I Couldn’t Throw It Out

Have you saved treasures from your mom? Find and share them for a revealing -- and emotional -- tribute ------------ Here's a special Mother's Day ritual: Dig out the letters and other items that your mom gave you over the years, show them to someone, and tell the stories about her that relate to what you saved. That's what I did two years ago. It was the most meaningful Mother&apos...

How I helped the long-haired, bare-chested model leap from the cover of romance novels to the cover of People Magazine --------  In 1993, I spent a week in L.A. and Hawaii with Fabio Lanzoni, "The King of Romance," as I wrote a People cover story, then I ghostwrote his official biography. Now, for the first time, I'm sharing my never-heard interview tapes with revelations about chea...

Craving more Olympics? I Couldn't Throw It Out has staged its own world-class event:  The Treasure Toss. In our first mini-episode, photographer and collage artist Joyce Seymore commits to the daring feat of throwing out an artwork and maybe one other possession. This is no easy feat, considering that Joyce has spent a lifetime saving just about everything, including a huge collection of art...

Janny Scott explains how saving things helped her grieve – and preserve her connection with journalist Joseph Lelyveld  --------------- When someone you love dies, the grieving process is different for each of us.  But one thing is always the same: You've got to decide what to do with the things your loved one left behind. Janny Scott experienced this in January 2024 when Joseph Lelyveld, her...

You heard how I smashed violins as kid (in a previous episode). Hear how I saved one as an adult. ----- These days, we all could use a story with a happy ending, right? Well, here's one that answers the question: What ever happened to a family heirloom I inherited from my father? When last we spoke of my father's treasured violin (previous episode: Listen up! A Violin Lesson with Strings...

1991 flashback: Hear candid talk about female rappers, obscenity, sexism, and more with Salt-N-Pepa, 2025's newest members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame  ----------- When I interviewed Salt-N-Pepa for my 1992 book Break It Down , they were among the most successful rappers on the planet. One platinum album and another coming soon.  Sell-out concerts around the world. But did I include t...

The director and cast of the TV series Waack Girls (Amazon Prime) explain why saving stuff is so common in India, and around the world -------------- If you ever suspected that an obsession with saving things is a mostly American habit, here's proof that it ain't so. Sooni Taraporevala -- who wrote the screenplays for Salaam Bombay!, Mississippi Masala, The Namesake, Yeh Ballet, and othe...

Treasures saved from past jobs spark memories of a scientist, a porn star, The Pet Shop Boys, The Partridge Family, and long-lost websites ------------------------------- Man, do we ever spend a lot of time at work.  That's one reason why I felt compelled to save things from the places I worked, to remind me how I spent so much of my time. I always suspected that I wasn't the only one wh...

Nic Cage delivers another explosive performance in the new movie "The Surfer." But the actor I interviewed was somebody else. ---------- When I talked with Nicolas Cage on the phone for an hour in 1994, he already had a bit of a reputation for going ballistic in movies.  Just the crazed cockroach-eating scene in Vampire's Kiss was enough to give a guy a reputation. But lo and behold...

Hear my never-shared 1995 talk with Jimmy Page and Robert Plant about their music, books, diets, girlfriends, hair loss, Led Zeppelin myths, and their Unledded reunion ----- If you find it hard to visualize Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Robert Plant in a People Magazine article, I’m with you. The People article I reported and wrote about them in 1995 was never published. So the cassette tapes of m...

Learn a lesson from the Valentine’s Day cards I’ve saved since the ‘70s: 10 important rules for sending cards to the ones you love, and tips for deciding which love notes to save ----- If you’re sending Valentine’s Day cards this year, there are some key rules to follow -- and mistakes to avoid.   I know this because I’ve been saving Valentines since the 1970s.  So I can see which ones got right t...

His graffiti in NYC subways made him a world-wide art star before his death at 31. Hear my 1983 interview as Haring answers his critics, plus: a chat about Keith with Andy Warhol Even if you don’t know one artist since Michelangelo, the chances are good that you’ll recognize the creations of Keith Haring. More than 40 years after he started drawing with chalk – for free – in New York City subway s...

Get out the holiday treasures you’ve saved for years, and join us as we decide why we kept them and what to do with them. --------- Attention holiday revelers!  Are you someone who just can’t let go of Christmas and Hanukkah gifts from the past?  Even if they don’t fit? Or they’re ugly?   Or they’re useless? What about holiday cards? Do you stash them somewhere year after year and never look at th...

Inheriting a violin is wonderful. But what if it comes with instructions that it must be played? And you resorted to violence as a kid to get out of playing?  Then what? --------------  If you’re lucky enough to inherit something from someone you really love, that’s usually a good thing.  But everyone once in a while, it’s not so simple. What happens when you inherit something that was loved by th...

Does a 1967 elementary school magazine -- or a fifth grade school play -- still have value? Only if you’re looking for lost memories, new insights, and hilarity - - - - - - - - -  Somewhere in your home, you might have saved at least one treasure from elementary school. The question is:  Why did you save it? The only way to find out: Hunt for your ancient objects and see what revelations they brin...

Hear the rapper and actor talk about crime, Hollywood, racism, and more -- before he was a Law & Order SVU detective and just after he created the metal band Body Count --------- In 1991, Ice-T had just appeared in the movie New Jack City -- and his rap albums were defining what was then an unusual style of west coast gangsta rap. That’s why I chose him as one of the top five rappers to lead o...

When I interviewed Stephen King and Peter Straub in 1984 about their fantasy novel The Talisman, their book was breaking records for hardcover sales. But the fame of their collaboration has faded over the years. Most people recognize King's famous titles -- Carrie, The Shining, The Dead Zone, It, Pet Sematary. And they may be familiar with Straub's 1979 bestseller Ghost Story.  But far f...

The best way to honor your mother -- on Mother's Day or any other day?  We wanted to figure that out.  So we got expert advice from family and friends, including 98-year-old Barbara Welsh, mother-to-be Emily Libby, the Von Klemperer family, and mom Debbie Baylin. As we realized, almost everyone -- including you -- has saved some items from mom.  You may not even know what you've got.  Bu...

Some of us just can't toss our furry friends from childhood. And we're not talking about a cute new collection of plushies. We're talking about stuffed animals with some history, saved for decades till fur and eyes are missing.  Why do we save them?  And what do we do with them now?  To get answers, we've asked adults to tell us about their much-loved cloth animals, including t...

When singer/songwriter Melanie Safka died in January, many people remembered her for the #1 pop song "Brand New Key" (also known as the roller skate song.) But those of us who loved her know that her biggest hit never conveyed the richness of her career and her talents. That's why I asked photographer Maddy Miller to join us on I Couldn't Throw It Out.  Not only did Maddy take...

Why should you watch Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson in 1967's long-lost-comic gem The Tiger Makes Out ? The surprise reason: After 50 years when you couldn't watch it anywhere, we just discovered that you can stream it for free. But wait! That's just a start. Before you dive into this satire from another era – which can be a challenge – let us give you a prep session, with help from o...

Welcome to the invasion of the most entertaining people in Sweden -- who want all of us earthlings to start thinking about... death.  Yup, it sounds kooky.  But, in this episode, we have a blast absorbing the wit and wisdom of three experts on Swedish Death Cleaning. In case you wonder what that means, these Swedes are the hosts of the Peacock TV series The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning (pr...

Covering live Olympic figure skating on TV is no easy task. Just ask Meg Streeter Lauck, who worked for 23 years as a director for ABC Sports and other networks.  Her behind-the-scenes tales  -- which she shares in this episode -- reveal how her team nabbed the perfect shot of Canadian skating champions Sale and Pelletier at the 2002 Olympics. Plus, she recreates the thrill of first seeing 13-year...

How fun was VIP access to Diana's '80s concerts? Very -- if you liked chatting with Andy Warhol, stalking Richard Gere, and dancing with Diana on a party boat at 1:30 AM Have thoughts about this episode? Send us a text More info, photos, and transcript:  throwitoutpodcast.com     Don't miss a thing: Join our mailing list     Do you save stuff you can't throw out? Tell us about...

With Danny DeVito and his daughter Lucy starring in her play about our favorite topic, Theresa tells us how she cast them, why she wrote it, what she saves, and what she tosses Have thoughts about this episode? Send us a text More info, photos, and transcript:  throwitoutpodcast.com     Don't miss a thing: Join our mailing list     Do you save stuff you can't throw out? Tell us about it...