For the first Off-Ramp podcast episode, let's go back to that amazing day in 2013 when my friend Chris sent me a message:

"Hey, John. My sister and her husband just bought a home in the Valley with a fallout shelter that hasn't been touched in decades. Wanna do an Off-Ramp piece about it?" 

Would I? Should you wear a sport coat to Musso & Frank? Are horizontal fence slats getting old? Are you legally required to take visiting relatives to The Huntington? Yes!

The piece you're about to listen to was probably the most popular one we ever did, in no small part due to the great photos by Mae Ryan. 

This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

(Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.)

Welcome from host John Rabe, a public radio veteran and bon vivant who turned exploring Southern California into a radio art form on KPCC's Off-Ramp. Now, he's sharing stories from the Off-Ramp archive - in a lead-lined vault deep beneath Mt Wilson - with you!

Check your feed every Friday, then sit back, listen, enjoy ... and then get out and make your own SoCal adventures!

This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

(Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios)

Kristen Bell is smart, fun, and a KPCC member. She's the main event this week, talking "Veronica Mars," her campaign against the pederazzi, and The Oscars.

The case for keeping the Figueroa Bridge; the Obscura Society; Queena Victoria's selfies; George Pal's Puppetoons in glorious Blu-ray.

RIP Sid Caesar - an exclusive interview; Henry Rollins gets the Ray Bradbury Creativity Award; a Cambodian waitress is becoming a car mechanic; just Kickstart me.

Our commentator seems to be like most Angelenos: she can't see the drought, so she doesn't believe in it. Plus, a new doc shows how auto racing shaped LA.

Can chimps and rhinos tell us anything about sex? Zoo animals lack coital finesse, and there’s no cuddling. Plus: three great guacamole recipes from Bricia Lopez of Guelaguetza.

A museum for Velvet paintings. A fly that decapitates innocent ants in Glendale; can happen to us? Our love/hate relationship with palm trees. The big hockey game.

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.