Philippe Petit entered the consciousness of many New Yorkers on August 7, 1974, when he walked—danced!—on a high wire he’d secretly strung between the towers of the World Trade Center, an incredible feat revisited in the 2008 documentary Man on Wire. Philippe joins Randy to talk about his passion for knots, also captured in his new book, Why Knot?: How to Tie More Than Sixty Ingenious, Useful, Beautiful, Lifesaving, and Secure Knots! The conversation is pretty terrific.

• PERSON: Rudolf Omankowsky Sr., “Papa Rudy”
• PLACE: “Departure Point,” rim of Grand Canyon
• THING: Short loop cappel