Elizabeth Blair
Elizabeth Blair is a Peabody Award-winning senior producer/reporter on the Arts Desk of NPR News.
Blair produces, edits, and reports arts and cultural segments for NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. In this position, she has reported on a range of topics from arts funding to the MeToo movement. She has profiled renowned artists such as Yayoi Kusama and Mikhail Baryshnikov, explored how old women are represented in fairy tales, and reported the origins of the children's classic Curious George. Among her all-time favorite interviews are actors Octavia Spencer and Andy Serkis, comedians Bill Burr and Hari Kondabolu, the rapper K'Naan, and Cookie Monster (in character).
Blair has overseen several, large-scale series including The NPR 100, which explored landmark musical works of the 20th Century, and In Character, which probed the origins of iconic American fictional characters. Along with her colleagues on the Arts Desk and at NPR Music, Blair curated American Anthem, a major series exploring the origins of songs that uplift, rouse, and unite people around a common theme.
Blair's work has received several honors, including two Peabody Awards and a Gracie. She previously lived in Paris, France, where she co-produced Le Jazz Club From Paris with Dee Dee Bridgewater, and the monthly magazine Postcard From Paris.
-
The dancer with the National Opera of Ukraine was killed in September. Oleksandr Shapoval had volunteered to fight after the Russian invasion. (Story aired on All Things Considered on Sept. 15, 2022.)
-
The revered Latin Grammy winner was known for such hits as "Yolanda" and "Amo Esta Isla." -
Youth soccer games seem to unleash the worst in adult behavior. Parents and coaches yell at refs, the players and each other. Adults' sideline behavior has resulted in a national referee shortage. -
Shaun Tan's illustrations run the emotional gamut, from oddly whimsical to deeply introspective. Tan is best known for his graphic novel The Arrival and his Oscar-winning short film The Lost Thing. -
Rapper Takeoff from the group Migos was shot and killed in Houston Tuesday.
-
Streamers and broadcasters are putting slightly more women in front of and behind the camera according to Boxed In, an annual study. But ageism persists. -
Jazz cellist Tomeka Reid is one of this year's MacArthur Fellows. She and 24 other so-called "geniuses" will each receive $800,000 for their "exceptional creativity."
-
This year's MacArthur Fellows include scientists, artists and historians. The so-called MacArthur "geniuses" receive unrestricted grants of $800,000 for their "exceptional creativity" and "promise." -
Chances are the next Broadway hit will have originated at a regional theater taking a risk on an untested playwright. But once those playwrights are established, many of them start writing for TV. -
Sesame Street The Musical is a new, Off-Broadway show staring Cookie Monster, Grover, Elmo and the rest of the muppets. The producers tailored the experience to their target audience: toddlers.
