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.
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A new, nonfiction book series for kids ages 9 to 12 is written by young people who've experienced trauma, including living through Hurricane Maria and facing discrimination and arrest after 9/11. -
When COVID hit the U.S., writers of The Morning Show on Apple TV+ scrapped a year's worth of work to make the fictional TV show's new season newsworthy.
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Don Everly, half of one of rock and roll's pioneering groups, The Everly Brothers, has died. The musician was known for singing close harmonies with his brother.
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Singer and guitarist Don Everly has died at age 84. The Everly Brothers, his hugely influential duo with his late brother, Phil, was among the first acts inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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The Afghanistan National Institute of Music was a thriving school in Kabul. But the last time the Taliban was in control of the country, all music related activities were strictly forbidden.
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South-African born director Liesl Tommy says all of her art is political. That includes her new movie Respect starring Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin, focusing on the women in the singer's life.
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Call it fate or an unfortunate coincidence that Dr. Seuss' eco-parable marks its 50th anniversary just as the United Nations releases a report on the dire consequences of human-induced climate change.
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As summer festivals and massive concerts returned this month amid the promise of "hot vax summer," the surge in the delta variant has disrupted plans for carefree live music.
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After making homophobic comments during a performance, rapper DaBaby has been widely criticized and dropped from multiple festivals. The fallout could mark a cultural shift in the music business.
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Donner directed 1978's Superman — which is in the National Film Registry — as well as The Goonies and the Lethal Weapon franchise. He was 91.
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As vaccination rates increase, this summer promises many more options for live entertainment than last and arts organizations are trying to figure out what audiences want for their "hot vax summer."
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Visceral reactions to the news that Bill Cosby has been released from prison include shock from victims' advocates and #MeToo activists to support from his friend and TV co-star Phylicia Rashad.
