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 , as a refugee, when she and her parents were evacuated from Amman, Jordan, during the conflict known as Black September.
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An American rock musician born in Freeport on Long Island, N.Y., Lou Reed epitomized New York City's artistic underbelly in the 1970s, with his songs about hookers and junkies. Reed was 71. -
Most Americans say public libraries are important to the community 鈥� but eight states don't actually support them. Texas has cut budgets drastically; in Vermont, local librarians must go hand in hand to town meetings every year. Neda Ulaby reports on the landscape of library funding across the U.S.
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Part of understanding African sacred music means thinking about its colonial context. It's the music of oppressed people combined with the music of their oppressors. For decades, Fred Onovwerosuoke has collected and arranged this music for choral groups. -
Broadcast TV used to have bigger stars, bigger audiences and bigger budgets. Cable shows were edgier, with more sex and violence than the broadcasters dared show. In the last few seasons, though, cable ratings have improved and broadcast shows have taken more risks. What's going on on TV? -
While the quality of TVs and technology seems to be at an all-time high, the devices we use to access the living room screen are as confusing as ever. But tablets and apps offer hope of simplifying the process of finding shows to watch 鈥� and even interacting with other viewers. -
NPR's Neda Ulaby takes a stroll through Toy Fair, an industry event where adults get to preview acres of new toys. -
Internet memes used to stick around for months on end (remember "Charlie Bit My Finger"?). But in 2012, the shelf-life of an Internet sensation became increasingly fleeting. Funny videos and games are now enjoying only brief moments in the cultural spotlight before they're forgotten. -
A new film looking at a possible second term for President Barack Obama is already the sixth-highest-grossing political documentary of all time.
