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.)

Brian May and Elena Vidal talk about "A Village Lost and Found," their preservation and tribute of the stereo photos of TR Williams.

Off-Ramp's junior reporters tour the newest/oldest wing of LA's Natural History Museum ... The LA Garment Citizen shuts down ... LA's best hot dogs on the Eat-LA/Off-Ramp Collaboration ... Remembering animator Pres Romanillos ... Dinner Party Download ... Slot cars!

Return to Doodah Surf!

EatLA-Off-Ramp Collaboration covers relish ... sneak preview of the Natural History Museum's Beaux Arts Building ... Dinner Party Download ... Twitter Poets on CyberFrequencies ...

Todd Schorr's Universe ... Anime Expo takes over LA ... Taschen explores Big Butts ... CyberFrequencies ... Mr Irrelevant -- the last NFL draft pick -- isn't ... Alan Furst's historical spy novels.

Tom Hanks' lets Off-Ramp onto the set of his new movie, "Larry Crowne" ... the subtle (not) art of Jean-Leon Gerome, on display at the Getty ... Silverlake Man Builds Own Bread Oven in Backyard ... Bugs in your Backyard ... Local Man Forgoes Laker Playoff Game for Ring Cycle ... Firefighters Loved "Emergency!" Local Museum Gets Show's Firetruck ...

L-Word Creator tells CyberFrequency how she adapted to social media ... RH Greene on films and memories of Eastern Europe ... Tom Hanks on public radio, "Larry Crowne," and "Philadelphia" ... Charlie LeDuff on Fathers Day ... Larry Mantle talks radio with John.

Noisy chips ... Mark Peel's "The Point" ... best milkshakes in the Empire ... Soup that's probably too hot for humans (sane ones, anyway) ... Eat-LA-Off-Ramp Collaboration on Goat and Global Pizza ... Michael Cimarusti's "What I Learned on my Japanese Vacation."