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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DePrince, born in Sierra Leone, lost both her parents during the country’s civil war. She became the youngest principal dancer at the Dance Theatre of Harlem and later joined the Boston Ballet.
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While Jools Lebron was captivating millions of people with her "very demure, very mindful" TikTok videos, at least two people submitted applications to trademark her catchphrases.
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Acts range from family-friendly slapstick to edgy standup at the four-day comedy event held in Jamestown, N.Y., home of the I Love Lucy star.
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Actor and comedian Erica Ash has died at age 46. She was best known for MADtv, the sitcom Survivor's Remorse and The Big Gay Sketch Show.
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Social media is crying out with calls for Saturday Night Live veteran Maya Rudolph to bring back her Kamala Harris impression.
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The new Netflix documentary Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution features interviews with dozens of gay and trans comics, archival footage and lots of jokes.
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Pixar's Inside Out was praised for helping kids understand how emotions affect their actions. Adults learned a few things too. The sequel's new characters include Anxiety, Embarrassment and Ennui.
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The term "book ban" is used a lot in media and elsewhere when addressing the rise in challenges to certain books being allowed in schools and public libraries. But is it more political hyperbole or a censorship alarm bell?
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The MacArthur Foundation is looking for ideas that would solve one of the biggest global challenges. The winning proposal will receive $100 million.
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Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling was a paratrooper during WWII. After the war, he wrote a short story inspired by the experience. It's now being published for the first time in The Strand.