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.)

Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune ... another Hard Times update ... goodbye Cal Worthington ... the Congressman who arm-wrestled Putin ...

Harry Dean Stanton smokes in front of Patt Morrison; Zoey 101 as Bob Tur continues to become a woman; remembering writer Frederik Pohl; and lamenting Miyazaki's retirement from animation.

Dwight Yoakam performs at Hollywood Palladium, Patt pokes Pershing plan, our newest Instagram contest celebrates working men and women.

Marc Haefele marched on Washington 50 years ago ... Kevin Ferguson takes us to Glendora's Rubel Castle ... the Western stories of Elmore Leonard ...

Jason Mandell of The Coals sings in studio ... how is tattooed Jahsan doing? ... meet LA's new coroner ... Marc Haefele on the new Sam Francis exhibit ...

Answered on this episode: What happens to your old mattress? What moves comedian Eddie Pepitone? What are the best pop melodies? Can humans breathe in the Funkmosphere?

Driving with stuntman Jim Wilkey, art with Robert Williams, OCMA's California Pacific Triennial, and the best stuff that was never built in Southern California.

Larry King on almost 80 years ... dishing on Deitch ditching MOCA ... called a "cracker," Clay Russell tells us about his eureka moment ... why did a Lomita builder collect 55,000 dresses?