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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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  • Phantograms; Keystone-Mast Collection; Projecting 3-D Ain't Free; Leaves of Photographs; Tim Sullivan; D.I.Y. 3-D; Reel-D; LA's First Family Of Photography; Julius Shulman; Take My Picture; Shooting History
  • Note from Off-Ramp Dear Listeners, Frank Stoltze is sitting in for John Rabe this week, and we're going to take you on the Off-Ramp Art Walk. We'll visit three notable exhibits in Los Angeles, a city that's become an international center for contemporary centers. Sit back and enjoy! ~ Queena and Frank Stoltze
  • Don't laugh! The comics are second in readership behind the front page of the newspaper. This week on Off-Ramp, we talk about the not-so-funny pages, learn about LA's society registers, and hear Tim Hawkinson's organ, now installed at the Getty. And by the way, thanks so much for your contribution during KPCC's Spring Fund Drive! -- John Rabe
  • My Story; The Whole Story; Tai Chi and Sleep; The Unsung Pelon; Harper Woods; Holy Gifts; Holy Icons; Oscar Honors; Oscar Shorts; Russian Pronouncer; Call Sheet
  • LA Phil Reaches Out; The Phil's Four Seasons ;Blacksmith Rising; The Golden Pig; The City of Mahagonny in Los Angeles; Bark Off; Transportation Trajectories; The Mayor of Gladys Park; Dragon Ball Z; LA Experience; Hip Hop; Call Sheet
  • Auntie Diluvium; LA River - Take Two; Take Three: Down By the LA River; Vija Celmins; Okies at the Getty; Astronauts and Cupids; Crack Time; Crossing Guard; Mighty Mo; Radio Lolly; Call Sheet; Paolo Nutini
  • Message from John Rabe With cold and flu season still upon us, we decided to re-run this show on germs. This week, hand washing, flu shots, and the new sneeze. And... oboist, super music agents and more -John
  • Rabe, baby; LAPD HQ; Populist Critique; Metergate; The View of Us Guys; Wither Jane?; ViewMaster; Paine in the Neck; To Protect and Surf; Strange New World; Poor Howard's Almanac