Former People Magazine reporter shares celeb interviews & other treasures - can he toss 'em?

As a former reporter for People Magazine, I've got a challenge I didn't expect. For decades, I kept boxes of my never-heard audio interviews with Joni Mitchell, 2Pac, Kiefer Sutherland and many others. To keep my stash from becoming a burden to someone else when I'm gone, I should get rid of it. But I can't let go of those tapes or anything else I've saved: letters, school papers, even expense accounts.
To reach some sort of resolution, my guests and I share the wonders of our treasures on each episode. This could involve playing a 1980s celebrity interview, or telling powerful personal stories about saved items. Then my co-host Sally Libby tries to convince us to toss it all.
 

When I interviewed celebrities in the '80s and '90s, there was no Internet, no Youtube. So I was the only one who heard my audio recordings. A few years ago I realized that I had to do something with those old tapes or they'd end up in a dumpster -- unheard -- after I'm gone. Starting a podcast solved that problem.
As I sorted through my boxes, I discovered many other things I had saved, bringing back memories that I thought were lost forever. My friends helped me realize that I wasn't alone. Everyone had saved things, and no one knew what to do about it.
That's when my co-host Sally and I decided to broaden the scope of the podcast to include any of the things we save, especially if it brings back a great story to share. After that, it took about six months of planning -- and learning technical details -- before we were ready to launch in May 2022.
 

I was ready for podcasting to get much easier when I retired from my 11-hour-a-day job as a manager at NBC News Digital. However... it didn't get easier. Because our episodes often involve digitizing and editing a 35-year-old audio tape, and then mixing that with new interviews, it takes me a while to complete each one. That's why we never lived up to our goal of two episodes per month. We still have hope, though, that by streamlining our processes we can get there. When we increase the episode frequency, we'll consider getting a sponsor. In the meantime, I cover the costs.
 

Because we haven't tried for sponsorships yet, the biggest benefit from our podcast has been a surprisingly varied education. Of course, there are the technical details, like editing audio and video. But best of all is learning from our guests.
Dr. Dre (one of two people with that name -- this is the one who co-hosted the hit TV Show Yo! MTV Raps Today), helped us think in new ways about my interviews with hip-hop greats 2Pac and Eazy-E. Janet Eilber, head of the Martha Graham Dance Company, gave us a whole new appreciation of modern dance. And the hosts of the Peacock TV Show The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning gave us such profound insight into what we're doing on the podcast, it actually shook me up.
Listeners have told us that they get similar joy from hearing these entertaining and thoughtful people -- which makes us extremely happy.
 

Each season -- which includes 10 - 15 episodes -- we start with a plan for every episode. Then we change the plan constantly in response to a news peg, or a guest who became available. Here's our process:
- Gather guest images and bios, and promo images
- If the episode is based on one of my taped audio interviews, I digitize it (using TASAM 202 MX VII)
- I edit the interview (Hindenburg)
- We record an introduction with or without a guest (Riverside.fm)
- I edit together all the parts of the episode (Hindenburg)
- I generate an AI transcription of the edited episode (Riverside Transcription)
- I photograph objects we talk about in the episode
- I upload the episode and transcript to our host (Buzzsprout)
- I flesh out the episode page on our website with photos, behind-the-scenes info, etc. (Podpage)
We strongly recommend all the services we use. They make it much easier to create a podcast.
 

- We promote each episode on social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.)
- I try to write headlines and descriptions that are SEO friendly, to improve search ranking on Google
Most useful...
- Communicating with other podcasters, website managers, and social media group leaders who are interested in the topic of the episode -- either by giving each other promotion, or just sharing info and encouragement
- Sending an episode announcement to newsletter subscribers (I use MailerLite)
 

- Use your RSS feed to get your podcast on Youtube. For us, this led to a large increase in listeners for specific episodes.
- Take the Podscore test (https://start.podscore.io/). When you get your results, watch the really helpful videos by Alex Sanfilippo, an extremely generous and knowledgable podcasting expert
 

I Couldn't Throw It Out can be heard wherever you get your podcasts.
Or you can listen and see photos of the treasures we discuss on our website: throwitouktpodcast.com
Follow us on Instagram or Threads: @throwitoutpod
Get updates about new episodes: https://subscribepage.io/throwitoutpodcast