Over the years Off-Ramp was on the air, LA City Archivist Michael Holland researched, wrote, and narrated many pieces for the show that used the city archive to illuminate aspects of the city's history most people have forgotten or don't know in the first place ... like Mayor Fletcher Bowron's active campaign against Japanese-Americans during World War Two. Bowron, who lived from 1887-1968 and was mayor from 1938-1953, used radio to drive his point home, and the transcripts of his speeches aren't pretty.

This time, we'll hear Holland's piece from 2017, and from the same year, George Takei telling us what happened to his family when FDR signed his infamous Executive Order 9066.

Note: "Internment" was, of course, a euphemism, so politicians and others didn't have to say they were putting innocent people in prison. Our policy at KPCC is to call it "incarceration." 

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.)

(This is the second part of a two-part episode.)

This time, we mark the 30th anniversary of one of the darkest days in LA history: Friday, April 29, 1992, when the all-white Simi Valley jury found 4 LAPD officers not guilty in the beating of Rodney King. Rage, protests, and violence, broke out across the city and lasted for days.

Five years ago on Off-Ramp, we marked the 25th anniversary with a full hour of interviews, archival footage, and an unflinching reckoning of the LAPD and its legacy of violence. We wound up with an interview with the late Rodney King.

That's what we're going to listen back to on this episode, but please remember that a lot has changed in five years, and one of them is that as a newsroom - like a lot of other newsrooms around the country - we at KPCC and LAist no longer use the phrase LA Riots.

While riotis used historically, we cannot ignore the media's role in popularizing a term that is now often used as a dog whistle for race. Words like response, unrest, or uprising encourage our audiences to think deeper about its origins.

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.)

Martin Mull's "Split Infinitives" exhibit opens in Santa Monica ... Frank Stoltze and Brian Watt say, "Send us your tired, your huddled donations, yearing to be free." ... Hard Times in SoCal ... The Best of Off-Ramp ... Dinner Party Download makes life better and you more interesting ...

Hal "Raindrops Are Falling on my Head" David, 89, sings at the Grammy Museum ... Homeless in Hard Times ... CyberFrequencies ... the Philippines' national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.

Filmmaker and author RH Greene presents "Vampira and Me," a special documentary for Off-Ramp that tells the story of Maila Nurmi, creator of the cultural icon Vampira.

Off-Ramp's John Rabe and Kevin Ferguson talk with a baker's dozen of the 45 artists chosen to be in OCMA's 2010 California Biennial.

Stories from the Recession Front in new series, "Hard Times" ... Dan Savage's "It Gets Better Campaign" to fight gay teen suicide goes viral ... CyberFrequencies ... Songwriters Hall of Fame at Grammy Museum ... Remembering Tom Bradley campaigner & press secy Bob Kholos, witness to history of LA ... Mark Peel explains why your restaurant meal is late ... EatLA's 2011 guide is out ...

RH Greene on the Walking Man of Silverlake ... Dinner Party Download ... Cooking for 5,000 aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier ... Upton Sinclair Reconsidered ... Todd Carpenter - a real painter of light, in the dark.

Home Movie Day arrives in LA ... Mark Peel dispenses food wisdom ... Santa Clarita: cuisine destination? ... Athol Fugard's new play, "The Train Driver" ... Arthur Fiedler throws parsley, Mark Peel is surprised ...

LACMA's huge new Resnick Pavilion ... Lou Adler on The Painted Turtle and his talent ... muralist Siqueiros did landscapes, too ... skeletons in the closet? a German baron has mummies in his crypt ... meet This Old House, finally coming to LA ...