Now this is podcasting: How a mother and son combined their love of film with their love of family
Senior Eric Rustum and his mom Minna Jung joined forces to launch a mother-son podcast. The Panther spoke with them to learn how it got started and what listeners can expect. Photo collage by EMILY PARIS, Photo Editor, photo courtesy of Eric Rustum
Sometimes even the fourth-ranked film school in the country just can’t teach the things that a mother can.
Almost every week, senior film production major Eric Rustum and his mom and co-host Minna Jung review films and television shows. Although he’s the one who will be receiving a film degree, Rustum always seems to learn a thing or two from their conversations.
“Just talking about movies and (Jung’s) personal experience with them definitely sheds a lot of light on a different perspective and different ways of seeing movies that I wouldn’t be seeing otherwise,” Rustum said. “I’ve not only learned a lot about that but also just (Jung) in particular. So that’s been really great.”
In December 2023, Rustum and Jung launched Mom & Eric, a mother-son podcast on YouTube and Spotify where the two discuss media like “Joy Ride,” “Sex Education” and “Dune: Part Two.” When Rustum first started his college experience at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, his knowledge of cinema only expanded, making those discussions even more educational for Jung — who also has a deep love of film and works in public interest communications.
One day, a conversation about a Marvel movie — they’re both huge fans of the franchise — gave her the idea to start a podcast together. Rustum, who had previous podcasting experience, was only too happy to make it a reality. Rustum spoke to The Panther about how they land on episode topics.
“There’s a certain level of respect and vibe checks that we go through for different movies and TV shows we watch — if it’s something we both think that we can talk about,” Rustum said. “We’re not gonna venture into areas where we just don’t feel that comfortable talking about it. But again, (Jung) is super open, so I could just talk with her about most anything.”
Exploring mainstream titles sometimes means coming across mature content, and if you’re going to discuss R-rated movies like “Poor Things” and “Sex Education,” fast-forwarding isn’t always an option. Jung explained that she and Rustum have always been transparent with one another and don’t let the more uncomfortable film moments phase them, even though they acknowledge watching sex scenes with your parents can be a rare form of discomfort.
“I was told early on when (Rustum) and his sister were really little that if you wanted to help your kid succeed, you have to be open with them and be open to what they want to tell you. I sort of had to let go of my squeamishness early on and just realize that this is the way that the world is… I think that there’s so much about it that kids can be helped by transparency and openness, so I think that I want to role model that… But it’s still awkward sometimes.”
In terms of production, Rustum and Jung handle things all on their own. Jung bought the microphones, and Rustum is in charge of editing and graphics. It’s not without its difficulties, but Rustum feels the time spent with his mom and the end results are worth it.
“We’ve had a lot of issues with recording methods, but we’ve just tried to figure out what works best,” Rustum said. “What really matters is that we just get to talk and record, at the most basic level… I really enjoy listening back to what we say when we edit before we actually put it up. It’s always just a fun part of my week.”
Jung enjoys getting to witness her son’s passion — and how “articulate” he is — firsthand. She also appreciates the fact that they’ve found a way to stay close despite not always being in the same household since Rustum is usually in Orange while Jung is based at their family’s home in the Bay Area.
“I think that I’m really lucky,” Jung said. “I think it’s great that parents can have a ‘thing’ with their kids that they like to do or they like to talk about because they have really busy lives, and I don’t really want to be too intrusive. I just want to be supportive. It’s great that there are ways you can stay connected to them.”
Another thing Jung loves about Mom & Eric is how much she learns from watching movies with him. She spoke about the ways in which his insights have changed her perspective on some films she originally thought were more silly than substance.
“I like the movies where I learn something from Eric, where he persuades me on something that I thought was initially very dumb,” Jung said. “(In one) episode, we talk about “Kung Fu Panda 2,” which I went into with so much cynicism, like ‘I can’t believe we’re gonna talk about this stupid movie.’ But we actually had a really great conversation about it. We talked about Asian stereotyping, whitewashing and the elements of that movie that were actually really good. I came away with a new appreciation.”
The duo likes trying new things on the show, even though it revolves mainly around their conversations. For instance, one episode consisted of them ranking Pixar films with a tier system, something Jung had previously been unfamiliar with. Rustum had a great time explaining how it worked to her and said they were very thorough in their ranking process.
What’s next? Maybe a joint account on Letterboxd — a popular movie-logging and reviewing app. If they can agree on their reviews, that is.
“(Rustum) and I are so radically different in our reviewing styles,” Jung said. “We don’t always write the full review, but when we do, it’s very different the way that we do it. So it would be interesting to see.”
Rustum is in agreement with his mom and thinks it’s funny that they regularly rate things so differently despite generally liking the same kind of movies.
“It’s hard to settle on a rating,” Rustum said. “When we were even doing the Pixar movies, we had to kind of settle and compromise for different rankings. But the idea of having a Letterboxd just for our page would be kind of fun.”
Whatever comes next, the mother and son duo fully intend to continue the podcast after Rustum graduates. They hope to keep things going for as long as possible (or at least until 100 episodes, which is Rustum’s goal for the show as of now).
The Mom & Eric podcast can be found on Spotify and YouTube, and they regularly post updates on their Instagram. Episodes are usually posted weekly on Thursdays.