Steve Scher

Naomi Wolf, author of "The Beauty Myth," has written a cultural and scientific history of the intersection of sexuality and creativity. She joins us to talk about "Vagina: A New Biography."

Book commentator extraordinaire Nancy Pearl joins us with her picks for the best books of the year. Grab a pen, jot these titles down and save yourself the time of looking for your next great read. Need a recommendation for a holiday gift book? Call us at 206.543.5869 with a genre and Nancy will send you in the right direction.

Nancy Pearl's list of her favorite books from 2012.

It’s Friday — time to review the news with Joni Balter, Knute Berger and Erica C. Barnett. City Councilman Tim Burgess jumped into the Seattle mayor's race this week, Congress peered over the fiscal cliff and state officials got ready to implement Washington's new same-sex marriage and legalized marijuana laws. We'll wrap up these and other stories of the week with our panel and hear your take at 206.543.5869 or weekday@kuow.org.

The storm is over, but the recovery from Sandy will go on for months to come. This week the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut said they'd seek more than $80 billion in federal aid to rebuild and protect against another devastating storm. Meanwhile, some residents displaced by the storm are struggling with whether rebuilding is worth the cost. We check in for an on-the-ground update.

Puget Sound Energy owns and operates a coal-fired power plant out of Billings, Montana, that the Sierra Club calls "the dirtiest coal plant in the West." The Colstrip Plant meets EPA emission standards and PSE touts its green-energy portfolio, with plans to triple its renewable energy supply by 2020. How does coal fit into that equation? And with coal plants generating 42 percent of America's electricity, how much impact would closing one plant have? We take a look with PSE's Andy Wappler and Anne Hedges of the Montana Environmental Information Center.

Up to one-third of working adults in the United States are independent contractors. Do you have what it takes to make it on your own? Freelancers Union founder Sara Horowitz joins us to talk about how independent workers are changing the national job landscape and what you need to know before joining the ranks of the self-employed.

Vancouver Sun political correspondent Vaughn Palmer brings us the latest news from Canada. Film critic Robert Horton assesses Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock. Then, we review the latest economic news with Seattle Times columnist Jon Talton.

Thomas Jefferson was a deeply political man who viciously fought for his beliefs, but he was also flawed. More than simply accepting slavery, Jefferson benefited from it in many ways — though, through the language of the Declaration, he may have set in motion its eventual disintegration. We hear more from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham ("Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power") about how this contradictory president wielded power and influence, and how he shaped America’s evolution.

Just a few more weeks until we winter over. Is your garden ready for winter? Marty Wingate and Greg Rabourn join us to answer your questions.  Call us at 206.543.5869 or write to weekday@kuow.org.