Accessibility links
Elizabeth Blair Elizabeth Blair is a Peabody Award winning, Senior Producer/Reporter on the Arts Desk of NPR News.
Elizabeth Blair 2018 square
Stories By

Elizabeth Blair

Music Interviews

Queen Latifah Tunes into 'Trav'lin' Light'

Latifah has always followed her mother's advice: Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Her success in music and film has allowed her to do things she loves, like singing old jazz and R&B tunes.

Queen Latifah Tunes into 'Trav'lin' Light'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/14747660/14761649" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Pop Culture

'Back to You' Crew: Sitcoms Are Serious Business

The cast and creative team on Fox's new comedy have worked on plenty of the half-hour TV hits (and some of the flops) of the last three decades. They say that while their show's setup has some built-in laugh potential, ultimately the "sit" in "sitcom" is less important than the execution.

'Back to You' Crew: Sitcoms Are Serious Business

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/14481139/14478960" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music News

Eclectic Keyboardist Joe Zawinul Dies at 75

Over a 60-year career, Zawinul embraced many types of jazz, but came to define the style known as jazz-fusion with his influential band Weather Report, and its 1977 hit "Birdland." Zawinul died of cancer early Tuesday.

Eclectic Keyboardist Joe Zawinul Dies at 75

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/14327928/14330532" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Obituaries

Oscar Winner Jane Wyman, Reagan's First Wife, Dies

Academy Award-winning actress Jane Wyman, the first wife of fellow Hollywood star Ronald Reagan, has died; she was in her early 90s. She won a best-actress Oscar in 1948 for Johnny Belinda and starred in the 1980s prime-time television soap opera Falcon Crest.

Oscar Winner Jane Wyman, Reagan's First Wife, Dies

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/14293445/14307608" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Arts & Life

Arts Boards Struggle with Changing Roles

Recent criticism of Smithsonian mismanagement and corruption has come to haunt its Board of Regents. But ineffective governance by the board of a nonprofit organization is not a problem unique to the Smithsonian.

Arts Boards Struggle with Changing Roles

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/13903563/13903513" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Movies

Branagh Returns with 'As You Like It' on HBO

Kenneth Branagh has directed his fifth screen adaptation of a Shakespeare play. But this time it's going straight to cable, with a premier on HBO. Kevin Kline, Alfred Molina and Bryce Dallas Howard star in Branagh's As You Like It.

Branagh Returns with 'As You Like It' on HBO

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/12899547/12899550" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music

It May Not Be a Planet, but Pluto's Still a Rock Star

A year ago this month, Pluto lost its status as a planet: The International Astronomical Union modified the definition of the term, and Pluto didn't qualify anymore. The demotion captured the imagination of some musicians, including One Ring Zero and Clare and the Reasons.

It May Not Be a Planet, but Pluto's Still a Rock Star

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/12773509/12820208" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Pop Culture

New TV Show Inspires Dance

The Fox TV show So You Think You Can Dance is probing for the next master dancer. Styles range from ballroom to hip hop. A spin-off of wildly popular television talent show American Idol, the reality series is a huge hit with millions of viewers voting every week.

New TV Show Inspires Dance

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/12164607/12164612" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Media

Ad Agency: Idea for 'Simpsons' Promo Swiped

Part of the campaign to promote the new Simpsons movie is turning real 7-Eleven retail stores into Kwik-e Marts, the fictional convenience store of the series. Ad agency Leo Burnett says its idea was co-opted.

Ad Agency: Idea for 'Simpsons' Promo Swiped

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/12056331/12056335" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Arts & Life

State Department Funds World Museum Exhibits

The museum community is asking whether museums should be used to promote foreign policy in response to a new initiative funded by the State Department. The program lets U.S. and non-U.S. museums apply for grants for exhibitions that would strengthen international connections.

State Department Funds World Museum Exhibits

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/12026427/12026428" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music

Adrienne Young: Planting the Earth, Growing Herself

Adrienne Young is a folk-country musician who is also a big supporter of community gardens and sustainable farming. As she tours the U.S., she invites local organic farmers to speak before her shows. Her green activism also explains the title of her new album, Room to Grow.

Adrienne Young: Planting the Earth, Growing Herself

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/11783347/11830629" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

National

Report Calls for Leadership Overhaul at Smithsonian

A report released Wednesday is deeply critical of the Smithsonian Institution's leadership and governance. The report says ex-Secretary Lawrence Small, who resigned in March, had a "secretive" and "imperialistic" management style.

Report Calls for Leadership Overhaul at Smithsonian

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/11225358/11225359" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

Music Reviews

Imani Winds Hits Its Mark on 'Josephine Baker'

If it's possible for a classically trained wind quintet to rock the house, Imani Winds blows the roof off. The five musicians came together 10 years ago with a common goal: To show young people of color there's a place for them in all of the arts. Imani Winds' Josephine Baker: A Life Of Le Jazz Hot! is a CD of original music inspired by Baker's life.

Imani Winds Hits Its Mark on 'Josephine Baker'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/10947999/10948002" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Pop Culture

'Sopranos' Spoilers Hard to Avoid

The series finale of The Sopranos is a hot water-cooler topic. But many who planned to watch the last episode of the long-running HBO show by tape, TiVo or rerun are now trying to avoid hearing how it all wrapped up.

'Sopranos' Spoilers Hard to Avoid

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/10931808/10931809" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript