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Ann Powers picks her favorite chart-topping, radio-dominating songs of 2012.

Those of us trying to get in shape after overindulging this holiday season can get help from a slew of new devices that monitor steps climbed, calories burned and heart rate. But companies and venture capitalists in new startups hope to make money in a new way: by selling the data right back to the people tracking their activity — and to their employers.

David Greene talks to Sydney Finkelstein, who teaches management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, about his list of the worst CEOs of 2012. Of interest is not just who made the list this year, but who didn't.

The Virgin Suicides takes teenage angst to the extreme. Writer, blogger and professional teenager Tavi Gevinson explains why it's a book she can't put down, year after adolescent year.

The call to the online shoe retailer lasted more than 10 hours. For one thing, the customer on the line wanted to know how the Zappos employee likes living in Las Vegas. The conversation even ended with a sale of Uggs boots.

"Business Democrat" Patrick Murphy comes from a district that's home to more Republicans than Democrats. He managed to beat the outspoken Tea Party favorite, running on a pledge to try to end gridlock in Washington. But that will be a tall order.

The comedian, who plays Tom Haverford on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, just released a new comedy special directly on his website. He's also embarking on a multicity tour, where he'll be riffing on the things that terrify him — marriage, for instance, and babies.

Some films are generating Oscar buzz, including Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty. In 2010, she became the first woman to receive an Oscar for Best Director, and that got a lot of people asking why it took so long. Guest host Celeste Headlee speaks with filmmaker Reginald Hudlin about why so few women and minorities have gotten the golden statue.

Alcestis 'Cooky' Oberg lost her father-in-law unexpectedly on Christmas Day in 1982. For the first few years, it meant that Christmas was a somber time. Oberg, a contributor to USA Today, talks about how the mood of the holidays evolved for her family over time.

Services like Pandora and Spotify have been trying to win over two types of customers: younger people who don't buy music at all and older people who still like physical albums. But it's been difficult to lure customers willing to pay for music they won't own or that they can find for free online.