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)

New documentary Young Turks ... rebutting the Disney myths in The Perfect American ... Richard Thompson in conversation with Kevin Ferguson ... Gordon and the Flea Market ... counting the homeless in LA and Venice.

RTNA: "Off-Ramp is best damn local public affairs show" ... the tragic backstory of nylon's inventor ... Ray Greene reports from Sundance 2013 ... Rabe's sister gives Rabe's brother a kidney ... Mexi-Cali Biennial theme: cannibalism

80+ rapper Kwayzar: "I'm a tripod!" ... amateur historian discovers obscure US President Franklin Marshall ... Hearts Apart for vets and their families ... Ian Whitcomb, the happy iconoclast ... Hunter Davis makes Sir Ian McKellen say naughty things.

Turns out the goofball we made fun of was the guy we really loved ... and we hope he knew it.

An in-depth interview with actor Piper Laurie ... AngelIno or AngelEno? ... the best jazz club in LA is a lady's house ... our Crenshaw High grad series continues with Tyris Williams & grandma on making tuition at UC Irvine.

This is the end of Off-Ramp. The final episode. Really, we mean it. You won't have Off-Ramp to kick around anymore ... until 2013.

New and old takes on Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol"

"Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" is also Jewish ... Leonard Maltin's Christmas movies for when you're tired of the usual suspects ... marching band ... walking safer ...