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Off-Ramp
Hosted by John Rabe

Exploring Southern California with John Rabe

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Episodes
  • John Rabe in the corner booth at Musso and Frank Grill in Hollywood
    Celebrating Leonard Nimoy and Spock, and comedian Felipe Esparza
    Leonard Nimoy’s son Adam tells us about his new film, "For the Love of Spock," which candidly digs into their difficult father-son relationship ... Kraftwerk, the German electronic music band at the Bowl next weekend, has a couple of surprising fans in pioneering LA Hip Hop DJs Arabian Prince and Egyptian Lover ... We'll talk with the last surviving member of the wheelchair basketball team that rose to national fame in 1947 from a VA rehab hospital in Norco ... And we go in-depth with Felipe Esparza. He's a common sight at comedy clubs and on TV, but years ago he was almost swallowed up by the gangs of East LA.
  • Crowds watch on as a float of female garment workers representing the United Garment Workers of America travels down Spring Street. The Los Angeles Times Building is present in the background, at Spring and First Street. Photo dated: September 7, 1936.
    Juan Gabriel, mom, and me
    When Adolfo Guzman Lopez hears the late Juan Gabriel’s music, he remembers the 1970s, listening to Gabriel’s songs on the radio as he and his mom rode in taxis and buses in Tijuana ... Why do waves happen, and why are they shaped like waves? Brains On brings in an expert to explain ... One of the founding fathers of LA punk, John Doe, joins us to talk about his memoir and sing new songs from his latest album ... Film score composer John Williams is at the Hollywood Bowl all weekend, leading the LA Phil in some of his best-known works. We talk with music writer Alex Ross about how Williams pretty much saved the classical music film score.
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  • Two fighters take part in a Dog Brothers event.
    Wham! Ouch! Stickfighting on Off-Ramp - 4-9-2011
    Chicano Batman ... CyberFrequencies ... ghosts of the past as Peruvians vote in LA ... downtown LA's power list ... downtown LA treasure: San Antonio Winery ... a stickfighting dojo ... Pato's response to the Friday haters ...
  • "High Wall," a 1947 film noir with Robert Taylor as an amnesiac World War Two vet. One of the selections in the 13th Annual Festival of Film Noir starting Friday at the American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theatre.
    A gun, a dame, and an innocent man. It's Off-Ramp - 4-2-11
    Noir film festival returns to The Egyptian ... The Angles on the Angels and the Dish on the Dodgers ... Peru Elections ... EatLA ... Dinner Party Download ... Play with Fire and Submit a Story for Burn This! ... Sam Slovick's gay teenage life, and new Slake short story: "Tommy Crow"
  • John Albert in Claremont, on the last non-suburban stretch of Baseline Boulevard. This is where he first heard Van Halen's "Eruption," and it would change his life. He writes about it in the new edition of Slake, LA's literary quarterly.
    Van Halen Memories - Off-Ramp 3-26-11
    Slake's John Albert remembers when Van Halen was groundbreaking and good ... Riding the Blue Line ... Poison or Pleasant - what is the plant in Kevin's backyard ... Bike Advocate ... Seth MacFarlane ticket winners singing with spoons ... Simon Cowell previews The X Factor ...
  • Southern California earthquake damage, 1971.
    Are YOU ready for the Big One? Off-Ramp 3-19-2011
    Disaster preparedness in SoCal ... Dinner Party Download ... Apollo, the Getty Villa's handsome but dangerous god ... Poppies return ... Running the LA Marathon ... Owsley Stanley remembered ... Seth MacFarlane SINGS ... Lomita's "Black Widow"
  • Maila Nurmi in the RH Greene documentary Schlock!
    "Vampira and Me" -- A special documentary from RH Greene - Off-Ramp 3-12-11
    Filmmaker and author R.H. Greene presents "Vampira and Me," a special documentary for Off-Ramp that tells the story of Maila Nurmi, creator of the cultural icon Vampira.
  • Hard Times and Columbo: Off-Ramp, Fundraising Edition - 3-5-2011
    This week: Columbo co-creator William Link, hard times for Marshelle Mills, underemployed mother of three and more!
  • Julian Bermudez and husband John Rabe -- in safety glasses -- drinking beer at the "This Old House" wrap party in Silverlake. This week on Off-Ramp, the show's experts give you their top renovation tips, and tell you what they learned working in LA.
    Why the Blue Line Kills - Off-Ramp 2-26-2011
    LA's Blue Line the most dangerous rail line in the US ... EatLA on the best sausage in LA ... the lonely wolverine ... home renovation advice from Kevin, Norm, and Richard of This Old House ... Dinner Party Download ...
  • The Harlem "Rens," world champions of 1939.
    Kareem's new movie -- Off-Ramp 2-19-2011
    Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's doc on 1930's all-black basketball champions ... See Richard Run - but for/from what? ... CyberFrequencies on The Social Network ... Death warmed over is good ... butterflies in your backyard and flowers at Customs ... Meet Mr. Lincoln ...
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