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.

Welcome to Doo-Dah; Doo Dah Surf - Part One; The Duke of Surfing; Doo Dah Surf - Part Two; Doo Dah Surf - Part Three; Hang Tiki; Surf Break; Time Capsule

Wine Country: Echo Park; Wine Country: Slow Pickings; Wine Country: A Tasting; Spitting Good Wine; United in Hate; Parkers Posing; Hail, Little Caesar; Twelve Tones, Hanging Ten; Lucille Ball Remembered

A Christmas Carol Redux

R.I.P. Ike Turner; From Face Paint To Real Paint; Paul Stanley Gets the Led Out; Christmas in Longo; Season's Giving: My Friend's Place; Give the Gift of Modernism; Father Boyle Parable; Tried and True; LA Punk Turns Thirty; O' Christmas Tree

Getting a Handel; Homeless Get Robbed; Follow-Up with Union Rescue Mission; Skid Row Serial Killer; Sing Along; Join the Chorus; Songs of Freedom; Cocktail Rules; Do Nothing Writers; Epic Waves Hit California; City Officials Kick Up Heels for Hanukkah; Light Thieves; ValleyWood; KPCC's News Zocalo

On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me....; John Rabe is Selected; Skid Row's Only Women's Shelter; Food for Stuffed Animals?; A Taste of Geisha; Coach Carroll Reaches Beyond USC's Ivory Tower; KPCC's Big Dog breaks down Big Game; You Are a Grain of Rice; Keach as Galileo; LAUSD Flunks P.E.; The Other Scrooge; Country Bumpkin tops the Charts in the Big City; First Lady With Style

Note from John Rabe

Happy Thanksgiving; Charles Phoenix; In Time For Turkey; The Ernie Kovacs of the West Coast; It's A Jingle Out There; The Basque Valley; Norman Mailer Was My Editor; The Abundant Pharmacy; Herbal Taste Test; Cast-Offs; Cross Talk