Join left-right and center host Bob Shear for his new podcast, Shear Intelligence. The twice-monthly

podcast features thinkers and trendsetters in conversation with one of political journalism's leading voices.

Through the show's unique and sometimes surprising perspectives, you'll get up to speed

on the current issues shaping the Beltway and the world.

Find sheer intelligence on KCRW's iTunes page. From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio

International, this is To the Point. Academic success are teenagers paying too high a price?

I'm Barbara Bogave sitting in for Warren, Allene, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International, a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

Silicon Valley's Palo Alto School District is in crisis. The suicide rate for teenagers there is four to five

times the national average. This tragic statistic has made the city a symbol of the pressure

kids live under in affluent communities, to get into elite colleges and to excel at everything.

This week, as high school seniors and their families rush to finish their college applications,

we ask whether the obsession with getting into the best colleges is hurting kids more week as high school seniors and their families rush to finish their college applications, we

ask whether the obsession with getting into the best colleges is hurting kids more than helping

them and what schools, parents, and students can do to lessen the stress. Also in today's

talking point, a landmark agreement on the comfort women of World War II. First News.

Listen to KCRW's 24-hour all-news channel, stream BBC World Service, NPRW and KCRW programs,

continuous coverage on our mobile app or online at kCRW.com.

Support for To the Point comes from the members of KCRW and from the Public Radio International Program Fund.

This is To the Point. I'm Barbara Bogave in for Warren Alney.

Just ahead, as college application deadlines loom, parents, educators, and mental health professionals are asking if the amped up pressure on kids to get into elite schools has pushed students to the breaking point.

That's coming up on the main part of our program today.

And later on our talking point, more than 70 years after the end of World War II,

...