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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Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Dr. Sonja Santelises, and later, Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Darryl Williams, join Tom to discuss key issues facing their schools systems in the new academic year. -
The Artistic Director for Baltimore Classical Guitar Society's annual guitar challenge joins us to spotlight the int'l competition's Final Round of concerts this weekend. -
The Mexican-American writer joins us to discuss her memoir-in-essays about a life of passionate pursuits. -
Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck spotlights Ms. Son's complex drama about an enduring love that survives a shocking assault. -
Syed's defense attorney discusses his release Monday after 23 years in prison, and the work of the Innocence Project, a collaboration between UBalt School of Law and the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. -
Two former Baltimore mayors discuss the upcoming ballot initiative to impose a two-term limit on all elected city officials. -
In her new novel, one of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author's greatest characters, Lucy Barton, returns to cope with isolation, hope and love during the pandemic. Elizabeth Strout joins us to discuss her latest literary outing. -
NPR London correspondent Frank Langfitt shares his perspectives as he covers the world's final farewell to Queen Elizabeth II, whose casket was returned Monday to Windsor Castle for interment. -
The hugely popular video-sharing network, with known ties to the Chinese government, is spreading falsehoods on a wide array of issues, according to a new report from Newsguard. Author Jack Brewster has details. -
The latest Goucher Poll, conducted in partnership with the Baltimore Banner and WYPR, provides a snapshot of the Maryland electorate, fifty days out from the November election. Poll director Dr. Mileah Kromer joins us with highlights.
