Neda Ulaby
Neda Ulaby reports on arts, entertainment, and cultural trends for NPR's Arts Desk.
Scouring the various and often overlapping worlds of art, music, television, film, new media and literature, Ulaby's stories reflect political and economic realities, cultural issues, obsessions and transitions.
A twenty-year veteran of NPR, Ulaby started as a temporary production assistant on the cultural desk, opening mail, booking interviews and cutting tape with razor blades. Over the years, she's also worked as a producer and editor and won a Gracie award from the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation for hosting a podcast of NPR's best arts stories.
Ulaby also hosted the Emmy-award winning public television series Arab American Stories in 2012 and earned a 2019 Knight-Wallace Fellowship at the University of Michigan. She's also been chosen for fellowships at the Getty Arts Journalism Program at USC Annenberg and the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism.
Before coming to NPR, Ulaby worked as managing editor of Chicago's Windy City Times and co-hosted a local radio program, What's Coming Out at the Movies. A former doctoral student in English literature, Ulaby has contributed to academic journals and taught classes in the humanities at the University of Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University and at high schools serving at-risk students.
Ulaby worked as an intern for the features desk of the Topeka Capital-Journal after graduating from Bryn Mawr College. But her first appearance in print was when she was only four days old. She was pictured on the front page of the New York Times, as a refugee, when she and her parents were evacuated from Amman, Jordan, during the conflict known as Black September.
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The National Endowment for the Arts has selected Terence Blanchard, Willard Jenkins, Amina Claudine Myers and Gary Bartz for the prestigious honor. -
The Magnificent Ambersons has been called Orson Welles' "lost masterpiece." The studio cut more than 40 minutes from the movie, but a filmmaker has used animation to recreate lost footage.
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Citizen Kane made Orson Welles a superstar. But his next movie, The Magnificent Ambersons, was edited into incoherence by the studio. Now, a Welles fan has used animation to recreate lost footage. -
Arkin knew from childhood that he wanted to be an actor, and he spent a lifetime performing — the Academy Award winner appeared in more than 100 films in a career spanning over seven decades.
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Those affected by wildfire smoke focus on the colors red, purple and maroon on the air quality charts. Red used to be the scariest color. Why did that change?(Story aired on ATC on June 28, 2023.)
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Millions of Americas affected by wildfire smoke are focusing on the colors red, purple and maroon on the Air Quality Index charts. Red used to be the scariest color. Why did that change?
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James Beard award-winning cookbook author James Whetlor explains how to reject BBQ maximalism and build your own tandoori oven. (Story aired on All Things Considered on June 16, 2023.)
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Cookbook author James Whetlor is not impressed by your fancy grilling equipment. You can literally cook food outside just by digging a hole in the ground. The DIY BBQ Cookbook explains how. -
The Grammys are expanding, again. The newly added categories are: best pop dance recording, best African music performance and best alternative jazz album.
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Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones says administrative delays have made it impossible to carry on with several academic projects intended to foster the careers of young Black investigative journalists.
