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Off-Ramp
Hosted by John Rabe

Exploring Southern California with John Rabe

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Episodes
  • The Oldsmobile Toronado, with this startlingly beautiful instrument panel, was introduced in 1966
    Why you would have hated drinking cocktails in 1966
    LACMA marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation with a huge show, but leaves out one important fact: Martin Luther was a horrible anti-Semite ... The LA Zoo marks its 50th birthday with a 1966 cocktail party. Rabe and the way cool Toronado (R) also debuted in 1966 ... We’ll take you to a racetrack where the cars do thousand-foot laps in 17-seconds, cost 4-thousand dollars, and are as big as a shoebox ... We go to Newport Beach to see possibly the most awesome Christmas light display you’ll ever see. There will be penguins.
  • Team Off-Ramp: Intern Rosalie Atkinson, host John Rabe, producer Taylor Orci, and intern Jesus Ambrosio. Credit: Jason Georges
    The seeker and the son ... the Institute of Mentalphysics in the High Desert
    The Institute of Mental Physics, founded near Joshua Tree as a sort of utopian society, happens to be the largest single collection of buildings designed by architect Lloyd Wright, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright. ... There have been many exhibits of Roy Lichtenstein’s work. But our critic says The Skirball Center’s new show stands out because it pairs the pop artist’s work with the comic book illustrations that inspired it, and they deserve the share the spotlight.
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  • The LA-based United Productions of America animation house changed the face of animation and heavily influenced design. So how come, animation expert Charles Solomon asks on this week's Off-Ramp, isn't UPA featured in Pacific Standard Time?
    Up! with UPA on Off-Ramp - 10-22-11
    Solomon boosts UPA ... Pacific Standard Time and the Long Beach Museum of Art's pioneering video art ... a great sound piece from Steven Cuevas ... IUD's make a comeback ... Vets speak out at KPCC's Crawford Family Forum ...
  • From the LA Public Library online photo collection, a lovely shot that makes Rabe want to relax in the corner with a very cold gin martini (2 olives) and watch the patrons come in. This was Romanoff's in Beverly Hills, which closed in 1962, run by the famous Michael Romanoff, who pretended to be Russian royaly, but was actually a Brooklyn pants presser. Let's here it for the pressers among us!
    Off-Ramp's audio cocktail - 10-15-2011
    Spend a day with Huell Howser ... Pacific Standard Time: LA's art history with Judy Chicago and De Wain Valentine's monolith ... young birder uses public transit ... Thos Guides remembered, and they're not even dead ...
  • A scene from the Great Depression. During KPCC's fall fund drive, we're helping people hit by the Great Recession, by partnering with the LA Regional Food Bank.
    Feeding the Hungry on Off-Ramp - 10-8-2011
    KPCC listeners near 1,000,000 meals for hungry ... new book reviews ethnic spas ... fighting bullying with jiu-jitsu ... CyberFrequencies marks the Afghanistan War's 10th anniversary ... Hard Times and child care ... Brian Watt and Frank Stoltze, KPCC reporters, get real ...
  • Pacific Standard Time, Off-Ramp (10-1-11) Style
    Pacific Standard Time - almost 70 art exhibits over six months - proves LA's place in history of Modern Art ... Jim Meskimen and his 75 celebrity impressions ... the Wende Museum in Culver City preserves Cold War history ... Are you prepared for The Big One? Probably not ... "Andy Rooney" reminisces ...
  • Hard Times Get Harder - Off-Ramp 9-24-11
    LA Regional Food Bank, barometer of poverty ... UCLA Anderson: years of hard times ahead ... Great Wall mural restoration in Valley ... Rabe blows shofar for Rosh Hashanah ... MoLAA's Pacific Standard Time exhibit shows Mexican influences ...
  • Denise Hamilton's new novel, Damage Control.
    Special: Denise Hamilton on "Damage Control" - Off-Ramp 9-20-11
    For our online listeners and podcast subscribers (you subscribe, don't you?), KPCC's John Rabe goes in-depth with "Damage Control" author Denise Hamilton in a special Off-Ramp podcast.
  • An undated "How Not To" photo from the LA Public Library.
    Coyotes Fight Glendale Blight - Off-Ramp 9-17-11
    Glendale's Coyote squatters get reprieve ... Pictures of a Revolucion ... Calista Flockhart's new radio role ... James Sallis, "Drive" novelist ... Denise Hamilton's new LA thriller ... New library in Compton stirs old memories for Kitty Felde ...
  • Rescuers at the base of the World Trade Center 14 September 2001, in New York.
    Ground Zero Volunteer - Off-Ramp 9/10/11
    A Ground Zero volunteer tells his story ... kids tell us how they learned about 9-11 ... a shark tank diver at the County Fair ... Van Dyke Parks on helping the Beach Boys make "Smile" ... nude debate in San Francisco ...
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