As an arts correspondent based at NPR West, Mandalit del Barco reports and produces stories about film, television, music, visual arts, dance and other topics. Over the years, she has also covered everything from street gangs to Hollywood, police and prisons, marijuana, immigration, race relations, natural disasters, Latino arts and urban street culture (including hip hop dance, music, and art). Every year, she covers the Oscars and the Grammy awards for NPR, as well as the Sundance Film Festival and other events. Her news reports, feature stories and photos, filed from Los Angeles and abroad, can be heard on All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, Alt.latino, and npr.org.
Arkansas begins implementing Medicaid work requirements this summer. Advocates say people living with HIV need a blanket exemption — or risk losing access to life-saving drugs.
Sophia Nourani speaks with Little Rock post-punk band OrOrOr about their debut album "Adore Us," their origins, recording process and what it means to make music in Arkansas.
Arkansas had more farm bankruptcies in 2025 than any other state. Northwest Arkansas Food Bank president Taylor Speegle says hunger requires policy — not just food banks — to solve.