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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Donika Kelly wrote part of her new poetry collection, "The Natural Order of Things," during her first year of teaching, at a time when U.S. drone strikes in military conflicts were killing civilians.
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Many of White's books chronicled his own experiences as a gay man, making an indelible impression on gay culture and how LGBTQ experiences were understood more broadly at the dawning of the AIDS health crisis. -
An expression in Italy is being used to mean insulating yourself from the world's unpleasantness.
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More than 300 writers from the UK and Ireland have signed a letter calling for immediate aid and a ceasefire in Gaza. -
Todd Blanche, a former personal lawyer for President Trump, is now acting Librarian of Congress. According to his public profile, Blanche has no experience working in libraries or archives. -
Olivia and Liam are the most popular baby names now, but Social Security Administration data shows oak-based names are gaining popularity, particularly in conservative parts of the country. -
The company's theme parks and cruises make up a fast-growing section of its profits. The new park will be located on Yas Island with a number of existing attractions. -
This year, the annual list from the National Trust for Historic Preservation includes a mysterious castle, flooded communities in Florida and North Carolina, historic hotels and a gigantic turtle. -
Yemen is an ancient birthplace of the coffee trade, and immigrants fleeing its civil war have brought their culture here in the form of cafes. Hundreds of Yemeni coffee shops have opened in the U.S. -
On April 14, Blue Origin plans to launch a space flight with a crew that includes the singer behind the 2010 hit "Firework." But we can think of many other artists who deserve to be among the stars.
