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.

The Ashes of Oakridge - One Year Later ... Arthur Dong's "Hollywood Chinese" documentary becomes an exhibit ... Eli Broad and Sam Hall Kaplan help Off-Ramp mark MOCA's 30th ... Lisa Ling and KCET on middle-class homelessness.

Mayor Picks Beck to Lead LAPD ... Melrose Larry Green Weighs In ... Dracula author pays tribute to his late, great brother ... Jackson Musker has Encounter at LAX ... CyberFrequencies on Life on the Web.

A Halloween Special ... Chris Ames and the Dog in the Nighttime ... RH Greene's News Take on Dracula ... Lugosi, Jr. on Life with Father ... Bats: Behind the Myths ... Creepiest Moment from Richard the Third.

We're for Contradancing ... It's Mourning at Heritage Square ... New Dracula Memoir Preview ... Rabe's Family History ... WEB EXCLUSIVE: Comics Icon Marv Wolfman ... Selling Medical Marijuana.

Randolph Mantooth of "Emergency!" and "Scream of the Bikini" ... John and Queena pitch good journalism and public radio ... Ed Asner on "Up!" ... Carl Orff teaches kids music ...

Richard III - done straight for once ... Dinner Party Download makes you smarter ... Asner's radio work ... Spiders creep into the Natural History Museum ... Meet the Raincoats

Orff-Ramp Music for Kids ... the late Henry Hopkins on Race in Art ... the Eagle Rock music festival ... Jackson Musker has the poop on zoo poop ... CyberFrequencies on stars who explode online ...

Music Savant Brian Eno's art installation comes to Long Beach... John Rabe plays Mo Roca at the Aquarium, sustainably ... Will Riverside's Chris Arreola become the new World Heavyweight Champ?