Sure, there had been tacos al pastor before he did them, but after the popularity of King Taco, everybody had tacos al pastor. People had had carnitas before, but, suddenly, everybody had carnitas. It just seemed to form the template of what the modern Los Angeles taqueria should be. 

--Jonathan Gold, 2013

Nine years ago, Los Angeles lost an unsung hero, Raul Martinez Sr., the founder of King Taco. To find out why this man was so important to LA, I shared a taco or two (or three) with the late Pulitzer Prize-winning food writer Jonathan Gold at King Taco #1 in Cypress Park. (Gold died in 2018.)

Support for this podcast comes from Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.

In 2013, I visited an utterly charming and impish Harlan Ellison at his remarkable home and talked at length with him about his work as a prolific Sci-Fi writer. Then came the dreaded - and expected - phone call from Harlan's alter-ego. (Ellison died in 2018 but I wouldn't be surprised if he sent an angry message from beyond about using his name and "Sci-Fi" in the same sentence.)

Support for this podcast comes from Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and 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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Harry Dean Stanton smokes in front of Patt Morrison; Zoey 101 as Bob Tur continues to become a woman; remembering writer Frederik Pohl; and lamenting Miyazaki's retirement from animation.

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Marc Haefele marched on Washington 50 years ago ... Kevin Ferguson takes us to Glendora's Rubel Castle ... the Western stories of Elmore Leonard ...

Jason Mandell of The Coals sings in studio ... how is tattooed Jahsan doing? ... meet LA's new coroner ... Marc Haefele on the new Sam Francis exhibit ...

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Driving with stuntman Jim Wilkey, art with Robert Williams, OCMA's California Pacific Triennial, and the best stuff that was never built in Southern California.

Larry King on almost 80 years ... dishing on Deitch ditching MOCA ... called a "cracker," Clay Russell tells us about his eureka moment ... why did a Lomita builder collect 55,000 dresses?