Finders and Keepers is a podcast about our attachments to our belongings, from collections to keepsakes, minimalism to maximalism to hoarding and everything in between. Hosted by journalist and recovering hoarder Rachel Kramer Bussel, this weekly interview podcast explores why we hold on to sentimental objects, the joy of collecting books, Lego sets, and more, how major life transitions like moves and home repairs impact our relationships with our stuff, the allure of bulk shopping, and why storage spaces are so popular, to inheritances and the legacies we want to leave behind, why decluttering is so challenging, and more. Whether...
Latest episodes
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1 h 00
Jane Pratt on Having Multiple Storage Spaces, ‘Sassy’ Memorabilia, and Giving Away Belongings to Friends
How much Sassy memorabilia does the magazine’s founding editor Jane Pratt still own? You might be surprised by her answer as she reveals to host Rachel Kramer Bussel her approach t…
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55 min
How to Handle Being Displaced from Your Home for Two Years with Lara Starr
What would you take with you if your home needed sudden repairs and you weren’t sure how long they would take? That’s exactly the situation Lara Starr found herself in in June 2021…
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33 min
Why a 1980s MC Hammer Doll Is a Good Luck Charm with Alrinthea Carter
Can a childhood memento bring good luck and inspiration decades into the future? For comedy writer Alrinthea Carter, who’s held onto her MC Hammer doll from the 1980s, the answer i…
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51 min
How to Declutter Books, Clothes, and Everything Else with Decluttering Expert Avery Cundill
What can a recovering hoarder learn from a decluttering expert? Find out as Finders and Keepers host Rachel Kramer Bussel gets tips from Avery Cundill, host of The Declutter Queen…
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1 h 11
The Resurgence of Print Magazines with Geezer Magazine Editor Laura LeBleu
Are print magazines dead? Of course not! While many once-thriving magazines have shuttered or switch to digital only, a new crop of independent print magazines are filling valuable…
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49 min
Divorce, Remarriage, and Collecting Lego Sets with Rob Hart
Moving is a process most people dread because it forces us to closely examine what we own and decide what really needs to be packed up, lugged around, then unpacked in a new home.…
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47 min
Why Writer Athena Dixon Collects Black Memorabilia
Writer Athena Dixon owns hundreds of items of Black memorabilia, ranging from household goods with racist Jim Crow-era artifacts dating back to the early 20th century, such as a 19…
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44 min
Why We’re Nostalgic for the Toys Our Children Have Outgrown with Aymann Ismail
As they get older, our children naturally outgrow formerly beloved toys and move on to more age-appropriate ones. But what about their parents? For father of two Aymann Ismail, say…
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47 min
Exploring Gender and Being Non-Binary via Fashion with Alligator Tears author Edgar Gomez
Choosing which clothes we want to wear on any given day is about so much more than fashion. How we dress is often deeply connected to our self-expression, creativity, and gender id…
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1 h 06
How to Decorate a Jail Cell and What Items Are and Aren’t Allowed While Serving Time with Kari Ferrell
In the late 2000s, Kari Ferrell become infamous online when she was dubbed the “Hipster Grifter” in the media for scamming men out of money in Brooklyn. While the sensationalized v…
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53 min
American Fantasy Author and Bookstore Owner Emma Straub on Why Book Swag Is Everywhere
To promote her new boy band cruise novel American Fantasy, novelist Emma Straub, who co-owns Brooklyn bookstore Books Are Magic, went all out with swag. Partnering with VistaPrint,…
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43 min
Why Fly Fishing Is the Ultimate Sport for Hoarders with Angling Educator Nick Parish
Host Rachel Kramer Bussel didn’t even know what fly fishing was when author and angling educator Nick Parish reached out to proclaim that fly fishing is the ultimate sport for hoar…
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38 min
How to Make Miniatures with Sara Schaefer
Sara Schaefer is a comedian who’s appeared on or written for shows on Comedy Central, Apple+, Netflix, MTV, and more, and is the host of Crafting Through It on YouTube, where she,…
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52 min
What to Do with Things We Inherit and How We Preserve Our Children’s Earliest Moments with Emily Hessney Lynch
Emily Hessney Lynch, host of the podcast It’s a Lot, joins us to discuss two topics that are emotionally heavy and very much a lot: how to handle items we inherit from family membe…
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46 min
How Bestselling Author Deesha Philyaw Builds Her Book Collection and Became an Avid Reader
How do we develop a lifelong reading habit? What turns someone into a “book person?” And once we are a confirmed book person, how do we decide which books to keep on our bulging bo…
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1 h 15
The Allure of Costco and Bulk Shopping with American Bulk author Emily Mester
Emily Mester, author of American Bulk: Essays on Excess, joins us to discuss the thrill of Costco shopping, the agony of online shopping returns, and why we just can’t quit the exc…
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49 min
Meet The World-Traveling Teddy Bear Jointly Owned by This Friend Group
Kristyana, April, and Twanna have been friends for over 25 years, and teddy bear Nathaniel Behr has been an integral part of their friend group. What started as a small purchase ha…
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3 min
We're Launching the Finders and Keepers Podcast This Week - Here's the Trailer!
We’re thrilled to announce that this week, we’re launching the podcast Finders and Keepers, about our emotional attachments to our belongings, hosted by Open Secrets Magazine edito…