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.)

Jeanne Cooper, beloved/hated 83-year old matriarch of "The Young and the Restless," reveals the secrets of her success and long life ... including which TV crime show star she slept with. (Her first movie was "The Redhead from Wyoming.") Plus, Steve Julian's theory of why live theatre is struggling (it has to do with news), and an NPR executive reveals his surprising backstory (surprising for an NPR type).

Marking Ramadan, a time to fast, with a canned food drive. EatLA on pop-ups gone permanent. Dylan Brody learns something Down South. And: who's the guy in the chair?

Mars! Art! Replicants! Sports!

Ian Whitcomb's ukulele heroes, downhill skateboarding, Kwayzar the 84yo rapper, Tuesday night in Anaheim, and the El Segundo Blue.

David Misch on Funny, rethinking pole dancing, Disney and the Reagan Library, the roots of homelessness, and Brian May on 3-D photography.

Whitey Bulger lived unnoticed for years as a fugitive; Hank Rosenfeld knows his barber. Mike Roe takes us to Comic Con. "Hogan's Heroes" in sock puppets.

Come inside the historic Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip for routines from five of today's hottest comedians, and a roundtable on the essence of comedy.

Suicide by train and one man who survived ... Why are transit-riding iPhone users being punished for Apple's fight with Google? ... Real food in Altadena ...