Ted Robbins
As supervising editor for Arts and Culture at NPR based at NPR West in Culver City, Ted Robbins plans coverage across NPR shows and online, focusing on TV at a time when there's never been so much content. He thinks "arts and culture" encompasses a lot of human creativity — from traditional museum offerings to popular culture, and out-of-the-way people and events.
Robbins also supervises obituaries or, as NPR prefers to call them, "appreciations," of people in the arts.
Robbins joined the Arts Desk in 2015, after a decade on air as a NPR National Desk correspondent based in Tucson, Arizona. From there, he covered the Southwest, including Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada.
Robbins reported on a range of issues, from immigration and border security to water issues and wildfires. He covered the economy in the West with an emphasis on the housing market and Las Vegas development. He reported on the January 2011 shooting in Tucson that killed six and injured many, including Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Robbins' reporting has been honored with numerous accolades, including two Emmy Awards—one for his story on sex education in schools, and another for his series on women in the workforce. He received a CINE Golden Eagle for a 1995 documentary on Mexican agriculture called "Tomatoes for the North."
In 2006, Robbins wrote an article for the Nieman Reports at Harvard about journalism and immigration. He was chosen for a 2009 French-American Foundation Fellowship focused on comparing European and U.S. immigration issues.
Raised in Los Angeles, Robbins became an avid NPR listener while spending hours driving (or stopped in traffic) on congested freeways. He is delighted to now be covering stories for his favorite news source.
Prior to coming to NPR in 2004, Robbins spent five years as a regular contributor to The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, 15 years at the PBS affiliate in Tucson, and working as a field producer for CBS News. He worked for NBC affiliates in Tucson and Salt Lake City, where he also did some radio reporting and print reporting for USA Today.
Robbins earned his Bachelor of Arts in psychology and his master's degree in journalism, both from the University of California at Berkeley. He taught journalism at the University of Arizona for a decade.
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One of the most powerful and beloved voices of all time died Thursday in Detroit. -
Stanton's weather-beaten face was a fixture on TV and in movies for more than a half-century. He became a cult hero in Repo Man and Paris, Texas —and he had a pretty good singing voice, too. -
Neil Gorsuch, the president's nominee to the Supreme Court, told Sen. Richard Blumenthal that Trump's put-downs of judges were "disheartening." -
The star of Singin' in the Rain — as well as more than 50 other films — died just one day after her 60-year-old daughter, Carrie Fisher. Reynolds starred on Broadway, TV and even had a No. 1 single. -
Signed 20 years ago this month, the landmark trade agreement radically altered the way we get our fruits and vegetables, encouraging year-round imports from Mexican farms. That's why it's now no big deal to find, say, raspberries in winter. But critics say it also has trained consumers to value convenience over flavor and has dulled knowledge of where food comes from.
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It's been more than a month since the government began accepting requests for its Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, a new policy for young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children. It means that for two years they can avoid deportation and get a work permit. -
At issue is whether Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio violated the civil rights of Latino citizens and legal U.S. residents. The plaintiffs hope to prove Arpaio's department engaged in systematic racial profiling. The self-proclaimed "Toughest Sheriff in America" says he's cracking down on illegal immigration.
