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.)

Special Off-Ramp Podcast - Interview with TCM's Ben Mankiewicz

The chips are fine -- it's the bag that's too noisy ... SoCal Noir with Marc Haefele ... CyberFrequencies on The Entryway ... Annual Roses & Lemon Award goes to AEG and ugly government buildings ...

EatLA on Gastropubs ... Dinner Party Download ... Photos by one of The Minutemen ... Larry Mantle interviewed by John Rabe ... The Voice of Bambi - Donnie Dunagan ... The Secret of Kells ... Poverty in Armenia.

A parable from Father Greg Boyle from his book, "Tattoos on the Heart."

Passover in the Desert ... CyberFrequencies talks with a woman who tried to scam the email scammers ... Marimbist Naoko Takada ... Anna Russell's twenty-minute Ring Cycle.

Jeff Mallett on Diagnosis: Triathlete ... Riding the Angels Flight once again ... Father Boyle's big idea: give gangstas an alternative besides jail ... Dinner Party Download makes you smarter, sweetens your breath ... and so much more.

CyberFrequencies talks to the woman who started a Debtors Revolt on YouTube... 1960s music icon Donovan sings and plays for Off-Ramp ... we send a real-life couple to the big travel expo to look for a honeymoon package ... Kevin Ferguson reports on female musicians' tributes bands dedicated to the music of male rock bands.

60s icon Donovan and his guitar in studio!