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.)

It’s an 8-foot chicken with the head of Big Boy, and it’s on San Fernando Road in Glassell Park … staring at you. We track down the artist. ... LA State Historic Park reopens this weekend; was it worth the 3-year wait? Maybe so ... We'll meet one of the people who brought Southwest Native Bird Singing creation stories back from the brink of extinction.

Ed Asner tells us what his autistic son and grandsons have taught him ... We to go Disney Hall and sample the sound during an actual concert from all the performers’ perspectives. Surprise: the people with the best seats … are in the audience. ... Meet Carol Downer of Eagle Rock, a pioneering abortion rights activist who championed a less invasive abortion procedure that could be performed at home, by the woman’s friends ... We hear a tribute to a man who had it made, and gave it all up: writer Roy Battocchio.

Local jazz legend Barbara Morrison celebrates the 100th birthday of Ella Fitzgerald, and gives a master class in scatting ... The band That Dog influenced bands like Weezer, so how come you haven't heard of them? That Dog's “Retreat From the Sun” turns 20 this year. ... We’ll ride the elevator with LA’s last elevator operator, Ruben Pardo ... and we’ll visit Wondercon with KPCC’s Mike Roe to talk with one of the guys who did special effects for “Logan.”

A veteran driver walks us through next week's Long Beach Grand Prix, and gives us his tips and peeves about driving in LA. ... A first-time film director says he learned a ton about making films working as a valet car parker at a Sunset Strip hotel. ... We go to Parker Center (photo, right), an architecturally significant building tainted by its connection to the bad old days of the LAPD.

To remind you why Off-Ramp is unparalleled in bringing you the people, places, and ideas that make Southern California a great place to live, here's a sample of our best pieces from the last year. With your contribution, we can do another year of great radio. Without it, we can't. Please give now!

“No blue skies and no green grass” is animator Genndy Tartakovsky’s rule for "Samurai Jack." He tells us about bringing back the wandering samurai (right) for Adult Swim. ... Meet jazz singer Donna Fuller, a sultry contralto who made two albums that are now eBay gold. ... It would be enough if we went to the shop where they make custom limousines and hearses, but they also make custom hunting trucks Middle East potentates use when they hunt with their falcons.

The remarkable George Takei gets the whole hour. We get an exclusive preview of JANM's new George Takei exhibit, talk with George himself about his life and times and his new role in the Sondheim musical “Pacific Overtures,” hear from "To Be Takei's" director that George is NOT a performer at heart (WTF?!), and hear George and John Rabe sing. Maybe. If there's time.

Angels Flight to be back by Labor Day ... Back when cops weren’t supposed to smoke in uniform, and when a stolen car might be traced by the make of its battery or speedometer ... A Hammer show on an artist overshadowed by Pollack, De Kooning, and Rothko. (Photo: LA Public Library's Security Pacific National Bank Collection)