To remind you why Off-Ramp is unparalleled in bringing you the people, places, and ideas that make Southern California a great place to live, here's a sample of our best pieces from the last year. With your contribution, we can do another year of great radio. Without it, we can't. Please give now!

“No blue skies and no green grass” is animator Genndy Tartakovsky’s rule for "Samurai Jack." He tells us about bringing back the wandering samurai (right) for Adult Swim. ... Meet jazz singer Donna Fuller, a sultry contralto who made two albums that are now eBay gold. ... It would be enough if we went to the shop where they make custom limousines and hearses, but they also make custom hunting trucks Middle East potentates use when they hunt with their falcons.

Jeanne Cooper, beloved/hated 83-year old matriarch of "The Young and the Restless," reveals the secrets of her success and long life ... including which TV crime show star she slept with. (Her first movie was "The Redhead from Wyoming.") Plus, Steve Julian's theory of why live theatre is struggling (it has to do with news), and an NPR executive reveals his surprising backstory (surprising for an NPR type).

Marking Ramadan, a time to fast, with a canned food drive. EatLA on pop-ups gone permanent. Dylan Brody learns something Down South. And: who's the guy in the chair?

Mars! Art! Replicants! Sports!

Ian Whitcomb's ukulele heroes, downhill skateboarding, Kwayzar the 84yo rapper, Tuesday night in Anaheim, and the El Segundo Blue.

David Misch on Funny, rethinking pole dancing, Disney and the Reagan Library, the roots of homelessness, and Brian May on 3-D photography.

Whitey Bulger lived unnoticed for years as a fugitive; Hank Rosenfeld knows his barber. Mike Roe takes us to Comic Con. "Hogan's Heroes" in sock puppets.

Come inside the historic Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip for routines from five of today's hottest comedians, and a roundtable on the essence of comedy.

Suicide by train and one man who survived ... Why are transit-riding iPhone users being punished for Apple's fight with Google? ... Real food in Altadena ...