Steve Scher

Today marks the start of the Washington State Legislature’s 2013 regular session. Lawmakers have their sights set on education as a top priority — they'll be looking at both funding and measuring student success. They’ll also be working with a new governor, Jay Inslee, and a new balance of power in the state Senate. Publicola's Josh Feit joins us with a preview.

It's official — Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn is running for reelection. At a campaign kickoff last week, he laid out his vision of Seattle as the “city of the future,” and promised to work harder on job training, public safety, early education and transit. We’ll get into those details with Mayor McGinn. We'll also discuss the city’s new gun buyback program and, of course, those Sonics rumors. Have a question for the mayor? Call us at 206.543.5869 or write to weekday@kuow.org.

It’s Friday — time to talk over the news with Joni Balter, Eli Sanders and Knute Berger. Rumor erupts online about a near-deal to bring the SuperSonics back to town and Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn makes it official — he's running for a second term. Lawmakers in Olympia get ready for next week's start of the state legislative session. Plus, Seattle and King County announce a gun buyback program as the national conversation on guns intensifies. What stories caught your attention this week? Write to us at weekday@kuow.org.

The presidents of Washington’s six public universities have a deal for state legislators in Olympia. They would hold back on tuition increases for two years. In return, the Legislature would spend an additional $225 million on higher education. Will legislators agree? Adding to the money woes is the mandate from the state Supreme Court to amply fund K-12 education — meaning even less money making its way to public colleges and universities. We discuss funding higher education in 2013 with University of Washington President Michael Young.

Are we all in sales? Are most transactions — in school, with our children, at the coffee shop — about getting people to part with resources? Daniel Pink argues that "buyer beware" has been replaced with "seller beware." He joins us to talk about the ideas in his new book, "To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others."

What do presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama have in common? They were each re-elected to a second term. That may seem like the norm, but it isn’t — we haven’t seen so many reelections in a row since the 1800s. What does it mean for a person considering a presidential run in 2016? University of Washington professor David Domke joins us.

Victoria Times-Colonist columnist Les Leyne brings us the latest news from Canada. Film critic Robert Horton considers Woody Allen's classic comedies of the 1970s. Then, Seattle Times economics columnist Jon Talton reviews the aftermath of the "fiscal cliff" deal.

What makes a good self-help book? Book commentator and author Nancy Pearl joins us to think about it. Her favorite is “The Dance of Anger” by Harriet Lerner. What's yours? Call us at 206.543.5869 or email weekday@kuow.org.

Naturalist, illustrator and sculptor Tony Angell shares his home and his imagination with birds. He joins us to talk about the ecological role birds play in our lives and how the natural world inspires his creativity.

The next cliff looms in Washington, DC, as the US Treasury runs out of borrowing authority at the end of February. There may be a decision about across-the-board spending cuts known as "sequestration," as well as a debate over the social safety net.

Will Democrats agree to cuts to Social Security and Medicare? We talk with economics writer James Kwak about the political support for smaller government and less revenue.