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.)

From "I'll be your Huckleberry" to Huck Finn, it's Mark Twain by Val Kilmer ... Valitar, epic show becomes epic fail ... if you think your life is hard, try being gay and undocumented ... put on your traveling face ...

Rabe goes there ... Regardie explains why downtown LA is exploding, but not in a good way ... Kevin goes to the narco-corrido opera ... Robert goes bowling ... and the Getty goes to Koreatown.

Father Boyle versus Mother Church ... Haefele on Haiti ... Mukta Mohan and the Big Picture ... parents find some peace by giving to a police station ...

In Woodland Hills, a fallout shelter stocked with c1960 products ... Shambala, Tippi Hedren's big cat preserve ... Rite of Spring celebration snubs animation ... Dylan Brody on the social network: I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore.

The LA Phil's new season includes a tour of LA ... Kevin Ferguson sweats to the oldies with Richard Simmons ... the first annual Ernest Borgnine Awards ...

Rosemead tiki icon Bahooka to close March 10 ... Oscar PR million$ ... David Dean Bottrell's new show ... Charlie LeDuff gives Detroit a loving autopsy ... Gary Leonard helps Angelenos find their wings ...

Classical music on the Venice Beach boardwalk ... Gordon Henderson finds a Rose Bowl chaperone ... Kevin Ferguson talks with Van Dyke Parks ...

Mark Elson's wet-plate photos of Civil War reenactors ... Backstories: the painting at Langer's and the Venice Beach piano player ... changing the thinking on football head injuries