People. People grieve in different ways, and people cope in different ways, and yours is through junk food. Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

I will say that it's hard, but I hope today we can sort of shed some light on what this process is. It might be a little meta, this conversation we're going to have. It'd be very meta, and I would love your opinion. You guys always give such good feedback.

[Penn Holderness]

We also have Sam and Anne Marie here. Like, it's good to have you guys here because this is going to be the kind of podcast that we normally do, but, like, it's about the world, but it's also a lot about us. And so Be patient, because we are in. We're in kind of a. We're in a situation I bet you some people can relate to, but it's on a little bit of steroids.

[Kim Holderness]

Right. For the last couple shows, we've really danced around some current events, and this week it seemed like it turning on the TV was really hard. So I wrote something on our social media. I just was feeling very desperate for Hope the monk. There's like 19 monks traveling from Texas to D.C. they're walking. It's a 2, 300 mile journey. They're walking. And they. If they come through your community, I beg you to go witness this. Because. Because I. I just, like, I literally put my shoes on, my coat on. I was like, I'm just gonna go. And I. I went downtown and I stood there shoulder to shoulder with everybody, and I watched them pass by. And when I tell you, it was so moving. Everybody was openly sobbing. They were. It was just so quiet. It was just so quiet. And just to be around and be in community with people who also want that sort of peace. We followed them to the Capitol. Like, we walked to the Capitol.

[Penn Holderness]

I was there with you.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

By the way, follow. Just real quick. If you're gonna follow the monks, like, dude, they're fast. Bring your walking shoes. They walk. I would say they walk at a 5.5 clip.

[Kim Holderness]

Like they are.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

I think they listen and they have to carry anything they like with them.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

And they walk so quickly, you guys. I was like. I was sort of like a light jog, actually.

[Penn Holderness]

I mean, you're trying to, like, to your point, enjoy the silence. We're like. Everyone that was waiting was gabbing. It was like a Christmas parade. And then they got there and it went like, everyone. Like, it was amazing. The reverence and the dead silence. And that piece was like. That was very empowering. And that wasn't coming from them. That was coming from what they're doing to us. Like, because we were all quiet.

[Kim Holderness]

Sorry. Yeah, no feeling moved by that. I wrote a post about that on our Monday social media. I shared some pictures and it got a lot of feedback, let's say. And I would say 92% of the comments were very hopeful. Some people had no idea about the walk, and they were just feeling the need for some hope. I would say. Would you say 8%, maybe 10% of the comments were really hard to read? Yeah, about 10%.

[Penn Holderness]

Like, I think there's a. We'll get to it later. I think there were three buckets. There was. Thank you for this. Thank you for giving us your feelings. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for bringing this to light. And then there was like a minority of like, you're not, thanks, but you're not saying enough.

[Kim Holderness]

Right?

[Penn Holderness]

Like, you should be saying more.

[Kim Holderness]

Yes.

[Penn Holderness]

And then the other 8% were, we'll.

[Kim Holderness]

Share some of them here. Stick to comedy. No one wants to hear your politics. Stick to being funny. Your political thoughts are whack. Just keep posting funny posts and songs. Please don't use your account for political purposes. Just be like Elvis or Johnny Carson.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, I remember that specific note was Elvis and Johnny Carson never said anything. And they are legends.

[Kim Holderness]

And then somebody wrote, sounds like Penn needs to write a song for you called, quote, get a grip. There was also, and I was trying to find it, there was a guy who came on, he goes, now you've gone too far. Unfollowing. So that's where I just, first of all, unfollow, please. Like, do protect your peace. Unfollow. But I was talking about a peaceful moment in my life and that was too political. Yeah, that was too extreme.

[Penn Holderness]

Can I just kind of give a little bit more context on what it was that you posted? Because I think that's important for people to know. If they didn't see the post. It wasn't. It wasn't militant, it wasn't extremist. It was. It had no, like, feelings of retribution. I don't know if. Did you say. Did you type the word ice anywhere in your post?

[Kim Holderness]

No.

[Penn Holderness]

Okay, so it was. You were just talking about the juxtaposition of what was going on in Minnesota. What was going on? I think that's all that you said. Like, the violence in Minnesota and the peaceful, like, presence of these monks. So to me, I think you have to take an extra step to feel like you're taking a shot at someone. When you read that post.

[Kim Holderness]

Do. Is it worth reading that post or too long.

[Penn Holderness]

If you're. By the way, we're on YouTube. If you're listening and if you're not driving and you can sit still, YouTube's a great place to be because you can pop up some of the pictures and you can also see us.

[Kim Holderness]

And that'll make you laugh.

[Penn Holderness]

That might make you want to unfollow again.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay, double unfollow. How many times can I unfollow you?

[Penn Holderness]

I woke up this weekend and my insides felt like they were vibrating. That low grade hum of anxiety that tells you something's wrong even before you scroll. A lot of you, by the way, this is me talking a lot of you related to that Horrific violence in Minneapolis and across the country. Unprecedented, unprecedented division that keeps pitting neighbors against each other. It's loud, relentless. It feels exhausting. I rage cried. I screamed at my television. I needed something. I needed hope. I can confer that all these things were happening at the same time. 19 monks on day 91 of a walk for peace from Texas to Washington D.C. 2300 mile walk. We're making a path through our city. Even though the temperatures were dropping and the ice storm was coming, I needed to witness this. As they passed us, it was quiet. The silence was stunning. No chanting, no signs demanding attention. Just slow, deliberate steps and the sound of feet on pavement. And without being told, we followed them to our state capitol. I felt my shoulders drop, my breathing slowed. It was deeply healing to stand in a community of people who want the same thing. Peace for our world, for our neighborhoods and for ourselves. I wasn't alone. I don't know how to fix what feels broken right now, but for a moment, I felt hope sending you that feeling now as you read these words. That's what she wrote.

[Kim Holderness]

Listen, we, we, we know you come here for comedy, but we hope you stay for the humanity. We are human beings first. We are parents first, we are married first. And asking us to ignore what's happening in our country and in our world is just a bridge too far. I, but we take it very seriously what we do, because when we run into, when we meet you guys in the airports or at Target, and I think the first thing, and even, even there, right in front of the Capitol, people were grabbing our arms and saying thank you for making us laugh. Thank you like, and that was, and we, I have to say there was a, there was a comment on YouTube that kind of hit me too. This woman wrote, I'd never seen one of your podcasts before. This popped up randomly today. It was perfectly timed. I had my first panic attack in a year and I was looking for something funny.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

And so I, I, we take funny seriously.

[Penn Holderness]

We do. And so this is. We're going to invite you guys to come into this. It's not a debate. To the conversation that Kim and I and that our team members have. Anytime something like this happens. Right. How do we serve you in the right way? And one, one possibility is exactly what Kim did. Putting a message of peace and hope onto the Internet. And the result is largely favorable. But then, I mean, 8% is not nothing because millions of people saw this. A fair amount of anger, frustration and really, this underlying message of just stick to what you do best, I want to at least consider what that means and what that says, because those people who came up to us, none of them were saying, thank you for the stand that you're taking right now. What they were saying was, thank you for making us laugh during COVID Thank you for giving us a diversion. Thank you for giving us a reason to smile and be hopeful. But it's hard, Kim. I know it is. It's hard for me, too, to just do that when these things are going on.

[Kim Holderness]

So Monday, I think Penn and I were in a position that we were being told to kind of, like, shut up and dance.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

And so we did what we always do and what heals us, which is create something very quickly. Penn wrote a song called Don't Shoot People in the Face.

[Penn Holderness]

Head.

[Kim Holderness]

Head.

[Penn Holderness]

Yep.

[Kim Holderness]

Don't shoot people in the head.

[Penn Holderness]

It rhymed better with other things.

[Kim Holderness]

And the vision was, I would be tap dancing, and the setup was like, okay, you guys just want us to, you know, tap dance and shut up and dance. I would be tap dancing, and he would be singing the song. We were very motivated, and Penn had. He said, you know what we need to do, because this is going to. This could be. For the people in Minneapolis. This could be incredibly disrespectful. So we sent it to a dear friend, Sharon McMahon, who is very active on the Internet, and she's from Minnesota, and she's like, post it now. Get it out there now.

[Penn Holderness]

And so she said more than that.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah, she said a lot. But then Penn's like, we need to run this by our kids.

[Penn Holderness]

We did. We also ran it by other Minnesotan friends of ours.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

So we ran it by another Minnesotan family, and then we ran it by our kids.

[Kim Holderness]

And the other Minnesota family was like, pause. Like, you. You need to. It's. It's. You hit the nail on the head. But, like, this could be not taken the way you want it to be taken. And then one of our children loved it and was singing it all day. And then one of our children said, hey, I would feel unsafe walking around knowing that there are people who are very much on the other side. And so that in that point, it's done. Like, if. If. If it made our children feel unsafe walking around in real life.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah. That became a decision. Like, okay, we're not going to do this. I'm glad we ran this by people. But you did say. You were like, I've got this platform, and I can't do anything. With it. And you. You verbalize that. And I know that was frustrating for you, right?

[Kim Holderness]

Yes. And. And listen, this is not, like a poor me thing at all. I just feel like, as a citizen of this country, if it is, it's hard to have this big microphone, and I can only use it in one way. And I felt like in that way, those shut up and dance people were winning. So then you had a nice panic attack, which was fun. And then, because that rarely happens, and so it was like, you know what we are. We're not in a position to be.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah. So my panic attack was. Was different. It was weird. So I just. For me, it's. It feels like a heart attack. It's cute. Acute.

[Kim Holderness]

They said it was cute.

[Penn Holderness]

Adorable. No, it. It's acute. It happens very quickly. I feel like I'm gonna throw up. I have to, like, curl up in a ball. Like, I gag because breathing is hard. And then doctors let me know if this is not a panic attack. Maybe it's not. And then I get over, like, the hump, and I'm fine.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah. I mean, I. I'm not the panic attack police. I don't know.

[Penn Holderness]

Maybe. Maybe I just had to fart or something. I don't know.

[Kim Holderness]

Maybe.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah. I don't like. I don't know. No, but it was bad. And mine was just. I was. Because you always talk about, like, vibrating before it happens. And mine was thinking. I started playing forward, putting this stuff out. I started playing. And this, like, I. The. The. The Stick to comedy crew, that 8%, they generally say things very respectfully. I.

[Kim Holderness]

The guy that put the middle finger emoji.

[Penn Holderness]

I'm saying, for the most part, okay, they're like, look, there's people who are rude all the time, but even in this subsection, there are people who are. They're like, just rooting for us to stick, to stay in our lane so that they can keep watching our videos. Because if we leave our lane, they're going to have to unfollow. Right. So a lot of them ask nicely, but that's not what I was hearing. I was hearing even before our child said, like, I don't feel safe. That was. That was being played inside my head of me causing something like that or us causing something like that by. By just riling anybody up. So I just started feeling like I was inside that angry orb that's happening right now. And it. And just feeling like I was in there was enough for me to have trouble breathing.

[Kim Holderness]

We decide, like, this is not it. We kind of take the ideas to the team, which is Sam and Anne Marie, who are here right now. We're like, what? What do we do? And it was a lot of good questions of like, what's the goal? Like, what is the goal of what we want to do? Do we just want to plant a flag? Do we just want to like, yeah, say where we stand just for the sake of standing, Saying where we stand. Does that advance? Does that help anybody? Because the content we make, we try. We have sort of an internal. We have questions we ask ourselves. We a we never punch down. We only make fun of ourselves or we try to only make fun of ourselves and we want to give you permission to laugh. We are in a new territory here. We're like in a new and so we sort of, we went through the process of writing and for whatever reason we felt like it needed to be songs because that's what we, I think what we're known for. So Anne Marie wrote a couple. We went through the exercise. We're like, what is the thing that we could. Holdernize.

[Penn Holderness]

That's a new verb.

[Kim Holderness]

Holdernize.

[Penn Holderness]

Yep.

[Kim Holderness]

And okay, Anne Marie wrote a couple parodies. Do you want to read us some of the lyrics? More on this after these words.

[Penn Holderness]

Motivation comes and goes, but habits, habits show up even when you don't feel like it. AG1 is the easiest habit that you can start now to support consistency. Even when motivation isn't perfect.

[Kim Holderness]

It's an easy daily reset that brings foundational nutrition. No matter what your schedule throws at you. Weekend trips, late nights, or just the start stop routines that come with winter.

[Penn Holderness]

Most supplements overcomplicate things with tons of pills and confusing timing. Well, AG1 simplifies your nutrition. Multivitamin, pre and probiotics, superfoods and antioxidants all in one scoop.

[Kim Holderness]

20 seconds. One scoop 8 ounces of water. Done. Drink it first thing before coffee before checking your phone. It will become a microhabit that anchors everything else.

[Penn Holderness]

Health routines don't need a full rebrand every year. Sometimes it's just the small things you do every day, even when everything else is chaos.

[Kim Holderness]

And the new next gen formula. They've added more vitamins, minerals than ever clinically proven to fill common nutrient gaps.

[Penn Holderness]

Kim, I use this every day. I love it and you should try it too. AG1 also comes in original citrus berry and tropical. My favorite is citrus, but you can experiment with the flavors. They're all delicious.

[Kim Holderness]

AG1 has over 50,000 verified 5 star reviews and comes with a 90 day money back guarantee for a limited time only.

[Penn Holderness]

Go to drinkag1.com laughlines to get a free AG1 flavor sampler and AGZ sampler to try all the flavors plus free vitamin D3 plus K2 and AG1 welcome kit with your first AG1 subscription order.

[Kim Holderness]

This is a limited time offer only while supplies last. That's drinkag1.com laughlines drinkag1.com laughlines this episode.

[Penn Holderness]

Is sponsored by Better Help.

[Kim Holderness]

Sometimes it can feel like everyone has it all together in their love lives. We've been married for 20 years and we are still figuring it out.

[Penn Holderness]

And if you have it all figured out, congratulations. And I don't believe you. No, but so. So whether married, dating or single, the truth is February can feel like a lot. The flowers, the candy, the stuffed animals, and of course, lots of talk about relationships and dating.

[Kim Holderness]

So no matter where you are in your romantic journey, therapy can help you find your way. Help you determine what you want, what feels heavy, and how you can take some pressure off yourself.

[Penn Holderness]

Perfect is not possible, right? Like, we can attest to this. Our relationship is built on the foundations that that we built in therapy.

[Kim Holderness]

So give better help a try. With over 30,000 therapists, they're the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 6 million people globally.

[Penn Holderness]

Also, BetterHelp does the initial matching work for you so you can focus on your therapy goals. Just take a short questionnaire to help identify your needs and preferences. Sign up and get 10% off at betterhelp.com Holderness that's BetterHelp.

[Kim Holderness]

H-E-L-P.com Holderness.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

We did go through the exercise. I think it's important to go through the exercise of, especially in the creative space. If something's on your mind, you have to get it out of your head and put it on paper.

[Kim Holderness]

Right. Okay.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

I'm a millennial. And Flagpole Sita, I think, is a really fun song. So one of the ones I wrote was more around.

[Kim Holderness]

Yes.

[Penn Holderness]

Take a look in the mirror. I'm not well, I'm just making sure people know what that is. Go ahead. Yeah.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

Wake up every morning to a breaking news alert, but I have to go to work pretending that I am happy. So a lot of it was like, it is hard to pretend. Like there's small talk. We go on zooms all day with brands. How was your weekend? It's like, do we lie?

[Kim Holderness]

Do we say, I just watched video of a man being murdered?

[Anne Marie Tapke]

Like, there was a We Didn't Start the Fire parody about how it's, you know, it's only January it's been three weeks and the world is bleak. There was a 9 to 5 parody. Tumble out of bed to a tragic headline. But we have to pretend that we're fine. So we smile and nod and try to come to life. I mean, I sort of loved that part. Trying to survive. It's only January. Trying to survive. Things are feeling scary.

[Kim Holderness]

So we spent hours. First of all, thank you. Like we said, we're like, let's all take a half hour. She came back to the table with three parody ideas. So we went through the exercise, which is important, and at the end, we're like, how is this. Is this making light of something that's deeply, like, deeply serious? If you're on the ground in Minnesota and you hear this song, do you feel like this is super performative? Like, we just got. And I think it's what we decided at the end of the day was like, let's let it ride. Let's just. We'll figure it out. And if, like, another. Like, if a kind of a wave of inspiration hits us where we feel like we can create something that is helpful and relatable, then we would. But to be clear, I love all of you here. I love that you're listening. I love that you follow us. But if what we do is upsetting to you because of what our beliefs are and you need to unfollow us, that is. I'm. I'm fine with that. Eight percent of you were very surprised when I posted about monks. And so we. But we did get, you know, like, 5,000 comments. I think it was. It's just time we reintroduce ourselves so that if. If this interests you, you can pull up a seat and hang out. If this is very offensive, what we're about to say, you can decide that, you know that to protect your peace and go elsewhere. So, because you know me, I love a list. As a business, we have these two things we never punch down, and we want to give you permission to laugh. As a family, like, as human beings, we've always taught our kids resilience and hard work, but it goes deeper than that. And so I think you came for comedy. We hope you stay for the humanity. But as a family, I just feel like these are. These are things that are very important. And Pen, I would love you to add. Penn's dad was a pastor. We were both raised in the church, but we were taught about the Jesus who flipped tables in a temple. Like, we were taught about Jesus who challenged leaders and the Only Bible quote I know by heart is from Matthew, which is, whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me. And so that was. That was the only thing that our. My parents really put into my head.

[Penn Holderness]

That's a good one. Yeah. On our. On my dad's bulletin of his church, it was Micah 6:8, which is. Is it okay if I get it half right? Like, what is the good Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God? So like, that's why I like the monks so much, man. Yeah, they're like, they. They were so humble. They did you like, like, it wasn't a sermon, but they. They started talking to us and it was like, honestly, super apolitical. Yes.

[Kim Holderness]

It was breathing exercises.

[Penn Holderness]

It was breathing exercises which were like, I apparently need them because I had a panic attack yesterday. So that would have been useful, but I didn't have the. I just couldn't do it on that day. I was too late. And then, like, talking about. It's so funny, I heard him talk about the Internet. I was like, this is going to be interesting bugs talking about the Internet. He's like, yeah, the Internet is causing. Have reactions.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

And with every reaction, there is suffering. So, like, they're like stoic kind of vibe is just like, don't react.

[Kim Holderness]

I think it's very funny. They have a very real. They have a really active social media team. And I was like, pen, I wonder what their interview is like, like interviewing for their social media. But he did. Just so you know, the. The monk that was speaking, he went through a breathing exercise and he made us all do it. And I will challenge you at home. Not if you're driving. So you breathe in for one, you breathe out for one. You breathe in for two, you breathe out for two. You do this until seven and then back down. And I think you do that seven times. And then he joked, if you lose count, you have to start all over again. But it was. And he kind of walked us through it. If that energy could be contagious throughout the world. It was so peaceful. It was so peaceful. Okay, next. We believe people can change their minds. That's growth, not hypocrisy. For example, I, Kim, now fully agree that Die Hard is a Christmas movie. People evolve.

[Penn Holderness]

That's a big. I know, Huge step for you.

[Kim Holderness]

I know people change.

[Penn Holderness]

And. And I agree with this. And it is one of the reasons why I don't know if I share your exact same views about if you don't like us Unfollow. See you later. Bye. Like, I want people around who disagree with me. Like, I want to have. I want to have intelligent debate, and I. I hope we still have it.

[Kim Holderness]

Yes. And to be clear, I want that, too. Like, when you're talking about, like, specific policy, I definitely. I crave to hear why I'm missing something when we're talking about, like, human values. Like, that's where I kind of shut down. Okay. We missed the time when saying people shouldn't be shot for exercising their right as citizens wasn't controversial. Like, that literally is a controversial statement right now. And we missed the time along those same lines. We believe access to food safety and health care shouldn't be controversial either.

[Penn Holderness]

Happy to debate you about how people get that food and how it affects our budget and everything else, but. Yeah. At the baseline. At the baseline, like, let's feed our country.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

Like, let's feed and clothe our country.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah. We believe laughter and compassion are not opposites. Sometimes humor is how we survive, and sometimes it's how we tell the truth. Yes. And I feel like that's the struggle of our team right now is like, finding humor to tell our truth. We don't believe, quote, staying out of it is the same thing as being kind. When people in our communities are being hurt, sometimes silence can keep you complicit. And so sometimes speaking up is the kindest thing to do. We are trying to balance that, and we have taught our children to stand up for their friends who are being marginalized. And both of my children have been called out and then secretly, like, rewarded by teachers for standing up for friends. So one of them got a little mouthy. That's okay.

[Penn Holderness]

Kim is super awesome when, like, young children get mouthy.

[Kim Holderness]

Well, I will say, our daughter's going to law school, and it is the best use of her mouthiness. Her mouthiness? Like, in the fifth grade, she went off on the kid.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

It was great, though. But then she, like, the teacher's, like, okay, we can't really do that, but it was awesome. Okay, bottom line, we'll keep making you laugh. We promise. But we won't pretend the world isn't happening while we do. We're here for joy, for laughter, and for standing with people who need it sometimes. All in the same post. If you're here, welcome. If these values resonate with you, pull up a chair. We're all still learning, growing, and trying our best to love our neighbors. Well, if that resonates with you, we'd love to have you here.

[Penn Holderness]

I just want to add some because, like, what do we do now? Like, that. That's. That's the point. We started by talking about what this week has been, how we felt, how we wanted to represent our feelings through our channels and on which channel. We played you some stuff that we tried. We explained to you why that ended up not making it onto. Onto the space. There's, like, safety issues. There are. There's the issue of us putting something out there and then really all of the activity being underneath us, which can become its own sort of powder keg, right? So there's just this question of, like, how do we to. How to move forward? Like, what do we do? And I'm going to read a YouTube comment.

[Kim Holderness]

Oh, my God. If we picked the same YouTube.

[Penn Holderness]

Jennifer Kerner. I picked 64. Oh, you did. Oh, did you want to do.

[Kim Holderness]

No, you do it. You do it.

[Penn Holderness]

But we pick. Oh, my God.

[Kim Holderness]

Our periods are going to start together.

[Penn Holderness]

Synced up, girl. I have been trying to figure this out. I've been trying to figure this out. And I think Jennifer figured it out for me, God bless her. Because all of what we just said, right? Like, people say, thanks for keeping us happy in this. In this sad, depressing world. And they seem to like us keeping them happy without, like, saying, maybe don't shoot people in the head. I get that. Like, that was an interesting experiment. Here's what Jennifer wrote. A thought I have as a performing artist at this time in history, making art, even silly art, is an act of resistance. Joy is an act of resistance. The bad guys are counting on us being so exhausted by their relentless piling on that we feel guilty caring for ourselves or taking any kind of rest. Physical, cognitive, emotional. Because if we forget what happiness feels like, we no longer care about the right to pursue it. Jennifer should write a book.

[Kim Holderness]

I feel like, Jennifer, we need to put that. If anybody does embroidery, like, I'd love that on a pillow. I read that and I started crying. And then of course, my mom had commented underneath it, because my mom is are number one fan.

[Penn Holderness]

She also quoted Dan Savage.

[Kim Holderness]

What she say?

[Penn Holderness]

Dan Savage said, during the darkest days of the AIDS crisis, we buried our friends in the morning, we protested in the afternoon, and we danced at night. The dance is what kept us in the fight because it was the dance we were fighting for. This hit me like a ton of bricks because, oh, my God, I don't even think Jennifer, like, knows what we're going through right now, which is this entire thing that we talked about, right? And this is very like this is very helpful to me because I want what I do to have meaning and to have purpose. Yeah, and sometimes that's just joy, right?

[Kim Holderness]

Like yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

But. But I also want you to be able to say what's on your mind. And most importantly, babe, I want you to feel safe to say it.

[Kim Holderness]

I think now is a good time to mention that the Doomsday Clock oh.

[Penn Holderness]

So I saw this post.

[Kim Holderness]

More on this after these words.

[Penn Holderness]

Motivation comes and goes, but habits. Habits show up even when you don't feel like it. AG1 is the easiest habit that you can start now to support consistency. Even when motivation isn't perfect, it's an.

[Kim Holderness]

Easy daily reset that brings foundational nutrition no matter what your schedule throws at you. Weekend trips, late nights or just the start stop routines that come with winter.

[Penn Holderness]

Most supplements over complicate things with tons of pills and confusing timing while AG1 simplifies your nutrition nutrition multivitamin, pre and probiotics, superfoods and antioxidants all in one scoop.

[Kim Holderness]

20 seconds one scoop 8 ounces of water done. Drink it first thing before coffee before checking your phone. It will become a microhabit that anchors everything else.

[Penn Holderness]

Health routines don't need a full rebrand every year. Sometimes it's just the small things you do every day, even when everything else is chaos.

[Kim Holderness]

And the new next gen formula? They've added more vitamins, minerals than ever clinically proven to fill common nutrient gaps.

[Penn Holderness]

Kim I use this every day I it and you should try it too. AG1 also comes in Original Citrus Berry and Tropical. My favorite is citrus but you can experiment with the flavors. They're all delicious.

[Kim Holderness]

AG1 has over 50,000 verified 5 star reviews and comes with a 90 day money back guarantee for a limited time only.

[Penn Holderness]

Go to drinkag1.com laughlines to get a free AG1 flavor sampler and AGZ sampler to try all the flavors plus free vitamin D3 plus K2 and AG1 welcome kit with your first AG1 subscription order.

[Kim Holderness]

This is a limited time offer only while supplies last. That's drinkag1.com laughlines drinkag1.com laughlines this episode.

[Penn Holderness]

Is brought to you by IQ Bar, our exclusive snack, hydration and coffee sponsor. IQ Bar protein bars, IQ Mix hydration mixes and IQ Joe mushroom coffees are the delicious, delicious, low sugar brain and body fuel you need to win your day.

[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

The Ultimate Sampler Pack is a great way to try all IQ Bar products and flavors. You get nine IQ Bars, eight IQ Mix Sticks and four IQ Joe Sticks.

[Kim Holderness]

All IQ Bar products are clean, label certified and entirely free from gluten, dairy, soy and GMOs and artificial ingredients.

[Penn Holderness]

The new year gives us all a chance to reset, so maximize your brain and body's potential with IQ Bars, protein bars, hydration mixes and mushroom coffees. Their Ultimate Sampler Pack includes all three.

[Kim Holderness]

I personally always keep some IQ Bars plant protein bars in my bag for some quick protein and fiber with no added sugar on the go.

[Penn Holderness]

And right now IQ Bar is offering our special podcast listeners 20 off all IQ Bar products including the Ultimate Sampler Pack plus free shipping.

[Kim Holderness]

To get your 20 off, text HOLDERNESS to 64, 000 Text HOLDERNESS to 64.

[Penn Holderness]

000 that's HOLDERNESS to 64, 000. Message and data rates may apply. See Terms for details. Hey Kim.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah?

[Penn Holderness]

You know how you can tell when something's made with true care?

[Kim Holderness]

Oh yeah. My mom's ginger snap recipe has this secret ingredient. She says it's love and I'm pretty sure she's right.

[Penn Holderness]

Okay, I'm not gonna doubt your mom, but I get that same feeling when it comes to Bolen Branch's signature sheets. And adding their coveted waffle bed blanket only deepens that feeling.

[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

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[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

Oh, and also a 30 night worry free guarantee. You can try those sheets for a whole month and you'll see why we love them so much.

[Kim Holderness]

These sheets are made to get softer with every wash and boy do they. I don't even remember what sheets we had before. Because we are tried and true bowl.

[Penn Holderness]

And Branch users discover a softness beyond your wildest dreams with Bolen branch. Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at bowlandbranch.com Holderness with code.

[Kim Holderness]

Holderness that's Boland Branch B O L L a n d branch.com Holderness code Holderness to unlock 15 off exclusions apply.

[Penn Holderness]

The Doomsday Clock follows world events and issues and adjusts it to how many minutes until midnight. Midnight being the destruction of our humanity and our race. And it's kind of gone like this and this and this. And for example, Sam and I looked at what was it? It was like Cuban Missile Crisis.

[Kim Holderness]

Oh, wow.

[Penn Holderness]

It got like, low is bad, high is good.

[Kim Holderness]

Right?

[Penn Holderness]

Oh, so Cuban missile crisis right there in the 60s. And we'll put this up for those of you who are watching YouTube. Then they solve. The Cuban missile crisis goes back up. There were some disarmament talks that happened. Right. That helped out. And then you know where AIDS is where it's like right around 1983, 1984.

[Kim Holderness]

On January 27, 2026, the Doomsday Clock was set at 85 seconds to midnight. The closest the clock has ever been to midnight in its history. All I have to say is read the room. Okay, maybe that happened. Maybe you don't need to tell us about it. Like, I was. I.

[Penn Holderness]

You didn't need to hear the doomsday clock.

[Kim Holderness]

I rejected that.

[Penn Holderness]

So I'm trying to make you feel better. Like just with science that it's like it gets closer to midnight every day.

[Kim Holderness]

Also throwing it out there. I'm ready. I've had enough.

[Penn Holderness]

We're back to. So when. I mean, when the rest of the world is like, we are in the fight or flight part, like, to like, who's gonna survive?

[Kim Holderness]

Not me.

[Penn Holderness]

She's just gonna do this.

[Kim Holderness]

I'm just gonna, like. And stress fall into nothing.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

Wait.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

I actually, I. I had a therapist tell me that they've added. You know how it's flight fright. Oh, my God.

[Kim Holderness]

Flight fright.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

Flight or freeze.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

Therapists are now adding feedback, as in you eat instead of dealing with your problem.

[Penn Holderness]

I do that. Okay. But come on. This is like.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

I don't know if that's like.

[Penn Holderness]

So you're saying DSM approved. But. Well, fight or flight is the. It's an actual thing that happens when like a tiger is coming after you. It's your genetic code. My genetic caveman was like, oh, look, the mushroom. And just eats a mushroom instead of like, just freezes up.

[Kim Holderness]

I will say my instincts. I've never been. I think I need the number of your therapist because if a tiger was chasing me, I would look for gummy bears. And I feel like that would solve. Or a cookie cake.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

Okay, I got it.

[Kim Holderness]

What the.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

The original is fight, flight, freeze or fawn. Which is trying to appease or please the threat to avoid conflict.

[Kim Holderness]

Oh, yeah. No.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

Which you can see cavemen like.

[Penn Holderness]

Okay. Yeah.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

You can imagine that. And now it's been changed to feed as like our modern day.

[Penn Holderness]

Got it.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

You're really our modern day fawn.

[Penn Holderness]

So you're appeasing your own self by eating instead of.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

Okay, well, I. If it's got all the same first letter. It must be making sense.

[Kim Holderness]

I will say. On last week's podcast, we talked about how I have been adding a birthday cake, a cookie cake, to the shopping cart every week. And when you have adult money, you can just buy a birthday cake. And for that reason, Anne Marie Tapke.

[Penn Holderness]

Oh, my gosh.

[Kim Holderness]

Wow. For those listening, I'm holding a happy birthday cookie cake.

[Penn Holderness]

And it's no one's birthday.

[Kim Holderness]

It is no one's birthday.

[Penn Holderness]

No one's birthday.

[Kim Holderness]

I. I'm not saying that eating cookie cakes is going to solve anything. I don't think we get lost in this. I think we keep up the fight. But I also think we could have a snack.

[Penn Holderness]

Also want to make it very clear, we don't ever eat the cake. We just take. We just take little pinches of the side of it that's not eating it because we didn't cut an actual slice. We just take a little tiny bit so we don't ever eat it.

[Kim Holderness]

Oh, that's so cute that she. Oh, this is cute that she brought a knife.

[Penn Holderness]

Oh, of course.

[Kim Holderness]

Do you think I use a knife, Anne Marie? No, no. This is what I do. Oh, it smells so good. Good. Also I just take up the middle.

[Penn Holderness]

Stays there until the very end.

[Kim Holderness]

We eat around it.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah. Okay, so show. Show what we mean. This isn't eating you just. Cuz you didn't even cut it all the way.

[Kim Holderness]

Look, this isn't even a true bite.

[Penn Holderness]

That's not. She's not eating it.

[Kim Holderness]

It's not even a real bite. It's not. Yeah, you don't even have to do that.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

Okay, pass it around.

[Kim Holderness]

Pass it around. Oh, when I mentioned the cookie cake, we did get a funny laugh lines email. It was so funny. And we have to show you. This is going to be a YouTube thing. Sarah from Alabama.

[Penn Holderness]

Hold on.

[Kim Holderness]

He's stealing icing from other parts of the cake. Sarah from Alabama sent us an email. She had to bring a cake to church, but she didn't have time to make anything. So she ran into her local grocery store, forgot her glasses though, and picked up the cake because it had a nice fall design and a lot of icing. Sarah, I feel you. You got to get the cake for the most icing. A few minutes later, she got to church and was about to drop it off and looked at it and it said, oh, my gourd, Becky, look at that butt. If I got to church and that was a fundraiser, I would pay double for that.

[Penn Holderness]

Right.

[Kim Holderness]

In the next coming weeks, I Don't know what we're gonna. What's gonna happen with this channel. I can. I need personally in my soul comedy, and I love the process of making it. So we're gonna be funny. I just don't know when or how. Right. So hang out with us. We love that you're here. And typically we end each podcast with pens. Three piece nuggets, meaning we turn them into a nugget and he tells us the three. Just really profound things he's learned. We were hoping for a nugget sponsor for that. No Nugs.

[Penn Holderness]

Well, Big Nug is like, that's a tough nut to crack.

[Kim Holderness]

Now we're gonna call it, I think because of our cookie cake, you know, our propensity of.

[Penn Holderness]

Yes.

[Kim Holderness]

So we can call it slices of.

[Penn Holderness]

Is that right?

[Kim Holderness]

Slices. What we're gonna cut Crumbs of wisdom. What are we gonna call our cookies?

[Penn Holderness]

Slices of hope.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

Morsels of hope.

[Kim Holderness]

Morsels of hope.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

Crumbles. Crumbles of comedy cup.

[Penn Holderness]

Oh, you're just trying to straight up look for crumble to. Oh, how about crumbs? Let's go. Crumbs. Crumbs. Hope. No.

[Kim Holderness]

Or what? It's like what you learned. Cookie. Let's workshop this. Could you guys also, we ask a lot of you come up with a name for this segment of a cookie themed thing about what Penn learned or made him laugh.

[Penn Holderness]

Is there. Can we alliterate?

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah, sure.

[Penn Holderness]

Crumbs of concern.

[Kim Holderness]

Catastrophe.

[Penn Holderness]

Crumbs of.

[Kim Holderness]

Chaos.

[Penn Holderness]

Why are all the C's bad things? There's got to be a good C.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

So wait, if it's a recap. What if it's just like a sweet recap?

[Kim Holderness]

A sweet.

[Penn Holderness]

Bag of cookies. No, no, no. I'm only. I'm only laughing because Ambery immediately questioned herself after saying it. So her face was like.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

Sounded better in my head.

[Penn Holderness]

What about sweet recaps?

[Kim Holderness]

Because it's the end. It's the dessert. It's like. And that opens us up to ice cream sponsorship.

[Penn Holderness]

Pen's Chunks.

[Kim Holderness]

Pen's Chunks. That's what it is right now. So blowing chunks with Pen. Blowing chunks with Pen. So TBD on title. What are the. What?

[Penn Holderness]

Pen's Chipnopsis.

[Anne Marie Tapke]

My favorite so far. Let's go with this.

[Penn Holderness]

So am I a cookie now?

[Kim Holderness]

You're a cookie.

[Penn Holderness]

I'm a cookie. Okay. So if I'm doing this, I'm feeding my family.

[Kim Holderness]

No, don't. But don't.

[Penn Holderness]

Here's the Chipnopsis number one. Doing comedy is not easy right now. It's just not like you, me, Kim, Anne Marie, Sam. We can wake up and have a million ideas, and in a week like this, it's just hard. And I bet in everybody's jobs, they have a week when it's just hard. Like being an alcohol company on January 2, like, trying to sell something. That's. I bet that's a tough week for you guys, right? Number two, when you are arguing or making a stand about anything right now, take a moment and try to have some empathy for the perspective of the person with whom you are talking, whether that's a woman or a person of color or even a white man. And number three, sometimes bringing joy can be an act of protest, because that's what the people you're protesting against want to take away from you. Those are pens, Chipnops.

[Kim Holderness]

Yay. We did it, y'. All. I hope this didn't come off as, like, oh, poor us, poor us. Like, our job is so hard. Our job is actually a joy and very fun to do. And this is not like other people on this planet have actual problems. I hope people listening aren't trying. Yeah, I hope they probably are. Okay, fine.

[Penn Holderness]

Like, look, this is. So this podcast is our perspective, right? So, like, maybe you can now see things from our perspective, whether it's just a weird, whack, bizarre perspective, or, like, I do think that other people are going through this, too.

[Kim Holderness]

Well, I do know we got a few messages. I mean, nobody sees everything we do. Nobody listens to everything we do besides my mom. Mom. Hey, Peg. But some. Some people did message us saying, like, why haven't you said anything? Why haven't you said anything? That sort of. So maybe this is the answer. Why, like, we. We're saying things in our way.

[Penn Holderness]

So why don't you read Laugh Lines?

[Kim Holderness]

Oh, the. The credits.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

Laugh Lines is written and produced by Kim Holderness. That's me, Pen Holderness, that's you. And Anne Marie Taffy, who's sitting over there with original music by Pen Holderness. It's filmed, edited, and live, produced by Sam Allen and hosted by AID Casp. Sam Allen is also sitting over there. As always, we love to hear from you. Please write to [e-mail] or leave us a voicemail at, oh, I don't have.

[Penn Holderness]

It memorized like you do.

[Kim Holderness]

323-364-3929 and we'll talk to you soon on the Laugh Line. Break through the busiest time of the year with the brand new Peloton Cross Training Tread plus, powered by Peloton iq.

[Penn Holderness]

This is Peloton's most elevated equipment with real time guidance and endless ways to move alone or with your favorite instruct instructors. It's cross training reimagined with features designed to help you reach your goals effortlessly.

[Kim Holderness]

Peloton IQ has features like goal setting and weight suggestions so you're always making new progress.

[Penn Holderness]

Plus the new movement tracking camera allows Peloton IQ to count your reps and correct your form in real time and that takes the guesswork out of your workouts so you can train safer, lift smarter and make every rep count.

[Kim Holderness]

Go on a 45 minute run on the trip plus or a 5 minute stretch off of it. With one smooth spin of the swivel screen, it offers endless ways to train for a well rounded routine no matter how busy you are.

[Penn Holderness]

As an avid Peloton user, I love that Peloton IQ creates a personal workout roadmap with weekly recommended classes led by instructors who match my mood, my vibe and my personality with features that help.

[Kim Holderness]

You plan, stay motivated and achieve peak performance. I love that you can get your workout on while Peloton handles the rest.

[Penn Holderness]

So let yourself run, lift, sculpt, push and go explore the new peloton cross training tread [e-mail]. If you've used Babel, you would Babble's conversation based technique teaches you useful words and phrases to get you speaking quickly about the things you actually talk about in the real world. With lessons handcrafted by over 200 language experts and voiced by real native speakers, Babbel is like having a private tutor in your pocket. Start speaking with Babbel today. Get up to 55% off your Babbel subscription right now at babbel.com acast spelled B-A B B E L.com acast rules and restrictions may apply.

[Kim Holderness]

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