John Powers

Fresh Air critic at-large John Powers will talk about the events that defined American culture this year. Highlights include the Borat movie, Stephen Colbert's speech at the White House correspondent's dinner, George Allen's use of a racial slur during the 2006 U.S. Senate race in Virginia, and the rise of YouTube.com as a mechanism for rapid dissemination of information. John Powers is also a critic for Vogue magazine.

Critic at-large John Powers reviews Preston Sturges: The Filmmaker Collection, a new DVD set of classic 1940s Preston Sturges films. Titles include The Palm Beach Story, The Lady Eve and Christmas in July.

The controversial new hit film Borat provides insight into how documentary and reality TV are really made. These programs all shape and color their characters, whether their intention is farce or sober assessment of a serious subject.