Terry Gross

In California, lawyers are two weeks into a landmark federal court case challenging California's Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in that state. Margaret Talbot has been blogging about the trial for The New Yorker's Web site, and she has written about it in this week's issue of the magazine. A veteran journalist and a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, Talbot writes about family life, women's work, children's culture, and politics and moral debates as they intersect with science and law.

You might define the films of James Cameron by listing two characteristics: state-of-the-art special effects and huge box-office receipts. For starters,Titanic, The Terminator and Aliens all qualify on both counts. Now he adds Avatar to the list. He joins Fresh Air to discuss his complex special effects and innovative filming techniques.

Adam Shankman has one of the coolest, most stressful jobs around: He's producing the Oscars. The Hairspray director, who is also a judge on So You Think You Can Dance, joins Fresh Air to dish about seating arrangements and speeches.