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 Declaration of Independence states that all men have certain "unalienable rights." From Mark Twain to Jon Stewart, satirists have picked apart that guarantee and what politicians do to honor it.
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The departures include Kevin Couch, who was announced as the Kennedy Center's senior vice president of artistic planning less than two weeks ago. -
Lifestyle influencers or those cute animal accounts on social media rarely feature commentary about news and politics. The violence in Minneapolis has been an exception.
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Georgetown University is moving Let Freedom Ring, its annual event celebrating the life of Martin Luther King Jr., to the historical Howard Theatre in order to save money, the university said. -
French film star Brigitte Bardot left acting at her peak, devoting herself to animal rights while drawing criticism for her politics.
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Legendary screen siren and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot has died at age 91. The alluring former model starred in numerous movies, often playing the highly sexualized love interest. -
Marty Reisman was nicknamed "The Needle" for his slender physique. He dressed well and put on a show. -
President Trump has made major changes at the Kennedy Center this year, ousting the board chair and president, and naming himself host of the organization's yearly awards show. -
Senate Democrats say the new Kennedy Center leadership has led to "millions in lost revenue, luxury spending, and preferential treatment for Trump allies." The performing arts center denies the allegations. -
'Struggling artists' isn't a trope, according to a new report. The survey asked more than 2,600 artists about everything from hours worked to housing.
