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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The Tucson, Ariz., band's newest batch of story-songs about people in transition is titled Algiers, named for the New Orleans neighborhood where it was recorded. -
Long a staple of Western wear, the bolo tie is getting the museum treatment in Phoenix. The Heard Museum celebrates the tie's history and artistry in a new exhibit where simple designs are displayed alongside more traditional works of art in the high-ceilinged gallery. -
In 2010, U.S.-born workers lost more than 1 million jobs while foreign-born workers gained more than a half-million nationwide. Experts in Phoenix say foreign-born people are more likely to get employed faster because they are more willing to take any job, at any pay. Researchers say the trend could change the national workforce long-term. -
The Border Patrol's indicators of success for Operation Streamline don't always add up and neither do the numbers: No one knows just how much the program costs. The Border Patrol makes arrests, but the Justice Department and federal courts provide the logistics of convicting those who cross illegally. -
The Border Patrol points to three measures to prove Operation Streamline's success: It deters future illegal border-crossers, fewer people are apprehended for crossing illegally, and it allows the government to focus on more serious crime. But a closer look shows these arguments don't always hold up. -
Operation Streamline, first implemented in 2005, puts illegal border-crossers into the federal court system en masse and convicts them as federal criminals. Critics say the program takes resources from more violent cases and infringes on due process rights. -
Republican presidential hopeful John McCain spoke before the American Legion national convention Tuesday in Phoenix. It was a friendly audience for the one-time prisoner of war in Vietnam. McCain attacked Barack Obama's foreign policy, and vowed to protect and improve health care for veterans.
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People traveling by land into the U.S. have to show border guards their proof of citizenship starting Thursday. The Department of Homeland Security was prepared for confusion, and most likely issued warnings at the start. But U.S. customs officials said delays were minimal at the busiest U.S. gateway on the southern border.
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On Feb. 5, more than 20 states host presidential primary contests. How are voters in three diverse states — Alabama, Arizona and California — feeling about their choices?
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The Department of Homeland Security is installing nine high-tech towers as part of its Secure Border Initiative Network along the Arizona-Mexico border. Local residents of Arivaca, Ariz., say the towers will be eyesores and an invasion of their privacy.
