LeVar Burton has been blessed with enough intelligence, curiosity, and talent to be a pop-culture triple threat. When most actors would be happy to have one iconic role, he's been Kunta Kinte in "Roots," Geordi in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and the host of "Reading Rainbow." When we talked in 2012, we covered all that and a lot more ... like his favorite saint, and what it was like having Richard Burton as a father. (Kidding!)

And, since we're dropping this episode just before Juneteenth, we're including LeVar's readings of the Preamble to the US Constitution, plus the 13th and 15th Amendments.

(Note: Burton cites Bill Cosby's work in children's educational TV ... this interview was conducted two years before the allegations that would eventually lead to Cosby's prison sentence.)

Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

(Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.)