Ginna Brelsford, executive director of Sahar, a organization that has been building and supplying schools for girls in Afghanistan. Ginna is joined by Shogofa Amini, an intern. Sahar has been working to rebuild the Afghan educational system and get more girls enrolled in schools.

We have an opportunity to reminisce with Steve Goldsmith, who spent 25 years covering Seattle news, including 10 years as editor at the Puget Sound Business Journal and 15 years with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Goldsmith gives us insights into the so-called "golden years of print journalism in Seattle" and looks ahead to where the profession is headed.

We learn from our guest, Clay Eals, former director of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, about preserving and celebrating this region's history. Eals is a writer, photographer and journalist as well as an author of two noted biographies. He has been a recent contributor to the Seattle Times' popular Sunday "Then and Now" feature.

Our guest, King County Elections Director Julie Wise tells us about conducting elections in this state's largest county. She describes some of the way the county has worked to make voting more accessible like same day registration, mail-in voting with pre-paid postage and wide placement of secure drop boxes.

We chat with author and local historian James Rupp who has just published a new book, "Art in Seattle's Public Spaces: from SODO to South Lake Union." Seattle's art comes alive in rich color photos taken by sculptor Miguel Edwards. Rupp fills us in on the history of the city's public art, spurred by one-percent-for-art legislation passed in 1973.

We talk to Claire Catania, interim director of the Seattle Audubon Society and Joshua Morris, Seattle Audubon's urban conservation manager. They tell us about what the society has been doing to help us appreciate, understand and protect birds and their natural habitats. We learn from them some ways we can help stem the loss of so many birds.

Political consultant Cathy Allen and public affairs strategist Emily Wicks tell us about women engulfing the political scene, both locally and nationally. They explain the forces behind the record numbers of women winning congressional and legislative seats. They see it as a watershed moment in our history.

We learn more about Kris Easterday, the remarkable woman who founded Seattle-based Easterday Promotions. She has had a fascinating career working promoting events as varied as the King Tut Exhibit, an air show in Moscow, a rock show in Vladivostok and virtuosos like violininst Itzak Perlman and the Three Tenors, appearing with Placido Domingo.

Author Margot Kahn talks about her anthology, "This Is The Place: Women Writing About Home" that she co-authored with East Coast writer Kelly McMasters. The two solicited essays that set out to frame different life style -- women writing about locale, women writing about other cultures and women moving from one geographic and emotional space to another.

We hear from Dr. Mary Starkebaum, a founding physician and volunteer at the Lake City RotaCare clinic that offers free health care for adults without medical coverage. The clinic is staffed with volunteers and serves as a safety net for urgent problems for some 500 patients per year.

Our guest is Wayne Barnett, executive director of Seattle's Ethics and Elections Commission an independent city office governed by a seven-member commission. Wayne works with a small staff to supervise elections to supervise elections, process complaints, oversee reporting, register lobbyists and supervise the city's ground-breaking democracy vouchers program.

Today's guest is Mike Purdy, an author with a life-long fascination and interest in U. S. presidents. He has written a book, soon to make its debut, titled "101 Presidential Insults -- what they really thought about one another and what it means to us."

Pam McGaffin, author of "The Leaving Year," a rich coming-of-age novel with a focus on the Northwest and Alaska, is our guest. She is joined by her husband, public affairs consultant Mark Funk, who can best tell us about what it's like to live with an award-winning novelist.

Kobi Yamada, CEO of Compendium, a Seattle based firm that creates numbers of novel products -- gifts, cards, journals and self-help and inspirational materials. In addition to heading up a successful company, Yamada is an award-winning author who has penned dozens of books, including "What Do You Do with an Idea" which has become a run-away success.

We learn about the Chinese Exclusion Project, a 25-year effort to document records at the Federal Archives. The records span years from the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1890 to the 1940s. Interviewed were Trish Hackett Nicola, the project's volunteer leader, and Hao-Jan Chang, who is helping to digitalize the 55 boxes of records.

The University District YMCA is planning a large development project that will turn the family Y into an even more important asset for the community. The new building will even include low-income housing. We talk to Andy Sharpe, the branch director, and Judy Smith, the YMCA's development director.