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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The United Ukrainian Ballet Company is made up of dancers taking refuge in the Netherlands. The company travels to Washington, D.C., to perform Giselle, choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky.
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Gina Lollobrigida melted the hearts of major stars in the 1950s and '60s: Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra and Burt Lancaster. She was a voluptuous brunette with captivating brown eyes.
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The annual Abortion Onscreen report says more TV shows had abortion plotlines than previous years and that writers are doing slightly better job reflecting reality.
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Playing competitive youth soccer can cost families a small fortune, excluding kids who might excel at the sport. There are efforts around the country to get more kids in the game.
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Amy Grant, George Clooney, Gladys Knight, U2 and Tania León attended a dinner at the U.S. State Department and a gala tribute event. The 45th annual Kennedy Center Honors airs on CBS later this month.
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Christine McVie died Wednesday at age 79. She wrote some of the band's most popular songs including: "Don't Stop" and "You Make Loving Fun."
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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.)
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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."
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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.
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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.