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

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Elizabeth Blair 2018
Allison Shelley/NPR

Elizabeth Blair

Senior Producer/Reporter, Arts Desk

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.

Story Archive

Wednesday

Carole Lindstrom's new book My Powerful Hair features illustrations by Steph Littlebird. Abrams Books hide caption

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Abrams Books

Monday

Adam Sandler accepts Mark Twain prize on March 19. Scott Suchman/Kennedy Center hide caption

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Scott Suchman/Kennedy Center

Big names including Steve Buscemi, Conan O'Brien come out to honor Adam Sandler

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Sunday

When adults complained about a teen theater production, the show's creators stepped in

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Thursday

Shawn Waldron/Getty Images

Adults complained about a teen theater production and the show's creators stepped in

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Friday

How bills restricting drag could impact high school theatre productions

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Friday

Roald Dahl's U.K. publisher has responded to the backlash by keeping his language intact in a new collection. Ronald Dumont/Getty Images hide caption

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Ronald Dumont/Getty Images

Roald Dahl's publisher responds to backlash by keeping 'classic' texts in print

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Monday

Thursday

Burt Bacharach, pictured here in 1970, wrote music that was accessible — it even sounds simple. But there is nothing simple about it. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Burt Bacharach, visionary pop composer, has died at 94

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Tuesday

Some movie lovers aren't happy about AMC's plan to charge according to seat placement

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Thursday

Iryna Zhalovska and other dancers with The United Ukrainian Ballet train at The Kennedy Center. The company is performing Giselle there this week. Keren Carrión/NPR hide caption

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Keren Carrión/NPR

60 dancers who fled the war now take the stage — as The United Ukrainian Ballet

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Wednesday

As Ryuichi Sakamoto returns with '12,' fellow artists recall his impact

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Monday

Knopf Books for Young Readers

'Hot Dog' wins Caldecott, Newbery is awarded to 'Freewater'

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Friday

United Ukrainian Ballet Company members Liza Gogidze and Oleksii Kniazkov in Giselle, choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky. Altin Kaftira/The United Ukrainian Ballet hide caption

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Altin Kaftira/The United Ukrainian Ballet

Ballet dancers from across Ukraine bring 'Giselle' to the Kennedy Center

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Thursday

Japanese musician, composer, record producer, pianist, activist, writer, actor and dancer Ryuichi Sakamoto, photographed on June 30, 2016 in Paris. Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images

As Ryuichi Sakamoto returns with '12,' fellow artists recall his impact

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Wednesday

Wednesday

A remembrance of Italian film actress Gina Lollobrigida, who died at the age of 95

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Tuesday

Remembering legendary Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, dead at 95

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Thursday

Random House

Roberta Flack's first piano came from a junkyard – five Grammys would follow

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Tuesday

Playwright Paula Vogel speaks onstage during the 2017 Tony Awards. Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions hide caption

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Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions

Tuesday

Monday

In an episode of P-Valley (Starz), Mercedes (Brandee Evans) and her daughter Terricka (A'zaria Carter) face protesters outside an abortion clinic. Kyle Kaplan/Starz hide caption

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Kyle Kaplan/Starz

Abortion stories on TV get closer to reality, says new report

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Tuesday

Adam Sandler is the winner of this year's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Sandler will receive the award at a gala performance at the Kennedy Center on March 19th, 2023. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic hide caption

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Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Thursday

Fifteen-year-olds from a DCXI soccer team practice together in Washington, D.C., in November. Club co-founder and coach Pierre Hedji says some of their team members pay and some don't. "If you can afford to pay the whole thing, pay the whole thing. That way we can afford to help the next kid that can't pay anything at all." Maansi Srivastava/NPR hide caption

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Maansi Srivastava/NPR

Club soccer puts the sport out of reach for many kids

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Tuesday