Jean Eilek (NMT) Title: The complicated life of Centaurus A Abstract: The elliptical galaxy NGC 5128, well known for its dramatic dust lanes, has not had an easy life. Close encounters and/or mergers have left stellar and dynamical signatures which tell us about its history. One such recent encounter may have activated the galaxy's massive central black hole, driving out jets of relativistic plasma. When these jets reach extragalactic scales (hundreds of kpc) they create the radio galaxy called Centaurus A. Although Cen A seems at first glance typical of other radio galaxies in the universe, a more careful look reveals its unusual features. I will report on new VLA observations of Cen A, and speculate on what they reveal about the nature and recent history of this special system.