Here's a bonus Off-Ramp Episode to celebrate a special anniversary!

In 1938, Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre scared the pants off the American public with the CBS Radio broadcast "The War of the Worlds."

In 2013, to mark the 75th anniversary of Welles' radio masterpiece, I commissioned RH Greene to produce a documentary telling the backstory of the broadcast, which he called "The War of the Welles." The icing on the cake is that it's introduced by the one and only George Takei. 

So let's listen to it again on the 84th anniversary, and lift a glass to the power of audio. 

(Fun fact: "The War of the Words" was broadcast on October 30, not 31, 1938.)

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

Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.

Today, we dig into the Off-Ramp archives to pay tribute to a man named Jules Bass, who was a part of our childhood. Bass died Tuesday at the age of 87.

With his partner, the late  Arthur Rankin, Jr., Bass produced some of the most beloved children's Christmas TV specials: "The Little Drummer Boy," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Frosty the Snowman," and one more that maybe isn't really a Christmasspecial at all. 

In 2012, Off-Ramp's RH Greene argued cogently that "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" was a Jewish origin story for Santa ... essentially a Hanukkah special. The clues are all there in plain sight: The villains are cartoon Nazis who burn toys instead of books. Santa is a foundling, like Moses, raised by Tante Kringle -- the Yiddish word for "aunt." And Santa is a freedom fighter, whose ragged band make an Exodus to their own promised land in the cold desert.

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

Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.

Alex Cohen and "Crazy Heart's" composer ... EatLA's 2010 guide to the best food in the county ... The Secret of Kells gets one more showing ... Dinner Party Download ... Mark Lacter's homebuying advice ... Queena Kim talks with author Reyna Grande about her new book, "Dancing with Butterflies"

Off-Ramp ushers in 2010 with a (historical) tour of LA's Sewers ... Marc Haefele offers a "culinary" solution to our invasive species problem ... William Shatner dishes on his talk show "Shatner's Raw Nerve" ... up and coming painter Camille Rose Garcia finds whimsy in the macabre ... Cyberfrequencies takes us to a beatboxing contest--on the web.

CyberFrequencies on Life on the Web ... Clint Eastwood on his Life in Movies ... Jackson Musker on insurance woes for Oakridge victims ... Leonard Maltin tells the backstory for his movie guide ... the man behind "Sleighride," Leroy Anderson.

New takes on Dickens' classic ... plus the original Lionel Barrymore radio broadcast of "A Christmas Carol."

Queena Kim meets Ricky Jay ... Martin Eisenstadt talks back ... Mateo Stoneman's secret: "I learned to be a mariachi in prison!" ... Dinner Party Download makes you smarter, AND more intelligent ... Andy Rooney STILL hates Christmas ... Early peek at Downey and Law in "Sherlock Holmes."

Mateo Stoneman's secret ... The mother of all LA photo books ... Metallica as I knew them, by Steven Cuevas ... trying to Vanish in America ... Brian Watt controls air traffic, kinda of ... CyberFrequencies and the Rosetta Project.

Off-Ramp's Thanksgiving tradition: "Walking Out of History," the true story of Shackleton's miraculous "Endurance" expedition of 1914.

Mary Poppins descends on LA ... CyberFrequencies recommends a daily dose of video games ... MOCA's permanent collection ... Musical Books? ... Pigtails&Sauerkraut and other Thanksgiving traditions.