It was 2015. I was at a comic book store late one night and in strode Chris Nichols of LA Magazine. "John, Angelyne is outside and she'd give you a ride in the pink Corvette if you want." 

He had me at Angelyne, and the ride was awesome. 45 minutes later I had an audio portrait of one of the hardest working women in Hollywood who strives to live within her warm pink bubble. And later, when the Hollywood Reporter finally uncovered her backstory, it all made sense. As also told in the Peacock miniseries, Angelyne was fighting the dehumanizing legacy of the Holocaust in her family. 

This episode also features a fresh interview with LAist's Mike Roe about the miniseries, Angelyne's reaction to it, and our mutual admiration for a woman who remade herself and her life. 

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.)

(CONTENT ALERT: This piece includes frank discussion of abortion and clinical descriptions of abortion procedures.)

We're all processing the news that a draft ruling from the US Supreme Court supports overturning Roe v. Wade, which has protected a woman's right to an abortion in the US for almost 50 years. A decision to overrule Roe would lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.

On this bonus Off-Ramp episode, we meet Carol Downer, now 88. Before the 1973 Supreme Court decision, this Eagle Rock woman had made it her mission to take abortion from the back alley ... to the living room, by creating an underground network of unlicensed women who performed very early term home abortions. She wrote books on female anatomy, went to jail, and ran a women's health and abortion clinic in Hollywood which burned down in 1985.

After we hear Chris Greenspon's 2017 profile of Downer, we'll hear what Downer has to say about the latest bad news for Roe v. Wade.

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.)

Riding the Expo line from Downtown LA to the Pacific Ocean ... Meet Mack Robinson, Jesse's brother ... Milton Love does not love books like Hooty the Owl Who Couldn’t Fly or Gretchen the Bed Bug with an Attitude ... Bob Boilen and the songs that changed our lives

Californium, the new PK Dick video game ... bid for a unique dinner with Russ Parsons, John Rabe, and Piero Selvaggio at Valentino in Santa Monica ... the almost-lost living room sessions of jazz pianist Forrest Westbrook ... how to make money in Hollywood AND not be a racist.

The Parks Service needs your help to figure out how urban coyotes survive ... remembering the infamous Atomic Cafe ... the existential angst of Laurel & Hardy, restored and remembered ... Can Pershing Square be made into a beautiful park?

The view from the 69th floor of the Wilshire Grand ... Brains On, the science podcast for kids ... our first look inside the Highand Park Bowl ... the Norton Simon summons up a triumph from the 1960s ...

California Science Center is getting the big orange external tank to go with Shuttle Endeavour ... Guitar hero Albert Lee on the skiffle and early rock scene in Britain ... LACMA opens exhibit on 300 years of men's fashion ...

Vin Scully on the roar of the crowd as fountain of youth ... Orel Hershiser on pitcher's nerves ... No, most of us still can't watch the Dodgers on TV ... Rabe eats a Dodger dog: still meh ... Plus: Brendon Eder and Milton Avery.

It was 80 years ago that Jackie Robinson went to John Muir High School in Pasadena. He played shortstop and catcher on the baseball team. But flash forward to today: what about the team he played on, and the school he went to? Take a leap into a Los Angeles of the future it's unlikely any city will have changed more than Inglewood, future home to the new NFL stadium. We take a look around and talk with Inglewood movers and shakers. And we go inside the Eames House, one of Los Angeles' most important, most beautiful and elusive homes.

We bring you Off-Ramp greatest (recent) hits: Actor George Takei reflects on the 10th anniversary of his coming out. We dig through the cookbook authored by the late Vincent Price—frightening star of stage and screen. And if you love John William's iconic Star Wars score, New Yorker Music Critic Alex Ross says it's not just nostalgia: there's a serious, brilliant mind at work.