The Story

When artist Hank Willis Thomas' cousin was killed over a decorative chain, Hank's life changed - and so did his art. By combining familiar images, like the NBA logo, with 19th century advertisements of slave auctions, Hank created a kind of social commentary on the commodification of the black male body and black-on-black violence. Also on the show: scamming the scammers.

Contributor Roman Mars considers how architects allow and encourage space.

When Dick was living in India, he remembers the system that delivered water to tanks on the roof, which then sent pressurized water down into the home. It's the same in New York. Producer Joe Richman of Radio Diaries gets up on the roof and talks with the men who build and repair those tanks, now a classic part of the skyline. 

Back in 1970, Rich Preyer was on a return flight from Europe when a group of terrorists boarded the plane. He and the other passengers narrowly escaped with their lives. In the years since, Rich has thought often about his chance encounter with a then-nascent militant Palestinian group. He talks with Dick Gordon about what it was like to find himself in the middle of an international terrorist incident long before the world was so familiar with terrorism. Also in this episode: a brush with fame, Michael Rosen meets Dave Brubeck.