Nic Cage delivers another explosive performance in the new movie "The Surfer." But the actor I interviewed was somebody else.

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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, he told me a lot of things I didn't expect.  For starters, he's very shy off-screen and he felt like a reject in high school. Plus, he was reading Henry Miller and Rimbaud, enjoying Wagner's music, and – despite the plot of his new film "The Surfer" – he tried surfing and felt it was too difficult.

Cage's filmography is so huge – about 124 movies so far – that I couldn't absorb it all. So it's lucky I got help from Ty Burr – the former culture critic for the Boston Globe (where he was a finalist for a Pulitzer) and author of several books about movies. Ty now writes the terrific movie newsletter Ty Burr's Watch List.

During the episode, Ty lists all the Cage movies you'll want to stream, and the ones you can avoid.  Very useful!

After I found and listened again to my 1994 interview with Nic – which I had completely forgotten --  I decided to rewatch three of his movies from that year. One was very fun and worth watching (Guarding Tess with Shirley McLaine).  Two were, for me, barely watchable (Trapped in Paradise with with Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey and It Could Happen To You with Bridget Fonda).

Nic's fourth 1994 movie Red Rock West – which I loved when I saw it back then – isn't streaming anywhere. Injustice!  But I remember it well enough to confirm a highlight of all these films: Nic Cage's performance. I discovered that I'm a major Cage fan.  And that's the beauty of saving things.  When you got back to them, you learn something new.

The real surprise in this episode:  I take that old cassette tape in my hand, and I do something I'm supposed to do in every episode – and never do.  I guess Nic Cage gave me the inspiration to go a little crazy. In a good way, of course. Maybe he'll do the same for you? 

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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

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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 my interview went into a box, like a heavy metal time capsule.

Until now.  When I saw the rave reviews for the 2025 documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin – about the early career of the band –- I dug out everything I had saved from my canceled story, and I’m sharing it with you now.

In 1994, Page and Plant had reunited after a 14-year hiatus to record an unplugged session for MTV. This resulted in an album called No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded.  Then they went on a 1995 U.S. and European tour, performing some new songs and several Led Zeppelin songs that had been re-conceived with an orchestra, a team of Egyptian musicians, some young rockers, and a hurdy gurdy player. 

The project raised some questions:  Why did they wait 14 years after the death of drummer John Bonham to reunite? Why was bass and keyboard player John Paul Jones not included? Would they still live out the wild myths of rock’n’roll excess that supposedly took place in their heyday?

Because this assignment was for People Magazine, I also had the courage to broach the truly vital issues:  what they ate for lunch, who they lived with, what they read, and how they kept in shape.

The big belated surprise:  Because Led Zeppelin's music was ubiquitous for my whole life, I viewed them as a cliché.  But, after hearing my tapes again and listening to their music, I finally get what many of my high school classmates knew back in the 1970s. And I understand why Page and Plant are among the bestselling artists of all time, nearly up there with the Beatles and Michael Jackson.

It’s because they're extremely smart and talented, and they're amazing musicians. I now hear the technical difficulty and the perfectionism in their performances. They aren't dinosaurs of rock. They're innovators, who invented something new and powerful.

Joined by Led Zeppelin aficionado George Meyer – who also happens to be my friend and a renowned TV, movie, magazine, and theater writer – I revisited everything I saved from my ill-fated story and determined what I could throw out.  Yes, some things got tossed.  But you can see what I saved at:  throwitoutpodcast.com

After all these years, I hope you enjoy hearing these lost interviews.

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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

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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 to the heart of it and which sent Cupid’s arrows slightly off target.

Looking through my card collection, co-host Sally Libby and I came up with 10 rules that could help you find the right words for romance this year. We also try to show some love for the art of Swedish Death Cleaning -- by including tips about which Valentines Day cards to save, and which to toss. Like, what should you do with romantic cards from a former partner in love? We have strong feelings about that. 

In the end, we experienced a sort of Valentines Day miracle.  After two years of podcasting, I finally had the urge to toss my treasures. Okay, not all of them.  But my stash did get smaller.  So I've shared why I sent some treasures to the trash can, and what might motivate you to do the same.

As Sally points out in our quick look at Valentine's Day history, a celebration of love can be traced all the way back to the Roman holiday Lupercalia.  Considering the chaos and ugliness we've seen in 2025, it seems important to preserve any holiday that increases our love and laughter.  I know I’m not the only one who wants a little more love in the world right now.

To see the most lovable and funniest Valentines Day cards I received during the past five decades, go to throwitoutpodcast.com.  (And while you’re there, we’d really feel the love if you’d sign up for our newsletter – so we can update you whenever there’s a new episode.)

Thank you for listening!

(Farting Cupid card from Carlton Cards, Cleveland Ohio.)

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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 stations, it’s still easy to spot his cartoon-like symbols: radiant babies, barking wolves. Now, 35 years after his death in 1990 at age 31 (from complications related to AIDS), his paintings sell for millions, and you’ll see them in museums around the world.

When I interviewed Keith for People Magazine in 1983, he was at a turning point.  Major galleries wanted his work. But some high-brow critics called him a self-promoter. They hated the  fact that he put his icons on buttons and posters that he gave out for free, and on t-shirts that he sold at his NYC store The Pop Shop. So I pushed Keith to answer back, which he did. I also had a brief phone call with Andy Warhol, who explained to me what he saw in Keith’s work.

When I listen to my interview tapes 41 years later, I don’t feel qualified to explain why Keith Haring’s art still deserves your attention.  So I got help from Brad Gooch, author of the authoritative 2024 biography Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring.  (Both Sally and I loved the book, which was a New York Times bestseller.) Brad talked with me about Keith's art and career, sharing useful insight before I play highlights from my 1983 interview with Keith.

Of course, there's another reason for this episode:  I’ve held onto many treasures related to Keith – and I can't decide what to do with them.  This is where I need your help.

I’ve posted pictures of my Haring treasures, along with a poll, asking for your guidance about what to save or toss.  Please weigh in on our website. 

For me, Keith’s art still looks lively and young.  I hope you’ll enjoy flipping back in time to hear the energetic 25-year-old tell me about his art, his life, and his dreams.

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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.
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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 them again?

Well, you’re not alone.

On this episode of I Couldn’t Throw It Out, we’ve gathered friends to wrestle with age-old question of what to do with our holiday treasures. Our four guests -- college teacher Louisa Campbell, writer/chef Mark Ganem, entrepreneur Ginger Thomson, and storyteller/actor Eric Weiner -- share some treasures they’ve saved for years.

Though no one brought an ugly Christmas sweater, we did determine the fate of an ugly porcelain elephant, an ill-fitting jacket, two ancient dreidels, some Christmas ornaments, and 76 Christmas and Hanukkah cards dating back to 1967. (This includes a 1991 card showing co-host Sally Libby’s two children and two dogs, with her candid note on the back:  “What kind of mother sends out a card where the dogs look better than the kids?”)

Along the way, we made some surprising discoveries about what was important to us and why.

Listen along, then dig out all the treasures you saved from Santa’s previous visits and revisit your own holiday memories as you decide:  Can you throw it out?

See all the treasures we share in this episode on the website for I Couldn’t Throw It Out.

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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?

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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 the person who gave it – but maybe you don’t feel quite the same way about it? 

That’s the puzzle we try to solve as we consider the fate of two violins I inherited a few years ago from my father.  One of them came with a heartfelt note he wrote, asking for it to be played daily and kept in the family forever.

That’s a tall order.  Especially for me, considering that I studied the violin for 10 years as a child to please my father.  And secretly committed acts of violence to try to get out of it.

To determine what to do with my father’s violins, I needed expert help.  So I consult Diane Mellon, the manager of David Segal Violins, a wondrous stringed instrument purveyor in New York City. Not only has that shop serviced several genuine Stradivarius violins, but they also have provided violin consulting for top performers like Midori, Joshua Bell and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg.  

To get a different perspective, Sally and I also consult Rachel Kuklinski, a cousin of mine who, like me, was persuaded to play the violin as a child.  But she rebelled much more openly than I did.

Why is music so important to some families? And why the violin?  Can anyone learn to make beautiful music?  And what should I do with my father’s violins – along with stacks of sheet music and other mementos of musical events?

If you played an instrument as a child, the conclusions we reach just might be helpful to you too.  Listen and find out.

Watch a video of 96-year-old David Small playing his violin and see photos of treasures mentioned in this episode on the website for I Couldn't Throw It Out.

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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

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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 bring to your adult life. 

At least that’s what Sally and I decided to do.

After I found a play and three copies of a school magazine that I had saved since fifth grade, we used the Interwebs to track down five other people who created those masterpieces with us. Then we made them revive their original roles in the play and read poems, jokes, and gossip from the magazine, all written when we were 10.  They also shared some of their own elementary school treasures, before we determined the fate of everything we’d saved.

It might seem absurd for seven adults to go back to their fifth grade writings.  Which is why partly why we did it.  A little absurdity is a lot of fun. But here’s the surprise: we also had revelations about our lives, thoughts that would never have come to us if we left those objects unseen in the attic, waiting for someone to toss them.

Oh, and yes, I also saved my fifth grade class photo -- along with a photo of my classmate Nancy (Simms) Sofen, who joins us on this episode.

We hope our fifth grade gang will inspire you to start searching for your own elementary school friends. Then stage your version of our kooky reunion, where you just might get useful insights into who you were as children and how it affected you for the rest of your life.

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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

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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 off my book about hip-hop, Break It Down: The Inside Story from the New Leaders of Rap.

Since then, I couldn’t throw out the tape of my interview – which lasted well over an hour. But I hadn’t shared it with anyone, until now.

As I listened again, I remembered that Ice-T (whose real name is Tracy Marrow) is one of the all-time most amazing talkers. There was almost nothing I wanted to cut.  So here it is, the interview almost in its entirety.

For me, it was surprising to hear Ice-T’s 1991 thoughts on topics that are still relevant.  His commentary on Donald Trump was different from what it would be now.  But our discussion of Clarence Thomas could have happened yesterday. We also talked about education, racism, poverty, crime, the police, censorship, fatherhood, politics, the army, Hollywood, and – of course – the origin of gangsta rap.

So much happened in Ice-T's life after our talk. A year later, he caused a national controversy when his metal band Body Count released the song “Cop Killer.”  The song was banned and became an election talking point for the first George Bush and his vice president Dan Quayle. Later, Ice-T appeared in dozens of TV shows and movies – with his most prominent credit being 25 years on Law & Order SVU.

Most of all, this flashback interview reminded me of the sharpness and openness of Ice-T’s mind. And his strength, which helped him bounce back from losing both parents as a child and ultimately allowed him to leave his rough street life in South-Central L.A.

If you want more about Ice-T's current life, you’ll find links to articles about his wife Coco, his three kids, his exhibit at Harvard, his online bonding with Stephen King, his support of vaccination, his bulldogs, his podcast, and more on the I Couldn't Throw It Out blog.

Ice-T Photo by Sven Mandel via Wikimedia Commons

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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 fewer know about The Talisman. 

That's why Sally and I asked renowned horror and fantasy expert Bev Vincent to help us evaluate the never-shared audio tape and notes I've saved for 40 years since I met King and Straub, helping us decide what I should save or toss.

Along the way, we were reminded of King and Straub's strong bond of friendship before Straub's death in 2022 (from complications after an accident). We also learned about the classic poets that they both loved, and we relived the fun time I had with them, as they told bloody stories over breakfast at McDonald's. 

Among the insights from Bev Vincent:  He discussed the chances of a TV series based on the Talisman by the Duffer Brothers ("Stranger Things") and he shared King's latest thoughts about following the 2001 Talisman sequel Black House with a third book in the series.

Is it time for you to read, or re-read, The Talisman? Listen and find out.

King/Straub photo by Jordan M. Hahn

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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.  But when those treasures come out of the attic or the closet, something special happens.

Hear what we learned from this Mother's Day ritual, and then try it yourself.   Should you keep saving the gifts you got from mom?  Listen and find out.

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