Weekday

Global warming and melting ice are rapidly changing the landscape of the Earth's polar regions. What will it mean for life at the poles, and for the rest of the world? Norwegian explorer Borge Ousland has seen this environmental transformation for himself. He’s the first person to complete solo expeditions across both the North and South Poles. In 2010, he completed the Northern Passage – a circumnavigation of the entire Arctic ocean. He joins us to talk about his adventures in the vast, frozen tundra of the poles.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn says the city's next gun buyback will be different. Last month, the city's first buyback program in 20 years took in more than 700 pistols and rifles (and a missile launcher tube used for training). It also saw an impromptu gun show unfold downtown as private buyers snapped up guns for themselves. Mayor McGinn joins us in the studio to talk gun laws. We’ll also discuss his decision to shut down the Seattle Police Department's drone program and why surveillance cameras along Alki in West Seattle won’t be turned on just yet. Have a question for the mayor? Have a question for the mayor? Call us at 206.543.5869 or write to weekday@kuow.org.

It’s Friday — time to review the week’s news with Joni Balter, Eli Sanders and Knute Berger. President Obama sounds the alarm on the sequester, Olympia makes progress on background checks on gun sales, and Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon says "enough is enough" in a surprise resignation. What stories caught your attention this week? Call us 206.543.5869, email weekday@kuow.org or send us a message on Twitter: @weekdaykuow.

Just as humans aren’t born knowing how to talk, birds aren’t born knowing what songs to sing. Take the song sparrow: Their songs are combinations of buzzing, trilling and music notes. Each song sends a message: “This is my territory,” or “Don’t mess with me.”

An aggressive sparrow mimics another bird's song, like a sort of playground argument. “Stop copying me.” “Stop copying me.” “Stop it!” “Stop it!” – until it comes to blows. Michael Beecher has been studying sparrow communication for nearly 30 years. Katy Sewall joins him in the field to start a sparrow fight.

For four decades, public defenders in King County have worked for private, non-profit companies. Soon they'll become public employees. Some are concerned this could weaken the county's public defense system. What will it mean for those who rely on public defenders? We’ll talk it over with King County Executive Dow Constantine. Plus, we’ll find out what’s in store for Seattle's next gun buyback as state legislators in Olympia consider background checks on gun sales. And are the Sonics any closer to coming back to town? King County Executive Dow Constantine joins us. Have a question? Email us at weekday@kuow.org.

North Dakota is booming. The state's unemployment rate is just 3.2 percent — well below the national average of 7.9 percent. Officials are trying to keep pace with a population surge brought on by oil industry jobs that have made North Dakota the country's number two oil-producing state. But what will extracting millions of barrels from the Bakken oil field mean for the region's environmental and economic future? Writer and reporter Richard Manning joins us with the story of North Dakota's oil boom.

Vancouver Sun political columnist Vaughn Palmer brings us the latest news from Canada. Film critic Robert Horton makes some Oscar predictions and previews SIFF's upcoming Noir City series. Then, Seattle Times economics columnist Jon Talton reviews the latest news on the Dreamliner and gives his take on the federal budget sequester and immigration reform proposals.

Michelle Rhee says our education system is failing. The founder and CEO of StudentsFirst and former chancellor of Washington, DC, public schools says she would rigorously evaluate teachers, end tenure and boost pay for high-performing teachers while firing the least effective. Her critics say her reliance on test scores and support for school vouchers would destroy the public education system. Michelle Rhee joins us for a conversation about students, standardized tests, teachers unions, charter schools and her new book, "Radical: Fighting to Put Students First."

Many of us have written poetry during stressful times in life. Decorated retired Air Force Major General John Borling wrote his while imprisoned for six and a half years at the Hanoi Hilton in Vietnam. He joins us to share the poetry that helped him and his fellow POWs survive.

Death is something we all grapple with. What do the world's major religions teach? The Interfaith Amigos join us with a look at what religion has to say about mortality and the afterlife.