Last year, when San Francisco won the bid to host the 2013 America's Cup, supporters saw it as a chance to revitalize the city's crumbling waterfront. Now, there are concerns that fundraising for this major international event is not proceeding quickly enough, and taxpayers could be left on the hook. What are the potential costs and benefits?

Unemployment rates fell in January and GDP levels rose last quarter. Both these figures may indicate that America's recovery from the Great Recession is picking up pace. But Stanford economist John Taylor says America's position is still weaker than past eras of economic growth. Taylor joins us to discuss his new book, "First Principles: Five Keys to Restoring America's Prosperity."

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping is visiting the U.S. this week. He's been widely described as China's next leader-in-waiting. At a White House ceremony, President Obama highlighted the need for increased economic cooperation and transparency in diplomatic relations. We discuss potential benefits and challenges in the international relationship.

We talk with writer Nathan Englander about his acclaimed new collection of short stories, "What We Talk About When We Talk About Ann Frank."

A large majority of Californians say they would prefer a natural death, at home, and at little expense to their families. But a new survey by the California HealthCare Foundation indicates that more often than not, they don't get their wish.

In observance of Valentine's Day, San Francisco-based author Elizabeth Weil joins us to discuss love, marriage and relationship maintenance. Her new memoir "No Cheating, No Dying: I Had a Good Marriage Then I Tried to Make it Better" chronicles Weil's efforts to give her marriage more attention and energy.

President Obama's $3.8 trillion budget proposal calls for hiking taxes on the rich and spending more on transportation infrastructure and economic stimulus programs. Republicans say the budget doesn't have a chance at approval, and that Obama is playing politics. We debate the budget and discuss its potential impact on California.

In 2007, Oakland journalist Chauncey Bailey was gunned down on his way to work. Reporter Thomas Peele and a team of journalists with the Chauncey Bailey Project worked to uncover the truth behind his killing, and to tell the story of Oakland's notorious Your Black Muslim Bakery, whose members were eventually convicted of the murder.

Former Washington, D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee has brought her "no excuses" brand of education reform to Northern California. Rhee founded the nonprofit organization StudentsFirst last year, and has based it in her new home in Sacramento. In this new role, Rhee continues to doggedly promote policies -- like merit pay and accountability through test scores -- that made her a controversial figure in her old job.

Online peer-to-peer marketplaces allow users to share everything from cars, apartments and parking spots to kids' clothes, fruit and even leftovers. These websites are part of a booming "share economy" that is changing the way participants think about ownership and community. We talk with the founders of some share sites. What have you shared, and what are you willing to share?

This week's mortgage foreclosure settlement with five large banks will inject nearly $26 billion in financial relief to homeowners across the country. The lion's share will come to California, which has been hardest-hit by the mortgage crisis. We explore what the settlement means, and next steps.

Since his inauguration three years ago, President Barack Obama has been dogged by criticism that he's too inexperienced and emotionally aloof for the job. James Fallows, national correspondent for The Atlantic, considers these points in a new cover article. He argues that Obama's presidency thus far has had its successes and failures, but that its ultimate legacy will come down to whether he wins a second term.

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed gives his State of the City address this evening. He and other stakeholders join us in advance for a snapshot of how the third largest city in California is doing.

Astronomer Dimitar Sasselov, director of Harvard's Origins of Life Initiative, joins us to discuss his new book "The Life of Super-Earths" and to explain why he thinks planets larger than Earth offer the best prospects for finding life as we know it.

A White House spokesman says President Obama is considering sending humanitarian aid to Syrians, while at the same time ramping up pressure against President Bashar Assad. Growing sectors of the Syrian population have mounted demonstrations against the Assad regime, sparking violent government crackdowns resulting in thousands of deaths. The U.S. and several Gulf countries have closed their embassies and recalled their diplomats. We discuss the next steps in the region.

The federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Proposition 8, California's same-sex marriage ban, is unconstitutional. The court found that Prop. 8 violates the equal protection clause under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. We discuss the ruling, which will likely be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors will vote on whether to expand the city's ban on plastic bags Tuesday. The new plan would ban the bags from all businesses -- not just large grocery stores and pharmacies -- and it would impose a surcharge on other bags.

Internet activist and Google marketing executive Wael Ghonim was thrust into the international spotlight last year as his Facebook page helped spark the Egyptian uprising. He joins us to talk about his new book "Revolution 2.0," and about recent political developments in Egypt.

Painter Georgia O'Keeffe and photographer Alfred Stieglitz are among art history's foremost couples. And they left an amazingly detailed record of their relationship in the form of more than 5,000 letters. Sarah Greenough of the National Gallery of Art has edited a new volume of these letters. She joins us to discuss the couple's relationship and their work.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg joins us to discuss the role of the FDA in protecting public health, how the agency approves new drugs and her views on what she calls "smart regulation."