I Couldn't Throw It Out

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?

Recent Episodes

March 21, 2024

Memories of Melanie: A friend shares fun times with the singer

Melanie Safka's hit song about roller skating didn't reflect her rich talents and history. Get the real story from her lifelong friend, photographer Maddy Miller (Plus: a never-heard Melanie interview)
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.
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.
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?
Dec. 19, 2023

Diana Ross: Three Crazy New York Nights

What came with VIP access to Diana's '80s concerts? Well, chatting with Andy Warhol, stalking Richard Gere, dancing with Diana at 1:30 AM -- and getting very wet
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

Recent Blog Posts

Rockin' New Music from Our Theme Song Creators

Behold the beauty of Life in a Blender, performing at Joe's Pub in NYC. I know what you're thinkin'.  You're thinkin' "I love the theme song to I Couldn't Throw It Out so much that I must hear more from these musicians." Well, it's your lucky …

Melanie Songs: A Fan's Favorites

For our podcast tribute to Melanie, I loved listening again to her music -- finding old favorites and ones I missed until now.  For those of you with Apple Music, here's a playlist of essentials.   For everyone else, I've added note…

Melanie and Maddy: Photos of a Friendship

In our podcast episode about singer/songwriter Melanie, photographer Maddy Miller describes some iconic photos that she took of Melanie and shares some of the gifts she received from Melanie during their lifelong friendship.  Here's where you c…

About the Hosts

Michael SmallProfile Photo

Michael Small

Host

Michael Small, the host of I Couldn't Throw It Out, 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.

After 15 years as a reporter for PEOPLE Magazine, Michael became 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'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 LibbyProfile Photo

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.