Weekday

About one in 120 children in the Washington state public school system have an autism spectrum disorder. That’s a 430 percent increase from a decade ago. In the next decade, many of those teenagers with autism will become adults, but what they will do as adults is anyone’s guess. Autism is often associated with children, but it’s a lifelong condition. Producer Bryan Buckalew introduces us to young adults with autism trying to figure out how to take the next step in a KUOW Program Venture Fund special report. Join the conversation afterward by sharing your thoughts at 206.543.5869 or weekday@kuow.org.

It’s Friday — time to review the week’s news. Joni Balter, Eli Sanders, Peter Jackson and C.R. Douglas join us to wrap up the presidential race and the week's big national, state and local election stories. What’s your take? Call us at 206.543.5869 or write to weekday@kuow.org.

The Supreme Court of Washington ruled earlier this year that the state is not meeting its constitutional duty to fully fund public education. What does a well-funded school system look like? We talk with Diane Ravitch, research professor of education at New York University.

The 2012 presidential race is in the history books as the most expensive campaign in American history. That is, at least until 2016. The Obama and Romney campaigns spent an estimated $1 billion each on the race. What did all that money accomplish? Bill Allison of the Sunlight Foundation has some insight.

Photographer Matika Wilbur is a member of the Tulalip Tribe raised on the Swinomish Reservation. Her work explores themes of Native American identity and cultural duality, and has appeared in the Royal British Columbia Museum of Fine Arts, The Nantes Museum of Fine Arts in France, the Seattle Art Museum and the Burke Museum. She joins us to talk about her new project to photograph Native Americans from all 562 tribes in the United States.

Vancouver Sun political correspondent Vaughn Palmer brings us the latest news from Canada. Film critic Robert Horton reviews the new Daniel Day-Lewis movie “Lincoln” seen through the lens of the nation's post-election political climate. Then, we review the latest economic news with Seattle Times columnist Jon Talton.

The votes have been counted and another election day has come and gone. We recap the major races, reflect on the new reality of our political landscape and hear your reaction to last night's results at 206.543.KUOW (5869) or weekday@kuow.org.

The US presidential election is not the only major leadership contest happening in the world this week. On Thursday, China's Communist Party convenes to pick a successor to President Hu Jintao. Vice President Xi Jinping is expected to succeed him as all but leader of the country's military. University of Washington China scholar David Bachman joins us to discuss the changing Chinese government.

Librarian Nancy Pearl gives Weekday listeners her recommendations for science-fiction titles (and a few fantasy novels, too). Here are Nancy's picks:

We talk with Merrick Bobb, Seattle's new federally appointed independent police monitor. He began working in the field of police accountability 20 years ago, following the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. In Seattle, he'll help implement an overhaul of the SPD’s use-of-force procedures and establish guidelines for citizen contacts and stops.