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. Co-host Sally Libby helps decide if they should keep or toss their stuff. Will it be an epic case of Swedish Death Cleaning? Or an epic fail?
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Recent Episodes
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
Nicolas Cage goes wild? Yes, and no. Hear him in 1994
The Lost Interview: Led Zeppelin’s Page and Plant
Sending a Valentine's Day card? 10 tips to follow
How Keith Haring Changed Art: Hear Him in '83
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Recent Blog Posts
12 Nicolas Cage Movies You Must See
Nicolas Cage has appeared in so many movies that it's difficult for a numbers-challenged person like me to count them all. But it seems as if "The Surfer" -- released on May 2, 2025 -- is something like his 125th movie. Yikes! No wonder …
Ancient Reads: My 3 Keith Haring Articles
The one Keith Haring treasure I have that no one else seems to have: my People Magazine articles. So I'm posting them here for anyone who wants to read them. By the way, if you're on Facebook, be sure to check out the very active Keith …
Vote now! Which Keith Haring treasures should I save?
The signed catalogue? The one-of-a-kind puzzle? The poster? The t-shirt? Tell me what should stay and what should go. Loading…
About the Hosts
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.
Sally Libby
Co-Host
Sally LIbby, the co-host of I Couldn't Throw It Out, has a book of humorous verse in the works about the movers and shakers in world history. She and Michael Small co-wrote a parody of tax preparation manuals called Up Your Income Tax. (Unfortunately, the publisher went out of business when the book was being printed. More on that in the podcast.) After college, Sally worked at ad agencies in Boston and Miami before deciding to focus on raising her two children, including the podcast's art director Riley Welsh. Sally is a life-long lover of puns and dogs, and an inveterate question asker, which earned her a major role on I Couldn't Throw It Out.