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Off-Ramp
Hosted by John Rabe

Exploring Southern California with John Rabe

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Episodes
  • This LA couple bought a pristine Mid-Century ranch home in the Valley ... complete with a pristine Mid-Century BOMB SHELTER!
    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 to Off-Ramp, your passport to exploring Southern California
    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)

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  • Local pop historian Charles Phoenix, breakfasting at Clifton's Brookside Cafeteria, 2009.
    Under New Management - Off-Ramp for 9/25/2010
    Clifton's Cafeteria gets a new operator who promises to revamp gently ... the Mann Bros in LA ... Barry Cutler remembers THE Kevin McCarthy ... Sacred Fools' 14th Season ... Mark Peel on the best table in the house ... CyberFrequencies ... John Cale on Paris 1919 ...
  • A man who appears to be Sacred Fools director Kiff Scholl at the company's season opening party.
    Sacred Fools' 14th Season - Special Podcast for 9-20-2010
    KPCC's John Rabe interviews members of The Sacred Fools Theatre Company about their 14th season and their mission to fully exploit the theatrical medium.
  • Tim Curry (L) and Lou Adler in a production shot from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
    Lou Adler on Rocky Horror -- Off-Ramp 9-18-2010
    Lou Adler remembers bringing Rocky Horror to Los Angeles ... Eat-LA/Off-Ramp Collaboration highlights affordable gourmet regional Mexican cuisine ... Tomatomania ... Charlie Chan Redux ... Dinner Party Download ...
  • Charlie Chan was immensely popular, but fell out of favor as a sort of Chinese Uncle Tom. Here is Warner Oland as Charlie Chan in a scene from "Charlie Chan in Paris."
    Charlie Chan Redux - Special Off-Ramp Podcast 9-15-10
    Yunte Huang, author of "Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History" in conversation.
  • John Rabe's personal "Jerry Brown for Governor" tie. We don't know if it came in other colors, but then again, why would it?
    Eat Pray Love On Off-Ramp for 9-11-2010
    CyberFrequencies ... chef Mark Peel joins Off-Ramp ... Jerry Brown Parody Ads ... Dan Walters on 50 years in newspapers ... An East LA polleria that observes strict Muslim dietary laws ... The Roving Archers ... Lou Adler and The Fabulous Stains ... Do we have just one true love in our lives?
  • Off-Ramp on Celebrity & Celebs on Off-Ramp - 9-4-10
    Actor Christopher Murray on life with father (Don Murray) ... RH Greene on Mel Gibson, before the fall ... Dinner Party Download ... kids who get back-to-school supplies at the Salvation Army ... Ellington singer Herb Jeffries ... Lou Adler on sitting with Jack and discovering Cheech and Chong ... Jonathan Gold and Rick Bayless have a Mexican Food Fight.
  • How Hot Is It, Columbo? Off-Ramp 8-28-2010
    The Off-Ramp TemperaTour ... CyberFrequencies and life on the web ... Lou Adler on Monterey Pop ... Burning Man vets ... the historical Arab roots of Ground Zero ... Wm Link, Columbo's co-creator, speaks!
  • Columbo co-creator William Link - Off-Ramp 8-23-2010
    Wm Link talks with Off-Ramp's John Rabe about Columbo.
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