Jonathan Bank

The Curator of Architecture and Design at MoMA enjoys work that surprises, up to a point. "I don't like gigantic provocations, I like small provocations, the ones that sneak up on you." Jolted awake, not pummeled into submission. Presented with the Viñoly Foundation. Music: Ethel—Ralph Farris, Kip Jones, Corin Lee, Dorothy Lawson.

Celebrated for his use of light, this architect is moved by that from distant stars: "Those photons are around us—we can't see them—but they are fundamentally carrying the history of the universe." We spoke at 7 World Trade Center, a building he worked on, through the generosity of Silverstein Properties. Music: Valerie and Ben Turner, DBA Piedmont Bluz.

The heirs of deceased playwrights can be finicky about new productions—Samuel Beckett, Arthur Miller—but the head of the Mint Theater has a different experience. "What I tend to run into from estates is, 'Really? You're interested in that old play? Great!'" How to revive neglected plays. Music: Sean Hagerty

The curator and executive director of the AKC Museum of the Dog recalls one owned by Charles Dickens. "It was a Maltese that was so flea-ridden, they regularly had to shave him and bathe him to get rid of all the fleas." The dog, not Dickens. I think. Dogs in art, ethics, and history.  Music: Dorian's Room—Jonathan Stutz, Madeline Nickerson, Fae Hartt.

We tweaked our format to Cat Cat Cat for the author of The Cat Men of Gotham: Tales of Feline Friendship in Old New York. "A lot of my stories I get from going to the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery in Westchester County." She also leads historic cat walking tours in Brooklyn and lower Manhattan—about cats not for cats. Although . . .

The head of New York City's Department of Transportation sees his task as building an egalitarian city. "Transportation is a human right, but in the past most of the investment in transportation didn't go to the working class." Cars, bikes, and social justice. Presented with the Department of Records and Information Services. Music: Hubby Jenkins.

A conversation with the basic, free, web version, using its default voice. Like my human guests, it chose the three topics, and I did just the usual light editing. Good news: it says, "I'm on your side, not on any destructive path." Bad news: this is what the space aliens say in every sci-fi movie just before they try to destroy the earth.

We tweaked our format to Tree Tree Tree for this arboreal photographer, who specializes in the immense and the ancient—2,000 years old, 3,000 years old—many of which he's archived at the Gathering Growth Foundation. The big and the beautiful.

Brown, the founder of Evidence, a dance company, says, "You'll see yourself on stage." I hope he's speaking figuratively. Cabuag, its associate artistic director agrees. Presumably. How else has the company flourished for forty years? A conversation at the Billie Holiday Theatre, where they'll perform on November 14 and 15.

This set and costume designer worked on 80 Broadway shows, 30 films, several operas, and innumerable dance works. Here's a tip he gleaned collaborating with Paul Taylor: "Give a man 17 chairs and see what he comes up with." Good advice for any part of life. Presented with the Paul Taylor Dance Company.