Alumni Alum’s Podcast Partner Is Old Enough to Be … Her Grandmother! Stories You May Like How Hundreds of Letters Home Connect a Cornellian Family Siblings Turn their Love for Dishing on Media into a Podcast Tune In: Alumni-Hosted Podcasts Offer Something for Everyone Teaming up with her mom’s mom, Kim Murstein ’18 mines a 50-year age gap for wisdom, humor, and heart By Joe Wilensky During a recent episode of their popular podcast, Kim Murstein ’18 and her 83-year-old maternal grandmother debate how much life advice family members should give each other. “I hesitate now if I’m going to criticize you on certain things,” says her grandma, Gail Rudnick. “Sometimes I zip my mouth, because I decided: You know what? You’re almost 30, and you have to make your own mistakes and learn from them, just like all of us.” “Weird,” Murstein replies, with mock surprise. “I don’t remember you holding back on anything.” “Well, you don’t know,” counters Rudnick, “because I probably would have said a few things that you didn’t like.” The banter is typical for the podcast, titled Excuse My Grandma, which the two have hosted weekly for five years. The project has even blossomed into a multiplatform brand: it has corporate partnerships, more than 1.3 million downloads, and some 675,000 followers on Instagram (plus nearly 500,000 on TikTok). The podcast has more than 1.3 million downloads, with 675,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 500,000 on TikTok. Launched during the pandemic, the podcast initially focused on dating advice and fashion tips from “Grandma Gail”—as Murstein looked for matches online and discovered vintage sartorial gems in Rudnick’s closet. The two have expanded to discussing etiquette, career choices, family relationships, entertainment news, and NYC nostalgia—always through their affectionate multigenerational repartee. They also interview guests, who have included make-up maven Bobbi Brown, comedian Jared Freid, and “Golden Bachelorette” Joan Vassos. “Brutally honest wisdom is at the core of Excuse My Grandma, in which the pair dig into dating topics old and new (from evergreen woes like how to make a long-distance relationship work to more modern phenomena like ghosting and sexting),” the New York Times wrote in 2023. “They also answer questions from listeners and try to find a middle ground between their twentysomething and eightysomething approaches.” Brutally honest wisdom is at the core of Excuse My Grandma, in which the pair dig into dating topics old and new. The New York Times Murstein has always been close with Rudnick, who lived nearby in Manhattan while she was growing up. “Even now, we talk every single day,” Murstein says. “She has always been like my best friend, and someone who offers me guidance.” (Murstein’s paternal grandmother is a fellow Cornellian, ILR alum Aileen Glanternik Murstein ’62.) Murstein is based in NYC, but she and her grandma also record in Palm Beach, FL. In 2021, the year after the pandemic hit, Murstein decamped from NYC and lived with her maternal grandparents in Palm Beach, FL, for six months. It was there that Rudnick saw, daily and up close, what it was like for Murstein to date in the digital age; their humorous conversations and differing attitudes about relationships gave rise to the podcast. Stories You May Like How Hundreds of Letters Home Connect a Cornellian Family Siblings Turn their Love for Dishing on Media into a Podcast We talk every single day. She has always been like my best friend, and someone who offers me guidance. Murstein, who double majored in English and performing and media arts on the Hill, always had an interest in pop culture, classic movie musicals, upscale fashion, and reality TV: her senior thesis in Arts & Sciences explored the rise of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” and the “Real Housewives” franchises. After interning at NBC, she then spent four years as a production assistant, producer, and reporter at Cheddar, the media site. On Excuse My Grandma, Murstein keeps her conversations with Rudnick unscripted and spontaneous. They’ve added segments on TV and celebrities, and partnered with brands like L’Oréal, Dove, and CoverGirl. Murstein occasionally goes out solo to cover red carpet events and film festivals, recently interviewing stars Sydney Sweeney and Emilia Clarke. Excuse My Grandma purposely avoids politics—though Murstein notes that if it were up to Rudnick, “we’d also have a political channel, because she’s so into current events. But it’s not our relationship; we don’t typically talk about it.” Reporting from an NBC / Peacock media event on the launch of the limited series "Ponies." Sprinkled throughout their discussions and social media posts are Grandma Gail’s “rules,” which number more than 80 so far—covering dating, family relationships, and general life advice. A sampling: “It’s better to admit you walked through the wrong door than live the rest of your life in the wrong room.” “Don’t think of it like he ghosted you—you’re just so out of his league, you left him speechless.” “Bring side dishes to family dinner, not side eyes.” And: “You’ll never meet someone at a bar at 2 a.m.—go home.” Murstein (third from left) with Delta Gamma sisters. The podcast’s popularity has changed the pair’s dynamic a bit, Murstein observes. “In real life, she’s kind of like my boss, because she’s constantly telling me what to do,” she says. “But with Excuse My Grandma, in a business sense and as a media company, I definitely lead that—so I’m telling her what to do in a lot of situations.” But Rudnick—energetic, sharply funny, and often deadpan—remains at the heart of the enterprise. Murstein is clearly captivated by her unvarnished feedback, impeccable style, tales of 1960s-era dating in NYC, and 60-plus-year marriage to Murstein’s grandfather. Murstein is clearly captivated by Rudnick’s unvarnished feedback, impeccable style, tales of 1960s-era dating in NYC, and 60-plus-year marriage to Murstein’s grandfather. “I thought she was stuck in her ways,” Murstein muses about what she once saw as Rudnick’s old-fashioned attitudes about life and dating. “But truly, the wealth of wisdom that the older generations have is precious.” While the podcast’s audience is overwhelmingly female, Murstein notes that its age range reflects its cross-generational appeal: almost half of listeners are over 50, and many fans have told her that the conversations, humor, conflicts, and affection remind them of relationships with their own mothers, daughters, grandmothers, or granddaughters. “It’s this connection between two women that really stands out, and this friendship between people 50-plus years apart,” Murstein says. “People see themselves in us.” Top: Murstein and her grandma at a Manhattan café. (All photos provided.) Published January 22, 2026 Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like Quizzes & Puzzles ‘Cornerdle’: A Big Red Word Puzzle! Students Student App Developers Enrich Life on Campus and Beyond Cornelliana Remembering Anna Comstock, Cornell’s First Female Professor