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Off-Ramp

Exploring Southern California with John Rabe

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Episodes
  • The LA Uprising - 30 Years Later: The stories you haven't heard
    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.)

  • Photographer Catherine Opie got exclusive access to Elizabeth Taylor's house ... so so do you, kinda.
    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.)

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  • Bob Kholos; City Hall Tower; It isn't easy being Green; Sana Sana; Santeria Botanica; Rooney Weighs In; Trivia: AnimeExpo
  • AnimeExpo 2007 This (pictured) is what your kids are up to when you're not looking, and it may be the future of the entertainment industry. But don't worry too much. Anime and manga are mostly about doing the right thing. Come with animation expert Charles Solomon and me to AnimeExpo 2007! - John Rabe
  • Happy Birthday de Havilland; Skirball's Ark; The NFL, not!; Bug's Eye View; Eden's Edge at the Hammer; Homeless Crackdown; Re-Gifting Sound; iWait; What Are You Doing for Summer Break?; The Art of Haiku; There Are Some Things Alli Doesn't Alleviate...; Futile Fuel?; Plaque Attack
  • Dixon's West; Landscaping America; The ABC's of BBQ; Matthew Monahan in Eden's Edge; Caruso; The (other) Happiest Place on Earth; Malibooster Malice; Short Attention Span Theatre; Animayhem; Reporter's Roundtable: Five More Years; Adios to Aguilar; Short-Sighted Shirt
  • Architectural Texture; It's Not a Knack; Fresh from the Can; Sopranos Sleep with the Fishes; Beyond Muscle Beach; Artists At Eden's Edge; Humble Art; Exene's L.A.; The Art of Punk; The Politics of Marriage; The Nancy Drew Philes; Farewell to Rachael Myrow; Have something to tell us?
  • Artists at Eden's Edge ; Hitting the Links; Holy Gifts; Space Aliens and Sea Fish; Alternate Route; Breaking the Rules of the Road; Driving with the Top Down; The Fast Sandwich; Space Talk; Bozo The Bling-Bling Clown; Dance Legend Remembered; Letters: Civil Disobedience
  • Summer Fun in Malibu This week, watchdog Jenny Price gives us tips on how to enjoy Malibu despite the efforts of some residents.
  • A Last Goodbye; Hello Tiki-Ti ; Tiki Tribute; Ghost in the Machine; Dad's in Jail; For want of a fingernail...; Eve's Apple; Urban Survivalist; Web Extra