COVER STORY
The Moral of the Story
Want a moral with that story? Kurt Andersen and playwright-director Neil LaBute discuss whether books, cartoons, and paintings should teach us a lesson.

Caravaggio
When Mel Gibson was making "The Passion of the Christ," he modeled the Crucifixion scene on paintings by Caravaggio. Caravaggio, the Baroque master, made the sufferings of Jesus and the saints vividly believable. But Caravaggio didn't live like a saint – or even like Mel Gibson. Peter Crimmins learned how Caravaggio's dangerous and criminal life influenced his depictions of holy events.
Visit the National Gallery London exhibit
Read a biography of Caravaggio
Read Jonathan Jones' article in the Guardian
Religious opposition to Caravaggio still exists; Read a modern, fundamentalist Christian position
Buy "Caravaggio" by Catherine Puglisi

Morals on Film
If you came of age during the 60s or before, you may remember short instructional films about what to do if a stanger talks to you, or how to behave if they drop the atom bomb. The Prelinger Archive has 48,000 of these films, chronicling American morals and mores in the last century. Here’s a short peek.
Visit the Prelinger Archives online

What Would Homer Do?
Kids love cartoon wise-crackers like Bugs Bunny and Bart Simpson. But are they learning anything? Studio 360's Eric Molinsky used to work as a storyboard artist on Nickelodeon's Rocket Power, a show about four friends who do extreme sports and have a teachable moment each episode. Molinsky asks animators, parents, and children whether cartoons should educate kids, or just make them happy.
Go the official Simpsons website
Go to the Pixar website
Hear more from animation critic Charles Solomon on NPR's Day to Day
Buy The Simpsons -- the Complete Fourth Season

SPECIAL GUESTS
Neil Labute
A New York Times critic once called Neil LaBute "The bleakest and most unforgiving moralist in contemporary American film and theater." He has directed several films from his own scripts, including his infamously dark breakout success In the Company of Men, as well as movies by other writers – Nurse Betty starring Renee Zellweger, and Possession with Gwyneth Paltrow. LaBute's plays include "This Is How It Goes," "Fat Pig," "Mercy Seat," and "bash: latterday plays," about a group of Mormons. Labute recently left the Church of Latter-day Saints, of which he had been a member since 1981.
Read a recent Neil LaBute interview from The Guardian
Overview of LaBute's career from Latter-day Saint Filmmakers website
Buy the script for This is How it Goes
Buy other books and scripts by Neil LaBute

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Commentary
Idaho Dynamite
All of us are tempted and sometimes give in to the temptation to indulge in stereotypes of unfamiliar places and people, instead of really knowing and experiencing them.
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