As 2012 draws to a close, we spend a few minutes listening back to the year in major news stories in Massachusetts.

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — An interview with Alexander Freeman, whose latest film takes on sexuality for people with disabilities.

BOSTON — Alexander Freeman, a 25-year-old with cerebral palsy, is determined to defy the odds and to make films that defy stereotypes.

From Scott Brown’s upset victory in January to November’s Election Day sweep by state Democrats, WBUR followed all of the year’s biggest stories.

As 2009 comes to a close, but before we head into 2010, we listen back over the year gone by in Massachusetts. Here are the voices of those who made news and those who felt its impact in 2009.

A top aide to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, at the center of an investigation into deleted e-mails, is taking an unpaid leave of absence. The mayor’s office announced late Tuesday that Michael Kineavy sought the departure.

For the first time since they advanced to the general election, the candidates for Boston mayor faced off in a discussion Thursday night over education, the economy and public safety.

The MBTA’s general manager says he plans to toughen the agency’s cellphone ban after ‘T’ officials say a trolley operator told them he was texting at the time of the crash.

BOSTON — The MFA Boston is laying off 33 people, freezing salaries across the board, and some top officials taking voluntary pay cuts.