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John Powers, Fresh Air critic at large, weighs in on the trends of 2007: political campaigns, Iraq movies failing at the box office, HBO's The Sopranos, stories about hitting the road, the TMZing of America, jocks gone wild, hip sentimentality, the nightly ideological news, atheist chic and the writers strike.

After a record-setting Christmas, Hollywood wraps up the year with more than $9 billion in the till -- the second biggest box office total in its history. Film critic NPR's Bob Mondello says a large part of that money was well-earned: some of 2003's most popular movies were also among the year's best. He offers a list of his top movie picks for the year.

To kick off summer, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe and Felix Contreras, host of Alt.Latino, discuss an album by Cuba musician X Alfonso.

An official assessment by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, concludes that after eight years, the U.S. and its allies have failed to focus on and win over the Afghan people. He also calls for more troops to ensure victory over the Taliban and al-Qaida.

More than 1,069 people were arrested for their involvement in the attack and over 500 have been sentenced.

For the first time, the Church of England has named a woman as its top leader. Sarah Mullally is the new Archbishop of Canterbury, leading 85 million Anglicans around the world.

The Texas town edged out notoriously toxic Los Angeles for the crown of America's biggest polluter. Offering his take on how Houston produced 18 million tons of carbon dioxide is Houston Chronicle writer Tim Fleck.

Guests from the Pew Research Center, National Geographic and Foreign Policy magazine talk about the major news stories of 2007. They'll also touch on stories that made headlines in other countries but didn't attract attention in the United States.

A group of leading Shiite clerics are holding talks to resolve the U.S. standoff with radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose anti-American rhetoric touched off a wave of attacks on U.S.-led forces in several Iraqi cities. Al-Sadr's militiamen have withdrawn from police and government buildings they had occupied, but the security situation remains unstable. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.

From former President Donald Trump's historic mug shot to the House speaker drama, here are moments that captured the unprecedented political drama and other powerful moments that unfolded in 2023.