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)

Return to DooDah ... Dandelion Wine Rewound ... Garden Envy

Julius Shulman RIP ... Biking to Tennessee ... Take the TemperaTour ... Father Boyle on Homeboy Industries ... CyberFrequencies on Kindergarten bloggers

CyberFrequencies on Palin enemies list ... Wayne White, artist, banjoist, new Oldham book ... last silent movie organist dies ... living Chicano rock history ... Dinner Party Download on Ali

Malden, RIP ... Medical Pot via Twitter ... Razorcake Lives ... Virtual AnimeExpo ... Bratton Changes Cop-Godzilla Paradigm

Boxer Chris "The Nightmare" Arreola speaks ... How the Hammer Museum will spend $1,000,000 ... Garrison Keillor reads a love sonnet.

Garrison Keillor on Jesse Ventura ... OCMA's picture problems ... another episode of Cyber Frequencies ... Chris Ames takes on Santa Ana.

The documentary "The Ashes of Oakridge" takes us to a mobile home park in Sylmar devastated by wildfires.

What happens to comics and crosswords if newspapers die? Plus, billboard art, Eric Garcetti's first career, Norwegian datarock, the new waltzmeister, and a woodworking icon remembered. Enjoy!