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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Whither the long-running, primetime scripted show — in an upended television landscape that's changed not only the way we watch TV, but the way stories are told and shows are sold.
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One of the world's mightiest museums has made much of its vast collection available online. The Louvre steers digital visitors well beyond marquee works like the Mona Lisa to reveal hidden treasures.
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The lautenwerck, an instrument like a lute and a harpsichord, almost went extinct in the 19th century, but forensic musicologists are bringing it back to life.
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Often referred to as the "Nobel Prize of Architecture," this year's Pritzker was awarded to Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, a design pair who emphasize reuse and equitable housing.
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Larry Flynt was a pornographer whose Supreme Court case in 1988 made him a free speech folk hero. Admire him, despise him — or both — Flynt left a singular mark on culture and politics.
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The film is first Sudanese feature made in 20 years, and only the seventh ever to come from the country. It's being submitted for consideration for the Oscar for Best International Feature Film.
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Winners of this year's John Newbery and Randolph Caldecott medals — some of the most prestigious prizes in children's literature — were announced Monday. NPR takes a look at the award-winning books.
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The famous — even infamous — producer, known for his "wall of sound," died Saturday. He produced records for The Ronettes, Ike and Tina Turner as well as The Beatles, among many others.
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The ASPCA's Behavioral Rehabilitation Center works with severely fearful dogs rescued from puppy mills and hoarders. The shelter has an 87% success rate in rehabilitating undersocialized dogs.
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2020 has given us an unprecedented number of new Christmas movies centering on characters who used to be, at most, sidekicks in holiday fare.
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The market remains flush with toys that poop: Gotta Go Flamingo, Poopsie Slime Surprise, Doggie Doo, Fishin' For Floaters. "It's a very light taboo," says Mary Higbe of Goliath Games.