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)

"Ad" Attack; H&M Fever; Stan's Cafe at the Skirball; Lugosi Redux; Burmese Feast; The New School for Scoundrels; Advertisers Listen Up; Ugly Betty; Reporter's Roundtable

Hot or Not?; Politicians, hot or not?; Off-Ramp, hot or not?; A Cultural Affair; Blue Period; The Fast Sandwich; Carl Sigman; Star Reporter; Black Box; Letters, etc...; Stereo Pics; Reporter's Roundtable

How To 3D; Beach Bums; Baptism by Fire; Silverton Saves LA; World 3-D Film Expo; World 3-D Film Expo; Keystone-Mast Collection; REEL-D; Monterey Magic; Reporter's Roundtable

Do You Dare to Eat (or Preserve) a Peach?; Short Attention Span Theatre; The Home of the Homeless; 9 Movies in 9 Hours; Serf's Up; Moon Song by Sukho Lee; Passing the Torch; Herba Buena; Trade Roots; Four Walls and a Bank Vault; Reporter's Roundtable

!WEB EXCLUSIVE! Guerilla Gallery; Motorcycle Writer; Opie at OCMA; A Vast Waistband; Toe Socks; This Sloth is a Virtue; A Scanner Marc-ly; Reporter's Roundtable; Call Sheet; More Choice on the Dial for Spanish Language Radio Listeners