Swedish Death Cleaning Episodes
The things that many of us save over the years -- letters, cards, school reports, gifts, hobbies, family papers, photo albums, work projects, and other treasures -- are exactly what Michael Small has been collecting since 1964. If you're a saver, you know it isn't easy to part with your stash. It's like throwing away your memories. Then again, do we really want to leave behind a mess for someone else to toss when we're gone? So Michael is taking action. Listen in as he and friends share the tales behind what they've saved, and then try to give it away or throw it out. Is Michael the world's worst Swedish Death Cleaner? Maybe. But at least there's hope that his experiment may inspire some of you to do a better job of it.
41
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
39
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)
Guest: Joyce Seymore
38
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
Guest: Janny Scott
37
Dec. 16, 2025
Happy Ending! A Violinist's Dream Comes True
You heard how I smashed violins as kid (in a previous episode). Hear how I saved one as an adult.
35
Sept. 11, 2025
Swedish Death Cleaning - A global challenge?
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
34
July 11, 2025
Carl Sagan and Stormy Daniels: Workplace gems?
Treasures saved from past jobs spark memories of a scientist, a porn star, The Pet Shop Boys, The Partridge Family, and long-lost websites
31
Feb. 9, 2025
Sending a Valentine's Day card? 10 tips to follow
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
29
Dec. 23, 2024
Christmas Gifts and Hanukkah Cards: Toss or keep?
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.
28
Nov. 27, 2024
Listen up! A Violin Lesson With Strings Attached
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?
Guest: Rachel Kuklinski
27
Oct. 11, 2024
Kooky reunion: 67-year-olds perform their 5th grade play
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
25
May 10, 2024
Love, Mom: Mother's Day advice from a 98-year-old mom
Which gifts from mom are the real keepers? Daughters and sons, a grandmother, and a mother-to-be help us decide
24
April 19, 2024
Adults and stuffed animals: Can we bear to part?
Some adults can't toss their furry friends from childhood, even when the fuzz is gone. Hear about much-loved survivors, including two teddy bears who escaped the Nazis
Guests: Daphne Kempner, Paul Schrynemakers
22
Feb. 23, 2024
The Funniest Movie You Never Saw
Why should you watch Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson in 1967's long-lost comic gem The Tiger Makes Out? Their daughter Katherine helps us explain.
Guest: Katherine Wallach
21
Jan. 27, 2024
Invasion of the Swedish Death Cleaners
The hosts of Peacock TV's The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning give us a lesson about life as we laugh about death and try to reduce my possessions. And then -- surprise! -- there are tears.
20
Jan. 6, 2024
Olympic Figure Skating: Meg's Rink-side Adventures
As a director for network TV sports, Meg Streeter Lauck saved treasures that hold memories of Olympic figure skating, meeting teenage Dorothy Hamill, mourning 9/11, and other major moments. Can she toss any of it?
18
Nov. 10, 2023
Theresa Rebeck on Her Broadway Play, I Need That
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
Guest: Theresa Rebeck
12
Dec. 28, 2022
Surprise! Shocking Twists in a Family Tree
A 45-year-old tape recording about family ancestry leads to revelations about a kidnapped rabbi, a Johnstown drowning, and Joe Biden's junior high baseball team
9
Nov. 26, 2022
Perfect Match, Part 1: A Kidney Transplant Tale
Many brushes with death, years on dialysis, and three kidney transplants followed my wife Cindy's lupus diagnosis at 15. Inspired by saved items, we tell the rollercoaster tale of our intertwined lives and challenges.
Guest: Cindy Ruskin
10
Nov. 26, 2022
Perfect Match, Part 2: A Kidney Transplant Tale
When my wife Cindy's health declined after two kidney transplants, how would she find a third organ donor? The answer -- which involves my 33-year error -- could make you believe in miracles.
Guest: Cindy Ruskin
6
Sept. 30, 2022
Novelist Joseph Kanon and His Sneaky Assistant
When bestselling spy novelist Joseph Kanon was a book editor and I was his assistant, I secretly sent letters pretending to be the boss. Until the Brooke Shields incident. Listen as Joe learns what really happened in 1979.
Guests: Tia Powell, Joseph Kanon
5
Sept. 3, 2022
High School Poet: Donna Murphy Gets Literary
Broadway? Movies? TV? That's nuthin'. Stage and screen actress Donna Murphy first found fame on the high school literary magazine. Listen as she reads poems by herself and others 50 years later -- and get a big surprise.
Guest: Donna Murphy
1
May 28, 2022
Intro: Why Do We Save Things? Can We Throw Them Out?
I do my best to justify to co-host Sally Libby why many of us feel the urge to save things. But after telling her about treasures from my days as a PEOPLE magazine reporter, there's no escape. Something gets shredded.