On Second Thought

Federal prosecutors are investigating bribes paid to Atlanta city officials in exchange for business contracts. Two contractors have already plead guilty to dishing out these bribes--though it is not clear who accepted them. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has exclusive new info on the situation. We talk with reporter Scott Trubey, who has been covering the bribery scandal at City Hall. Then, Kaleb Anderson is a 19 year-old-from Atlanta. He was diagnosed with HIV just a couple of months before

This year marks 30 years since the Food and Drug Administration approved AZT , a drug to combat HIV and AIDS. The Atlanta metro area has one of the highest rates in the nation of new HIV diagnoses. ​In a commentary originally written for Vox Teen Communications , Kaleb Anderson, 19, of Atlanta wrote about how he learned of his HIV diagnosis shortly before starting college. I remember the day I found out. My mom quivered over the phone. She said: The pediatrician wants you to come to the office

Federal prosecutors are investigating bribes paid to Atlanta city officials in exchange for business contracts. Two contractors have already plead guilty to dishing out these bribes--though it is not clear who accepted them. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has exclusive new info on the situation. We talk with reporter Scott Trubey, who has been covering the bribery scandal at City Hall.

Travel journalist Arthur Levine joins us to discuss roller coaster history, and the appeal of getting your kicks on a ride.

Six Flags just announced its historic wooden rollercoaster, The Georgia Cyclone, will be closed by the end of July. The park turned 50 this year, and a lot has changed since it opened. GPB producers Ryan McFadin and Sean Powers bring us an audio postcard from Six Flags.

Athens band Five Eight has been a staple in the Georgia music scene for decades. An upcoming documentary called “Weirdo: The Story of Five Eight” follows the band’s return to glory. This week, the group premieres their new double record “Songs for St. Jude." Five Eight members Mike Mantione and Sean Dunn join us from Athens. Five Eight performs at Sky City in Augusta this Thursday, July 20; at World Famous in Athens this Friday, July 21; and at Motor City South in Atlanta this Saturday, July 22.

A video game is like a really complicated recipe. Every ingredient is necessary - from the animation, to the storyline, to the the sound effects. For Chris Rickwood of Atlanta, the music is the most important part of any game. He writes music for video games. He’s worked on songs for more than a hundred games. His compositions have been as short as two minutes and as long as an hour. We asked him to describe a couple of his favorite video game songs that have a connection to the Peach State.

A report released last month provides a grim picture on the effects of gun violence on children. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta found nearly 1,300 children in the United States die in shootings each year. That makes gunshot wounds the third leading cause of death for children up to the age of 17. We talk with Atlanta-based trauma surgeon Omar Danner, who worked on a separate report about the victims of gun violence admitted to Grady Hospital. We also

Atlanta-based comic book publishers Carlton and Darrick Hargro are working to develop more superheroes of color. The brothers are behind the new comic book company, 20th Place Media . They discussed their latest comic called “Moses,” which draws connections between the African slave trade and an alien abduction.

Gun rights are often a subject of political argument, but doctors see the physical effects of gun violence everyday. Researchers at the Morehouse School of Medicine reviewed gunshot victims at a trauma center in Atlanta , and they found that over two years the bulk of the patients were male and African-American. We talked with Dr. Omar Danner , one of the study's researchers. We also heard from George Lee of the Savannah-based End Gun Violence: Step Forward initiative .