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Elizabeth Blair Elizabeth Blair is a Peabody Award-winning Senior Producer/Reporter on the Arts Desk at NPR.
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Elizabeth Blair

Big Brothers Big Sisters receives a $122.6 million donation to mentor kids

Artis Stevens, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, says MacKenzie's Scott's gift to the mentoring organization will be "transformative." Big Brothers Big Sisters of America hide caption

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Big Brothers Big Sisters of America

Culture

Big Brothers Big Sisters receives a $122.6 million donation to mentor kids

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott continues her charity drive with a $122.6 million donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the group's largest gift ever from an individual.

Television

More TV shows depict abortion but few resemble real life

Maude, Scandal, Jane the Virgin. The number of TV shows that have included abortion in the narrative has increased over the decades. But scripted TV's treatment of abortion rarely resembles reality.

More TV shows depict abortion but few resemble real life

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Who says big band jazz is for old people? Not this teenage composer.

Skylar Tang, a 16-year-old from the San Francisco Bay area, is the winner of the Dr. J. Douglas White Composing & Arranging Contest. John Clayton/ Skylar Tang hide caption

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John Clayton/ Skylar Tang

Music Features

Who says big band jazz is for old people? Not this teenage composer.

California musician Skylar Tang, 16, is the winner of a Jazz at Lincoln Center contest. She'll accept the award in New York this weekend.

Who says big band jazz is for old people? Not this teenage composer.

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Television

More TV shows depict abortion but few resemble real life

Maude, Scandal, Jane the Virgin. The number of TV shows that have included abortion in the narrative has increased over the decades. But scripted TV's treatment of abortion rarely resembles reality.

More TV shows depict abortion but few resemble real life

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TV has brought the abortion debate home since the 1970s

Actress Bea Arthur (left) portrayed the title character of Maude in the 1970s. Gina Rodriguez starred in Jane the Virgin. Both of their characters had a decision to make about abortion. Reg Innell/Toronto Star via Getty Images; JB Lacroix/Getty Images hide caption

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Reg Innell/Toronto Star via Getty Images; JB Lacroix/Getty Images

Roe v. Wade and the future of reproductive rights in America

TV has brought the abortion debate home since the 1970s

Bea Arthur as Maude had an abortion in 1972. Jane the Virgin's lead character made a different choice decades later.

TV has brought the abortion debate home since the 1970s

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Jon Stewart says the 'fragility of leaders' is the real threat to humor

Jon Stewart accepts the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Scott Suchman/The Kennedy Center hide caption

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Scott Suchman/The Kennedy Center

Culture

Jon Stewart says the 'fragility of leaders' is the real threat to humor

Jon Stewart is honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center. The former host of The Daily Show was praised for revitalizing political satire and for his activism.

Jon Stewart says the 'fragility of leaders' is the real threat to humor

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As 'The Velveteen Rabbit' turns 100, its message continues to resonate
Doubleday Books for Young Readers

Book News & Features

As 'The Velveteen Rabbit' turns 100, its message continues to resonate

"To engage children's interest in anything you have to be keenly interested in that thing yourself," Margery Williams Bianco wrote in 1925. Her story endures because it connects to so many people.

As 'The Velveteen Rabbit' turns 100, its message continues to resonate

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Graphic novels about Greek gods that don't talk down to kids

Graphic novelist George O'Connor treats the Olympians as both a family and as distinct gods and goddesses, each with their own personality. Macmillan Children's Publishing Group / First Second hide caption

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Macmillan Children's Publishing Group / First Second

Books

Graphic novels about Greek gods that don't talk down to kids

George O'Connor spent 12 years turning the Greek gods into best-selling graphic novels for kids. They're faithful to the ancient myths - which often include gender fluidity.

Graphic novels about Greek gods that don't talk down to kids

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