I Couldn’t Throw It Out

Surprises about Vanilla Ice's music and his life are revealed in two never-heard 1990s interviews with the "Ice Ice Baby" rapper
- - - - - - 
Vanilla Ice was – and still is – a big deal.  And, chances are, you don't know the real story.
Thirty-six years after his song "Ice Ice Baby" became the very first rap to reach #1 on the Billboard singles chart, it remains a massive hit on Spotify.  And, partly because of his controversial role in Trump's Freedom 250 concert (and the revival of his song, both by Olympic hockey fans and MAGA supporters of ICE), Vanilla Ice continues to make news.
When Robert Van Winkle aka Vanilla Ice went from debt-ridden Texas rapper to instant world-wide fame with his 1990 album To The Extreme, PEOPLE magazine had to get involved.  So I met him for an interview on the 45th floor of a Manhattan hotel. He famously pulled down his pants to show me his scars from a knife fight, a detail that Jim Carrey later lampooned in his "White White Baby" parody on In Living Color.
You can hear Vanilla Ice discuss his life and career in excerpts from my 1990 and 1993 interview tapes, which I saved all these years and share for the first time in this episode of I Couldn't Throw It Out. As it turns out, Vanilla Ice's rap skills were more advanced than I remembered, and his life story (including complicated relationships with his parents) was emotional and complex. Later in life, he showed admirable versatility as he faced obstacles in his music career, creating "The Vanilla Ice Project," a TV show in which he renovated and flipped houses for nine seasons.
Music writer David Browne, the author of many music biographies and a contributing writer to Rolling Stone, is – yes, it's true -- quoted on the Vanilla Ice Wikipedia page. So I'm very lucky that he joined me to assess Ice's legacy and to help me decide what to do with everything I saved from my Ice escapades.
Want to sample Vanilla Ice's music videos, watch him discuss the Trump concert in news clips, or watch Jim Carrey's parody? Find it all at throwitoutpodcast.com.
Have thoughts about this episode? Send us a text

More info, photos, and transcript:  throwitoutpodcast.com   
Don't miss a thing: Join our mailing list   
Do you save stuff you can't throw out? Tell us about it  
Want to show support? Please rate/follow us wherever you get your podcasts.

Have you saved treasures from your mom? Find and share them for a revealing -- and emotional -- tribute
------------
Here's a special Mother's Day ritual: Dig out the letters and other items that your mom gave you over the years, show them to someone, and tell the stories about her that relate to what you saved.
That's what I did two years ago. It was the most meaningful Mother's Day since my mom died.
Of course, I went a little overboard when it came to saving things. I kept all 104 cards and letters that Doris sent me since I was in high school in the early 1970s. Reading through them was like going back in history, discovering how the world, our lives and our attitudes, have changed over the decades.
And here's what made the big difference: Asking my friends and a few family members to read short excerpts out loud with me and discuss them. It gave me new perspective about my mother, and all of our mothers. 
But it didn't solve one problem. For those of us who save treasures from our mom, what should we do with them now?
For this, I needed an expert. So I interviewed my friend Susan, a psychoanalyst who has been helping parents and children for many decades. She didn't tell me to practice Swedish Death Cleaning. Instead, she shared insights about my mom that will apply to everyone who has or had a mother. Spoiler alert: It gets emotional.
I hope – after listening to the episode – you'll be inspired to share with family and friends what you've saved from your mom. If you find a special letter that you'd like me to consider sharing it in my blog, please send it to me via the Contact button on my website at throwitoutpodcast.com.
Happy Mother's Day!

Have thoughts about this episode? Send us a text

More info, photos, and transcript:  throwitoutpodcast.com   
Don't miss a thing: Join our mailing list   
Do you save stuff you can't throw out? Tell us about it  
Want to show support? Please rate/follow us wherever you get your podcasts.

How I helped the long-haired, bare-chested model leap from the cover of romance novels to the cover of People Magazine
--------
 In 1993, I spent a week in L.A. and Hawaii with Fabio Lanzoni, "The King of Romance," as I wrote a People cover story, then I ghostwrote his official biography. Now, for the first time, I'm sharing my never-heard interview tapes with revelations about cheating on his one true love, losing his virginity, and the upsetting experience that led him to utter an expletive. I also share the surprising tale of Peter Paul, the brilliant promoter who supercharged Fabio's career – without revealing his previous felonies.
Listen in as Sarah Wendell, host of Smart Podcast, Trashy Books, makes sense of Fabio's past, then helps me review his later achievements, including 22 years as a pitchman for I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, his collision with a goose, and his extreme political shift.
What should I do with the stuff I saved from my time with Fabio? It takes an expert on love and romance to solve that problem.
See my treasures, and sign up for reminders about future episodes, at throwitoutpodcast.com
Have thoughts about this episode? Send us a text

More info, photos, and transcript:  throwitoutpodcast.com   
Don't miss a thing: Join our mailing list   
Do you save stuff you can't throw out? Tell us about it  
Want to show support? Please rate/follow us wherever you get your podcasts.

Craving more Olympics? I Couldn't Throw It Out has staged its own world-class event:  The Treasure Toss.
In our first mini-episode, photographer and collage artist Joyce Seymore commits to the daring feat of throwing out an artwork and maybe one other possession.
This is no easy feat, considering that Joyce has spent a lifetime saving just about everything, including a huge collection of art materials, books, shells, and more.
The outcome is as tense as an Olympic snowboard half-pipe competition -- but with fewer spins through the air.
Listen wherever you get podcasts, or watch all eight minutes of this historic event at throwitoutpodcast.com
And check out Joyce's profoundly beautiful artworks at joyceseymore.com

Have thoughts about this episode? Send us a text

More info, photos, and transcript:  throwitoutpodcast.com   
Don't miss a thing: Join our mailing list   
Do you save stuff you can't throw out? Tell us about it  
Want to show support? Please rate/follow us wherever you get your podcasts.

Janny Scott explains how saving things helped her grieve – and preserve her connection with journalist Joseph Lelyveld 
---------------
When someone you love dies, the grieving process is different for each of us.  But one thing is always the same: You've got to decide what to do with the things your loved one left behind.
Janny Scott experienced this in January 2024 when Joseph Lelyveld, her partner of 19 years, died from complications of Parkinson's Disease.
Joe had been a star at the New York Times, eventually becoming executive editor (the top editorial position) and winning a Pulitzer Prize for Move Your Shadow, his 1985 book about apartheid South Africa. From his career and travels, he left behind some genuine treasures. But mostly, Janny was surrounded by everyday items that filled their apartment, especially the contents of Joe's tiny home office.
So Janny made a deliberate decision.  She'd leave Joe's office exactly as he left it, creating what Janny calls The Museum of Joe.
In this episode of I Couldn't Throw It Out, Janny – a former New York Times and L.A. Times reporter and author of A Singular Woman, the bestselling biography of Barack Obama's mother – shares what she saved and why.  
Listen in to understand how one of us – and maybe all of us – can keep a connection to people we've loved through the things we never plan to throw out.
Find out more about Joseph Lelyveld and Janny Scott at: throwitoutpodcast.com
Have thoughts about this episode? Send us a text

More info, photos, and transcript:  throwitoutpodcast.com   
Don't miss a thing: Join our mailing list   
Do you save stuff you can't throw out? Tell us about it  
Want to show support? Please rate/follow us wherever you get your podcasts.