John Rabe's veg oil diary ... Charles Solomon on the pros and cons of animation art auctions ... beer tasting for women ... Frank McCourt's secret plan backfires ... Madeleine Brand can't break up with her car, but she kinda wants to ... Tess Vigeland of Marketplace Money tals carbuying strategies ...

In-depth Off-Ramp interview with Newton Minow, 85, on his "Vast Wasteland" speech of May 9, 1961. It shook up the television industry and is considered one of the most important speeches of the 20th century. Many of its criticisms are true of television today. Off-Ramp host John Rabe also talks with broadcast historian Robert Thompson, and actor Don Murray, who took a role in episodic TV because of the speech. He says TV was a "vast wasteland" for actors, too.

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez name-checked in The Simpsons; Barry McGovern and bleak, black Beckett; the Whisky's business model; and a visit to Night Vale.

We mark the 20th anniversary of the 6.7 magnitude Northridge Earthquake by starting our show at the epicenter of the disaster; and we consider Sheriff Baca's sudden resignation.

Piper Laurie on Paul Newman and Ronald Reagan; Pepe Aguilar's musical legacy; What is God?

Too much rich food and drink for the holidays? We help you recover with more work from outsider photog Vivian Maier, good news about Rubel Castle, and some Coals for your empty stocking.

We work out our Feliz Navidad earworm issues, hear an all-star cast read "Night Before Christmas," listen to the Hollywood Park bugler, and talk about kids who see numbers as colors.

Merry Lepper broke the rules and, in Culver City, became the first US woman to run a marathon. Shifting ground broke the Baldwin Hills dam; we talk with a woman who has never told her story before.

David Dean Bottrell's Crafty Christmas, counting pools in LA, a man who hates Christmas songs, and Jonathan Gold on the impact of King Taco.

"Walking Out of History," John Rabe's documentary about Ernest Shackleton's remarkable Endurance expedition.