LeVar Burton has been blessed with enough intelligence, curiosity, and talent to be a pop-culture triple threat. When most actors would be happy to have one iconic role, he's been Kunta Kinte in "Roots," Geordi in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and the host of "Reading Rainbow." When we talked in 2012, we covered all that and a lot more ... like his favorite saint, and what it was like having Richard Burton as a father. (Kidding!)

And, since we're dropping this episode just before Juneteenth, we're including LeVar's readings of the Preamble to the US Constitution, plus the 13th and 15th Amendments.

(Note: Burton cites Bill Cosby's work in children's educational TV ... this interview was conducted two years before the allegations that would eventually lead to Cosby's prison sentence.)

Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and bythe Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

(Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.)

Nowadays, Steven Cuevas is a classy public radio veteran. But back when Metallica was just starting to find fame, he was one of the sweaty kids who formed the band's first real fanbase. And when he wanted to tell the story on Off-Ramp in 2009, when Metallica was being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, he got ahold of never-before-heard tape to take us back to those early days in San Francisco.

Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and bythe Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

(Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.)

Exploring Southern California with John Rabe and Kevin Ferguson and the rest of Team Off-Ramp.

The CBS and NBC pilots chasing OJ 20 years ago are transgender; someone is killing the peacocks of Rolling Hills Estates; crowning the savior of the Wigwam Motel on Route 66.

A billion-dollar facelift for the LA River, Clipper Darrell weighs in, LA's "Big Parade," and Llyn Foulkes stars in a new doc, celebrating Disney's Golden Books.

Jelly Roll Morton is buried ... in East LA? ... Two new books explore the Chinese-American nightclub scene ... Where wannabe WWE pro-wrestlers go to get noticed ... Orson Bean and the woman who bit his father's knee

Zoey 101, Episode 3: We continue to track Bob Tur's transformation to Zoey Tur. Marc Maron, mayor of Highland Park.

RE this week's show: we reconsider the Eagles' inescapable "Hotel California," rediscover Channing Peake, revisit Jeffrey Kahane at the piano, and revere Roy Orbison.

Ben and Ellen Harper's new album and the Claremont link, Pacific Standard Time focuses on Latinos, and Jeffrey Kahane is a classical music rebel

The LA Chamber Orchestra's Jeffrey Kahane gives us a Bach master class; Ruth Reichl says she was scared to write her first novel; and hit-and-run victim Damian Kevitt finished his ride.