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.

He's Alive; The King of Kitsch Named Grand Marshal; Rethinking Pershing Square; Is MOCA Broke?; Pull Some Strings for Bob Baker; Song of Extinction; Long Beach Loves Video Art; Mad Santa; Sing Along

Surviving Thanksgiving

Hooray, Off-Ramp's Back!; Off-Ramp Exclusive: Dinner Party Download; Martin Eisenstadt Hoax; Food Banks in Need; The King of Hancock Park; The Immigrant's Dream; Food for All; "...Stuffing is evil ..." -- Alton Brown; My Two Left Feet; Letters: Correction

She just became a member!; Martin Eisenstadt hoax; Food Banks in Need; The Immigrant's Dream; Food for All; The King of Hancock Park; Dumpster Diving For the Working Poor

Making History; South LA Weighs In On An Obama Presidency; The Huntington: Underground; The Famous Red Head was a Red?; Kids These Days; A Mormon at the anti-Mormon March; The Obama Quest For A Puppy!; Prop 8 Results Roundtable; Murder He Wrote; Political Partying; Recession Hits LB Art Gallery; We Saw Long Lines, They Got Bathing Suits; Trombone Poetry; Hollywood Humanitarian; Victory Song

Witnesses to History; The Changeling; The Changeling on Dragnet; OCMA's Biennial; "Andy Rooney" on Ted Stevens; Hand over the Video!; Ask Me!; Law And Order TMU; Call for Obama; Prop Satire; Prop 8 Swings on Latinas; Rest In Peace Delmar Watson; Letters

Delmar Watson, L.A. Photojournalist, 82; Stick it to 'em; Dinner Party Download; Roky Erickson, Resurrected; R.I.P. Rosie the Riveter; Fiddling with Tradition; Meet Dracula, Jr.; Herbal Taste Test; High Stakes at Santa Anita; Emptying the Archives; Their Bubble Burst; Norwegian Black Metal; Don't Bite it, Lick it!; The Bible Props Up '8,' Really?

She Healed the Bay; Dinner Party Download; Silver Seduction; He Made Jazz Visual; Violin Virtuoso; Voter Registration: Now or Never; Door-to-Door Democrat; (Fire)Fighter Pilots; All the Pretty Worn-Out Horses; No TV Coverage: Take Cover!; Haute Cuisine in Hard Times?; On the Fire Lines; The Bradley Non-Effect; Letters