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.)

The LA-based Catherine Opie is one of the world's most famous working art photographers, and in 2011, she was given exclusive access to Elizabeth Taylor's home in Bel Air,, which she photographed before and after the star's death. Although she never met her, you feel from the photos that Opie knew Taylor intimately.

In 2017, when the photos were exhibited in the exhibit "700 Nimes Road," Off-Ramp host John Rabe spoke with her about the experience.  

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.)

Pasadena artist Kenton Nelson ... Hipstamatic & Instagram v News ... new voting tech via crowdsourcing ... Giant Rock = Boffo Muz Biz? ... RIP Firesign Theatre's Peter Bergman ...

Blind mezzo-soprano Laurie Rubin's new album, "Do You Dream in Color?" ... the music of "John Carter" ... a last Bookmobile ... the Flying Pigeon's bikes for the citizen cyclist ... What is Steam Punk? ...

Assemblyman Mike Gatto proposes cottage food law for home cooks ... why is this man fascinated with Apocalypitc visions of the 1970s ... Materials and Applications intrigues Silverlake, world ... The Jazz Bakery gets a new home, at last ...

Tim Robbins with Off-Ramp host John Rabe, in-depth

Rabe (again) takes up the cause of stopping handicap parking placard abusers ... LA's condom law and its impact on the porn industry ... Autumn de Wilde photos of a pig slaughter in a tasting room? ... the Pasadena Conservatory screens for dedication, not talent ... Tim Robbins and The Actors Gang bring back 1984.

In a special Off-Ramp podcast, John Rabe's (mostly) uncut interview with Cheech Marin about Chicano art, including an exclusive tour of Marin's huge Chicano art collection, and his memories of Cheech&Chong.

Cheech Marin gives Off-Ramp an exclusive tour of his Chicano art ... Lincoln Elementary 5th graders on love and Valentine's Day ... Love among the Bonobos ... Nico Case reborn ... "Finding Nemo's" flexible sexuality ...

Lisa See talking with Off-Ramp host John Rabe about Shanghai Girls and Dreams of Joy, two bestselling novels about the Chinese-American immigrant experience.