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.
-
The iconoclastic Baltimore filmmaker, writer, actor and visual artist joins us to talk about his first novel, a classic John Waters concoction. -
HAP Director Dr. Jeremy Walston and Dr. Peter Abadir, a project scholar, join us to discuss their effort to study how we can age without cognitive or functional decline. -
New York Times reporter Alexander Burns, co-author with Times colleague Jonathan Martin, discusses their harrowing new account of how political events of the past 18 months have shaken the foundations of American democracy. -
Our theater critic sizes up a new re-imagining of J.M. Barrie's classic one-handed nemesis of Peter Pan. -
The social justice and environmental activist discusses her Green Party candidacy, with running mate Pat Elder, and describes her vision for Maryland. -
The Humane Society's Lindsay Hamrick talks about the group's efforts to care for 4000 beagles rescued from a VA breeding facility, and veterinarian and UMd educator Dr. Sarah Balcom joins us with advice on caring for your animals. -
Politico congressional reporter Nicholas Wu and constitutional law expert Kim Wehle join us to discuss whether the law might finally be catching up with Donald Trump. -
The head of the Maryland public school system discusses the challenges ahead as the school year begins. -
The public health advocate discusses new recommendations from the CDC for managing COVID in the schools. -
We talk with reporters from The Baltimore Banner and Maryland Matters about their lead political stories.
