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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According to PEN America, 4,349 books were banned from schools between July and December 2023, more than the entire previous school year. More than 3,000 of those bans were in Florida. -
Redbone's hit cracked the Billboard Top 5 this month in 1974. It was a first for a band with all Native and Mexican American members — but the song itself had a quietly political message, too. -
The International Booker Prize celebrates fiction that's been translated into English. This year's shortlist, announced Tuesday morning, features books in six languages from three continents. -
The shortlist for the Carol Shields Prize was announced Tuesday morning. The award recognizes "creativity and excellence in fiction by women and non-binary writers in Canada and the United States." -
The Mellon Foundation announced grants of $1 million to three theaters: Actors Theatre of Louisville, Long Wharf in New Haven and Portland Center Stage. -
Comedian, writer and producer Kevin Hart received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at a star-studded event last night at the Kennedy Center.
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Kevin Hart received the 25th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at The Kennedy Center Sunday night. Fellow comedians Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld and Chelsea Handler were there to roast him. -
The 92nd Street Y, New York was originally founded to help Jewish immigrants assimilate. Today, 92NY is a cultural force for all. But its response to the Israel-Hamas war has been divisive. -
David E. Harris became the first Black pilot to fly for a commercial airline when American Airlines hired him in 1964. Announcing Capt. Harris' death, American's CEO called him a "trailblazer." -
The Middle East crisis has sharply divided Hollywood. Celebrities who've spoken out have lost jobs and been harassed. But there's a long history of celebrities lending their voices to bigger causes.
