Society & Culture

Witte is Jonas Robitscher professor of law and ethics, and director of the law and religion program at Emory University in Atlanta. He is the author of From Sacrament to Contract: Marriage, Religion, and Law in the Western Tradition.

Cott is a professor of history at Harvard University. She testified before Vermont's judiciary committee. Vermont became the first state in the country to make civil unions legal for gay and lesbian couples. Cott is the author of Public Vows: A History of Marriage and the Nation (Harvard University).

His new book Little Children is a satirical take on parenthood and suburbia. Perrotta is also the author of the novels Joe College and Election. Election was made into the 1999 movie of the same name.

Powers looks at religion and the media in the wake of public reaction to Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews A Chance Meeting: Intertwined Lives of American Writers and Artists 1854-67, by Rachel Cohen. It's a book about friendships between American writers and artists and photographers.

Nunberg looks at a new kind of fake news — "infoganda."

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Dogville, by director Lars Von Trier.

Terry Gross speaks with Kathie Russo, Spalding Gray's widow.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg on the use of profanity.

His new memoir is called When I was Cool: My Life at the Jack Kerouac School. As a teenager, Kashner left his comfortable suburban life on Long Island, N.Y. and became the first student to attend the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in Boulder, Colo. Kasher's teachers were the great beat writers William Burroughs, Allan Ginsberg, Gregory Corso and Kerouac. Kashner is also the author of a novel, Sinatraland, as well as three non-fiction books. He is a regular contributor to Vanity Fair.

Winfield was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Sounder. He appeared in many television shows, and was a voice on The Simpsons. He died at the age of 62 from a heart attack.

Critic-at-large John Powers comments on the verdict handed down on the Martha Stewart securities case.

Weide is executive producer and a writer for HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. The show stars Larry David, who co-created Seinfeld, as himself. One reviewer calls Curb Your Enthusiasm "a comedy of hostility, resentment, paranoia and obsessiveness." The show is currently in its fourth season.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews "The Sopranos" - which begins its fifth season on HBO Sunday.

She wrote and directed the film Lost in Translation. It's up for four Academy awards, including Best Director and Best Picture. The film stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johannsen as two Americans visiting Tokyo. Sofia Coppola is the daughter of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola.

TV critic David Bianculli previews the final episode of HBO's Sex and the City.

Nunberg considers the phrase "thugs and assassins" often used by President Bush.

Boyle is a Jesuit priest who has worked with gangs in East Los Angeles since 1986. He was originally supposed to work with the Dolores Mission there for a six-year term, but when the time came to leave, the community revolted, and he was allowed to stay. He's received national acclaim for his work helping the people he works with to find jobs and quality schooling.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews 50 First Dates, the new romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.