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 radio and online stories reflect political and economic realities, cultural issues, obsessions and transitions, as well as artistic adventurousness— and awesomeness.
Over the last few years, Ulaby has strengthened NPR's television coverage both in terms of programming and industry coverage and profiled breakout artists such as Ellen Page and Skylar Grey and behind-the-scenes tastemakers ranging from super producer Timbaland to James Schamus, CEO of Focus Features. Her stories have included a series on women record producers, an investigation into exhibitions of plastinated human bodies, and a look at the legacy of gay activist Harvey Milk. Her profiles have brought listeners into the worlds of such performers as Tyler Perry, Ryan Seacrest, Mark Ruffalo, and Courtney Love.
Ulaby has earned multiple fellowships at the Getty Arts Journalism Program at USC Annenberg as well as a fellowship at the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism to study youth culture. In addition, Ulaby's weekly podcast of NPR's best arts stories. Culturetopia, won a Gracie award from the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation.
Joining NPR in 2000, Ulaby was recruited through NPR's Next Generation Radio, and landed a temporary position on the cultural desk as an editorial assistant. She started reporting regularly, augmenting her work with arts coverage for D.C.'s Washington CityPaper.
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. Her film reviews and academic articles have been published across the country and internationally. For a time, she edited fiction for The Chicago Review and served on the editing staff of the leading academic journal Critical Inquiry. Ulaby taught classes in the humanities at the University of Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University and at high schools serving at-risk students.
A former doctoral student in English literature, Ulaby worked as an intern for the features desk of the Topeka Capital-Journal after graduating from Bryn Mawr College. She was born in Amman, Jordan, and grew up in the idyllic Midwestern college towns of Lawrence, Kansas and Ann Arbor, Michigan.
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Winners of this year's John Newbery and Randolph Caldecott medals — some of the most prestigious prizes in children's literature — were announced Monday. NPR takes a look at the award-winning books.
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The famous — even infamous — producer, known for his "Wall of Sound," died Saturday in prison. He produced records for The Ronettes, Ike and Tina Turner as well as The Beatles, among many others. -
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The ASPCA's Behavioral Rehabilitation Center works with severely fearful dogs rescued from puppy mills and hoarders. The shelter has an 87% success rate in rehabilitating undersocialized dogs.
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2020 has given us an unprecedented number of new Christmas movies centering on characters who used to be, at most, sidekicks in holiday fare.
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Every year, the Library of Congress adds 25 movies to the National Film Registry to be preserved for posterity. This year's list includes a record number of female directors and directors of color.
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The market remains flush with toys that poop: Gotta Go Flamingo, Poopsie Slime Surprise, Doggie Doo, Fishin' For Floaters. "It's a very light taboo," says Mary Higbe of Goliath Games.
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Originally from Singapore, Stacey Mei Yan Fong loves baking and America. For a project she calls 50 Pies/50 States, she's made an elaborative representative pie for each state.
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The book is a mystery of sorts, set at an upscale North Carolina resort during World War II. Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle teaches at a high school with a student population that's 30% Native American.
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It's not a normal Thanksgiving and holiday planning has gotten more complicated for many families and friends figuring out safe, socially distant ways to share favorite foods and treasured recipes.
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Who'd have guessed that a centuries-old game would become 2020's hard-to-find, must-have toy? Sales spiked after the release of the hit Netflix show, and now toy analysts are warning of a shortage.
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In 1961, Chiang opened San Francisco's The Mandarin, a high-end Chinese restaurant that served authentic fare. Today, her DNA is all over American Chinese food, from P.F. Chang's to Panda Express.
