Neda Ulaby
Neda Ulaby reports on arts, entertainment, and cultural trends for NPR's Arts Desk.
Scouring the various and often overlapping worlds of art, music, television, film, new media and literature, Ulaby's stories reflect political and economic realities, cultural issues, obsessions and transitions.
A twenty-year veteran of NPR, Ulaby started as a temporary production assistant on the cultural desk, opening mail, booking interviews and cutting tape with razor blades. Over the years, she's also worked as a producer and editor and won a Gracie award from the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation for hosting a podcast of NPR's best arts stories.
Ulaby also hosted the Emmy-award winning public television series Arab American Stories in 2012 and earned a 2019 Knight-Wallace Fellowship at the University of Michigan. She's also been chosen for fellowships at the Getty Arts Journalism Program at USC Annenberg and the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism.
Before coming to NPR, Ulaby worked as managing editor of Chicago's Windy City Times and co-hosted a local radio program, What's Coming Out at the Movies. A former doctoral student in English literature, Ulaby has contributed to academic journals and taught classes in the humanities at the University of Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University and at high schools serving at-risk students.
Ulaby worked as an intern for the features desk of the Topeka Capital-Journal after graduating from Bryn Mawr College. But her first appearance in print was when she was only four days old. She was pictured on the front page of the New York Times, as a refugee, when she and her parents were evacuated from Amman, Jordan, during the conflict known as Black September.
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A lot has been said about the joy of cooking, but what about the fury? A host of new cookbooks right now aim to help cooks pound, grate and shred their feelings about the state of the world.
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The American Library Association handed out nearly two dozen awards for kids' books this week. We look at some of the winners. -
America's librarians announce their top children's book picks virtually on Monday. Among the honors they're awarding are the 2021 Newbery and Caldecott medals.
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Sea shanties, the word "cheugy," feta pasta and "RushTok" were all fleeting internet obsessions over the past year. But what do such "garbage trends" say about our cultural condition? -
An evocative museum exhibition from a legendary electronic musician and naturalist encourages audiences to connect with nature through a "great animal orchestra." -
David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks and Shakira all recently sold off all or part of their back catalogs. Why forgo future royalties and creative control? -
Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Stevie Nicks are among the artists who have sold off all or part of their back catalogs. Why are they forgoing future royalties and creative control over their songs?
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Michael R. Jackson put 20 years into polishing his audacious, autobiographical musical, and then theaters went dark. Now, 'A Strange Loop' is building buzz on its way to New York City. -
The Italian filmmaker made extravagant, eye-popping films. She used to say she wasn't surprised to be the first woman nominated for an Oscar in directing — she was only surprised that she didn't win. -
Anthony J. Broadwater was accused of raping author Alice Sebold in 1981 after the author mistakenly identified him as her assailant. He's now been exonerated of the crime.
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On the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving, the 92 year old chief of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, whose ancestors were present with the pilgrims, talks about what the holiday means to him now.
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Comedian Phoebe Robinson hosted the 2021 National Book Awards ceremony over Zoom Wednesday night. Jason Mott won the fiction prize for Hell of a book. Tiya Miles was the winner for nonfiction.
