I Couldn't Throw It Out

Revisit pop culture history as former People Magazine reporter Michael Small and guests decide the fate of the treasures they've saved for decades, including never-heard celebrity interviews, rare memorabilia, and maybe a little junk. Will it be an epic case of Swedish Death Cleaning? Or an epic fail?

New to the podcast?

Check out some of our most popular episodes

My Fun, Strange Adventures with Fabio

The Lost Interview: Led Zeppelin’s Page and Plant

2Pac's 1991 Interview: Kindness and Rage

Flashdance's Jennifer Beals: My 1983 Interview Tape

Scary! Stephen King and Peter Straub's lost interview

Joni Mitchell: Our Day Together in 1985

Invasion of the Swedish Death Cleaners

Kiefer Sutherland's Very First Interview

Recent Episodes

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Swedish Death Cleaning Old-School Hip-Hop Interviews Vintage Celebrity Interviews

Sept. 30, 2026

How Cool is Vanilla Ice?

Surprises about Vanilla Ice's music and his life are revealed in two never-heard 1990s interviews with the "Ice Ice Baby" rapper

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May 7, 2026

Mother's Day Ritual: Share what she gave you

Have you saved treasures from your mom? Find and share them for a revealing -- and emotional -- tribute

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April 2, 2026

My Fun, Strange Adventures with Fabio

How I helped the long-haired, bare-chested model leap from the cover of romance novels to the cover of People Magazine

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Feb. 23, 2026

Olympics Outtake? The Treasure Toss

Watch or listen as artist Joyce Seymore commits the daring feat of throwing out an item she saved for 50 years (8-minute mini-episode)

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Jan. 19, 2026

What a much-loved partner left behind

Janny Scott explains how saving things helped her grieve – and preserve her connection with journalist Joseph Lelyveld

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Recent Blog Posts

Sept. 30, 2026

12 Vanilla Ice Songs You Missed

Vanilla Ice is mostly known for one song -- "Ice Ice Baby" -- the #1 hit from his first album To The Extreme. You may not know that he kept creating music on five studio albums -- and experimented with different styles. A backlash after Ice's fi…

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May 9, 2026

My Mom - The Performer

Do you have videos of your mom on your phone? If so, Mother's Day is the time to share them. So I'll start the trend. Here are favorite videos of my mom Doris. You can tell she's a born performer from the unusual letters we share in our Mother's D…

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May 7, 2026

Missing mom on Mother's Day? This story's for you

On Mother's Day, I feel lucky that my mom -- who died eight years ago -- left behind her ideas about motherhood and mortality. She ripped into her own mother, in a funny way, in a letter to my sister and me. (Hear it on our Mother's Day Episode.) …

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Reviews

Tupac interview

"Thank you so much for this wonderful message from Tupac, it really resonates. I have always loved his work since my teenage years and I still listen to his music to this day, one of the best ever."

Andrew James D. | Aug. 9, 2026

Claude Devonshire

"Thankfully, Michael has not thrown out his tapes and notepads filled with anecdotes and tales about Joni Mitchell, Bill Murray, Dustin Hoffman, and so many more. It’s often a revealing snapshot of to…"

Mrs. Gahalahachabus | Sept. 23, 2023

Wonderful conversations!

"Love these conversations about Michael’s treasures! I was amazed by how open Joni Mitchell was with him and so glad these interviews have emerged from their storage bins. Looking forward to many mor…"

PatLW14 | Aug. 9, 2022

Delightful storytelling with a pop of pop culture

"An irresistible podcast for anyone who likes movies, music, TV, books, periodicals, humor, kindness, etc. Michael Small is a gift to the listening public."

PSJourno | Aug. 1, 2022

Telling your story

"Thanks for telling you story and helping other to get rid of items in their storage. Now, my wife wants me to follow suit."

amosdesigns | July 2, 2022

Truth can be stranger than fiction. (Someone needs to option this!)

"Don’t believe me? Strap yourself in for the two-parter of college sweethearts Michael and Cindy’s 45 years of love and her countless brushes with death during her lifelong search for the perfect mat…"

L. Levine | Nov. 26, 2022

Compelling Stories and Telling

"I highly recommend to anyone who appreciates listening to people who have something to say with keen insight, humility and an upbeat appreciation of what it means to be a part of this challenging era…"

Susan | Jan. 1, 2023

A Treasure House of Material

"The ingenious concept for this podcast (basically anything that packrat Michael Small has stored for decades might provide the occasion for an episode) allows for a crazy range of fascinating materia…"

NW Beekeeper | Jan. 28, 2023

Treasure!

"After a catchy title theme song, Michael Small unboxes one by one his interview recordings and various documents he kept as a reporter/author from decades ago. His podcast partner Sally Libby tries …"

EazySteve | March 4, 2023

Awesome Keith Haring Interview!

"The Keith Haring Interview episode was awesome!! Hearing an interview 40 years later with such great information in his own words was great! As a fan this was a great listen! Thanks for Sharing!!"

MichaelTobinBX | Jan. 27, 2025

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About the Host

Michael Small

Host

Michael Small, the host of I Couldn't Throw It Out, was a PEOPLE Magazine reporter for 15 years before becoming a manager of websites for Wired, Entertainment Weekly, and Rolling Stone, among others. Most recently, he was a product manager at MSNBC.com and NBC News Digital.

Michael can be seen telling stories on Youtube in the NYC storytelling showcase Tale. His plays have been presented in the New York International Theater Festival and The HOWL Festival. He and BT McNicholl co-wrote the book for the musical The IT Girl, which debuted Off Broadway in 2001 and is now performed regionally. His new musical The History of Light, which updates Gilbert and Sullivan songs with pop and hip-hop, was performed in a public reading at L.A.'s La Mirada Theater.

Michael's 1992 book Break It Down: The Inside Story of Rap included interviews with more than 60 hip-hop artists. And, yes, he also ghostwrote the biography of the superhunk Fabio. If you need a copy, let him know.