Off-Ramp commentator Marc Haefele lived in New York City for many years, so he wasn't shocked that Muslims wanted to build a community center, and perhaps a mosque, near Ground Zero. After all, he knew they'd been a major part of that neighborhood since -- are you sitting down? -- 1870.

We did this Mountains-to-Ocean tour of LA climate in 2007 with weatherman Bill Patzert of JPL and and Steve LaDochy of CalState LA -- tracking temps from Pasadena to Griffith Park to Disney Hall to the Pier to Mt Wilson ... all in a single day. This week seems like an excellent time to bring it back.

KPCC's surf reporter Brian Watt talks with a man who played hookey this week to catch the big waves that accompanied our heat wave. He refused to give his identity, on the grounds that it might incriminate him. (Real caption for photo: "Surf riding has no age limit. At the Doheny Surfing Club is Ed Proctor, who will be 80 in two months. Photo dated: August 5, 1961. Credit: LAPL/Herald-Examiner collection)

In our continuing series of interviews with entertainment legend Lou Adler (conducted by Hollywood historian Alex Ben Block of The Hollywood Reporter), we hear the true roots of the music festival Monterey Pop.

Whiteout sandstorms, 115-degree heat, freezing nights, alkalai dust in your nostrils and skivvies ... these are the drawbacks of Burning Man. But they're also the filter that keep the weeklong arts festival strong and true to its purpose. With Burning Man set to start Monday, Off-Ramp host talks with participants Christopher Murray and Alexei Othenin-Girard.

CyberFrequencies, Off-Ramp's bi-weekly look at life on the web ...

To celebrate #ColumboDay, here's John Rabe's conversation with William Link, co-creator of the GOOD lieutenant, "Columbo."