About Jeffrey
Jeffrey Brown is a senior correspondent and chief arts correspondent for the PBS NewsHour.
In his 30-year career with the NewsHour, Brown has served as co-anchor, studio moderator, and field reporter on a wide range of national and international issues, with work taking him around the country and to many parts of the globe. As arts correspondent he has profiled many of the world's leading writers, musicians, actors and other artists. Recently, Brown presented a multi-year series, "Culture at Risk," about threatened cultural heritage in the United States and abroad. He created and hosts the NewsHour's online "Art Beat" and also hosts the monthly book club, "Now Read This," a collaboration with The New York Times.
Brown is author of a collection of poetry, titled "The News" and serves as an advisor to the Sun Valley Writers Conference. His numerous honors include a News & Documentary Emmy Award and multiple CINE Golden Eagle Awards. He earned a bachelor's degree in classics from the University of California, Berkeley, a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, an honorary degree (D.H.L) from Wesley College, and attended the UC Berkeley School of Law.
Jeffrey’s Recent Stories
Poetry Sep 19
U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo on opening a ‘doorway of hope’ for indigenous artistsJoy Harjo, the new poet laureate of the United States, is the first Native American to achieve that honor. Jeffrey Brown recently sat down with Harjo, a member of Oklahoma's Muscogee Creek Nation, in Tulsa to discuss how arts shaped…
Arts Sep 09
Why Margaret Atwood saw this as the moment for ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ sequel“The Testaments" is the greatly anticipated sequel to Margaret Atwood’s hit dystopian novel “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Though it’s fiction, Atwood says she doesn't "put anything in that doesn’t have a precedent in human history.” Jeffrey Brown spoke with Atwood recently…
Arts Sep 06
With newly expanded campus, Kennedy Center aims to make art an experience for allThe John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., is expanding its vision and offerings as it enlarges its physical footprint for the first time in its 50-year history. The institution hopes to showcase a range of…
Arts Aug 30
Why sculptor Andy Goldsworthy is tearing down walls — and then rebuilding themBritish sculptor Andy Goldsworthy has long been known for his unconventional approach to art. In an ongoing project at Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Goldsworthy has created a “walking wall,” assembling and then disassembling the same limestone rocks, moving…
Arts Aug 23
Jeff Daniels on getting in character to play Atticus FinchSmall-town Alabama lawyer Atticus Finch from Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” is one of the most recognizable characters in American literature. In the recent Broadway update of the classic American story, actor Jeff Daniels plays Finch. Jeffrey Brown talks…
Nation Aug 21
How the Trump administration is shaping the future of America’s public landsThe Trump administration is responsible for the largest reduction of federally protected land in U.S. history, according to a recent study by the journal Science. And in the wide expanses of the American West, Trump's encouragement of industry and development…
Arts Aug 16
What Woodstock taught us about protest in a time of polarizationIt’s been 50 years since Woodstock made music history. The groundbreaking festival is seen today as a nexus of freedom, drugs and rock and roll -- and as a defining symbol of 1960s counter-culture, idealism and anti-war sentiment. Jeffrey Brown…
Arts Aug 12
Another look at N.C. Wyeth, American art patriarchN.C. Wyeth, who led a multi-generational family of American art royalty and inspired “Star Wars” creator George Lucas and “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin, gets a new look in an exhibition of his illustrations and paintings. Jeffrey Brown…
Arts Aug 07
Actor and director Ron Howard on the joy of being a storytellerRon Howard has cultivated a long, storied career in show business, beginning with “The Andy Griffith Show” in the 1960s and continuing to his present success as a director. His latest work is a documentary about opera legend Luciano Pavarotti.
Arts Aug 06
Remembering Toni Morrison’s ‘beautiful human urgency’Author and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison died Monday at age 88. The acclaimed writer, editor and professor helped transform American literature, bringing forth a black perspective that had rarely been heard. Jeffrey Brown reports and talks to Princeton University’s Tracy…
