Rob Sivak
Contributing producer, MiddayRob Sivak is a contributing producer for Midday, with host Tom Hall. Recently retired after a seven-year stint as Midday's senior producer, Rob joined WYPR in 2015 as senior producer of Hall's previous show, Maryland Morning (which aired its final broadcast on September 16th, 2016). Before coming to the station, Rob enjoyed a 36-year career at the congressionally funded global broadcaster, Voice of America. At VOA, he honed his skills as a news and feature reporter, producer, editor and program host.
After reporting assignments at VOA's New York City, United Nations and Los Angeles bureaus, Rob spent two decades covering international food, farming and nutrition issues for VOA's 180-million worldwide listeners, and created and hosted several popular VOA science magazines. At Midday, he continued to pursue his passion for radio and his abiding interests in science, health, technology and politics.
Rob grew up as an ex-pat "oil brat" on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia, and studied and traveled widely in the Middle East, Europe and Africa. He attended Hofstra University in New York and Boston University's School of Public Communications. Rob and his wife Caroline Barnes, a writer, live in Silver Spring, Maryland, where they've raised three daughters.
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Del. Jheanelle Wilkins (D., D. 20), chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, describes the group's agenda. Then, reporters Pamela Wood of the Baltimore Banner and Matt Bush of WYPR spotlight key bills to watch ahead of Sine Die April 10. -
The acclaimed Chinese classical guitar virtuoso joins us to discuss her pioneering international musical career, and perform selections ahead of her Saturday night concert at Towson U's Kaplan Hall. -
Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck spotlights how Cheryl Strayed's bestselling digest of her "Dear Sugar" personal advice columns has been movingly adapted to the stage. -
Ahead of her weekend gigs at Baltimore's Keystone Korner, the acclaimed jazz vocalist joins us to reflect on her 25-year career as a standout song stylist and vocal educator. -
With six potential criminal and civil indictments now hanging over him, former president Donald Trump is facing greater legal jeopardy than ever before. Former Assistant US Attorney Kim Wehle joins us to explain the legal morass, and why these prosecutions matter in a nation of laws. -
The twice-elected Democratic leader of Maryland's third largest county joins us to discuss the issues topping his agenda, from addressing crime and school safety to crafting a new budget. -
Co-authors Ivy Ross and Susan Magsamen discuss their new book's provocative probe of the physiological and neurological changes we undergo when we experience the arts - and the extraordinary healing potentials of this new science. -
Two of Baltimore's top pediatricians — Health Commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa and Mercy Medical Center's Dr. Ashanti Woods — offer expert advice on keeping your babies and young children safe and healthy. -
Councilwoman Odette Ramos (D., Dist 14) says her Land Bank bill will help the city acquire and redevelop its abandoned housing. Bree Jones' Parity Homes is already doing that. Both women join us with perspectives on how to rescue Baltimore's lost neighborhoods. -
The co-authors of a new report by NCRC, a non-profit organization that works to end racial discrimination in lending, housing and business practices, discuss the evidence they found of racial bias in the planned community's housing market.
