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 鈥� 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鈥攐ne 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 暗黑爆料 Hour with Jim Lehrer, 15 years at the PBS affiliate in Tucson, and working as a field producer for CBS 暗黑爆料. 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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For 16 years, Mexican growers have agreed not to sell tomatoes below what's called a reference price, meant to protect Florida growers from cheap Mexican tomatoes. But half of all tomatoes eaten in the U.S. come from Mexico, and Mexican growers say it's because their tomatoes taste better. -
Mourners left flowers and plants after the 2011 Tucson shooting rampage that killed six people and wounded 13. Instead of sending the shrines to a landfill after they were taken down, volunteers sorted through everything, replanted what they could and composted the rest. -
"Secure the borders first" has been the cry from Republicans in Congress before they'd agree to comprehensive immigration reform. That stance seems to be changing, as some experts say demanding border security first is backward. -
Republicans and Democrats are pushing to make overhauling immigration a priority in 2013. Senator-elect Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona, is expected to play a big part in any overhaul of immigration laws.
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Congress is considering whether to turn three top-secret sites involved with creating the atomic bomb into one of the country's most unusual national parks. Critics question the need for a park that celebrates nuclear weapons. Supporters say the park would ask tough questions about lessons learned. -
In less than two years, U.S. Border Patrol agents have killed 18 Mexicans along the border 鈥� including eight people throwing rocks. Now the Department of Homeland Security is examining its policy on deadly force along the border. -
In Arizona, some people who couldn't vote had a personal stake in getting others to the polls. Young undocumented immigrants walked neighborhoods in the Phoenix area, looking for citizens who support one piece of legislation which could change their lives.
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For the first time in nearly a generation, Arizona voters will elect a new senator. Retiring Sen. Jon Kyl's ideological successor is Rep. Jeff Flake, a fellow Republican. But recent polls suggest Democrat Richard Carmona has a shot, and the race has become heated. -
The FBI says there are strong preliminary indications that the killing of a Border Patrol agent earlier this week was accidental. Melissa Block talks with NPR's Ted Robbins about the ongoing investigation of the shooting along the Arizona-Mexico border.
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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.
