John Rabe

Former New York Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu was found dead Wednesday in Rancho Palos Verdes. The county sheriff says he apparently killed himself. He was 42.

A recent health study from the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that 1 out of 5 U.S. teens have observable hearing loss, a 30 percent increase over the last 15 years. More than a third of these cases are caused by over-exposure to excessive sound levels, like loud music or lawnmowers. Dr. John House of the House Research Institute explains how these hearing issues are caused.

Fifty years ago today, the brash young chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Newton Minow, gave what would become one of the most famous speeches of the 20th century. The official title of his address was “Television and the Public Interest,” but it became known as the Vast Wasteland speech.

Simon Cowell, the man TV audiences loved to hate on "American Idol," launches his new show, "The X Factor," this fall. Actually, it's not so new - it's wildly successful in countries around the world, but is just now coming to America. Auditions for the U.S. version are Sunday in Los Angeles. Cowell told Off-Ramp host John Rabe how the new show will be better than the old one.

If you live in Southern California, you’ve thought about it this week: “What’s happening in Japan could have happened to us.” Still, most people lack a basic emergency plan and emergency supplies.

Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, begins at sunset Wednesday. On the day, Jews are commanded to accept God as king and to hear the shofar, a hollowed-out ram’s horn. Michael Chusid is an Angelino who has taught hundreds of people to blow the shofar; he taught KPCC's John Rabe how to blow it in KPCC’s Crawford Family Forum.

Mainstream blockbuster movies in 3-D are commonplace now, but just a few years ago, they were hard-to-find curiosities. But they’re old hat to the members of the L.A. 3-D Club. Saturday in downtown Los Angeles, the club is hosting its 7th international independent 3-D film festival, with a selection of about 20 long and short features.

Passover, the observance of the Jews’ escape from Egypt, starts tonite. Most Jews observe it in their homes, but three or four dozen will be gathering, instead, under a tent in the Mojave. They call it the Joshua Tree Passover Village, and the idea, for these Jews, is to get back to their historic and religious roots. (Audio: KPCC’s John Rabe talked with two of the organizers: Michael Chusid has been doing it for six years and Marc Weigensberg was there at the start, 15 years ago.)

The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Carousel” is onstage at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse through February 7. The show opened on Broadway in 1945 and is considered a cornerstone of American musical theatre. This version is being put on by the Reprise theatre company, known for its minimalist approach. "Carousel" director Michael Michetti told KPCC’s John Rabe how that helped focus this production.

You might think “A Christmas Carol,” Charles Dickens’ fable of redemption, is just a part the holiday. But in fact, it pretty much started the whole thing. This weekend, KPCC’s Off-Ramp program, hosted by John Rabe, takes an in-depth look at the Dickens’ classic on “A Christmas Carol Redux.”

The great chefs of Los Angeles tell us what's on their Thanksgiving menu this year, plus Pigtails & Sauerkraut, a Wiley Family tradition.

How big is the fire, really? How fast is it spreading? KPCC's John Rabe talks with KNX-1070AM airborne traffic reporter Jeff Baugh about his unique perspective on the Station Fire.