The Animal House - Staff Bios

Sam Litzinger, Host

When he's not in The Animal House, Sam, a broadcaster for 35 years and counting, is an anchor and reporter at CBS News. He also hosts and produces the radio series Sound Sessions from Smithsonian Folkways, and he's currently working on a series of radio shows on the history of journalism for the George Washington University's Global Media Institute and the Newseum. Sam sometimes fills in for Charles Osgood on The Osgood File on the CBS Radio Network, and he's also an occasional guest host on WAMU 88.5's The Kojo Nnamdi Show. Sam hosted and produced "From the Nation's Capital," a radio show featuring some of the fascinating places and people in Washington, D.C., on Sirius-XM.

Sam previously has taught philosophy, and worked as a grocery clerk, a food server in a college cafeteria, and a caretaker at a small cemetery. Both his wife and his dog, Ella the beagle, are smarter and more interesting than he is.

Gary Weitzman, DVM, MPH, Weekly Contributor

Dr. Gary Weitzman has more than 20 years of experience in veterinary medicine, and currently chairs the DC Board of Veterinary Medicine. He has served as executive director of the Washington Animal Rescue League since 2008, and served as its medical director for four years previous. During "Dr. Gary's" tenure at the League, it has become a national resource for disaster and puppy mill rescues and a recognized leader in animal physical and behavioral rehabilitation.

Dr. Gary, a veterinarian with extensive training in international public health, has worked in the non-profit sector for years in both human and animal public health. Aside from his duties as executive director, he remains a practicing clinician at the League, where he sees patients, including the pets of low-income clients, a cornerstone of the shelter's mission.

He lives on Capitol Hill with his two, sometimes well-behaved dogs, Jake and Betty.

Mark McDonald, Executive Producer

Mark McDonald is WAMU 88.5's Program Director and a golden retriever fanatic. Originally from Liverpool, UK, Mark got his start on the local radio station there before moving into BBC Television in London, where he produced stories for the main evening news. He moved to New York in 1995 where he was BBC's news producer, and became managing editor for news at New York public radio station WNYC in 1999.

When Mark and his wife, Melinda, moved to Washington D.C., they brought their golden retriever, Pundit, with them. He loved frolicking around the monuments of Capitol Hill and was a familiar figure among the Senators and Supreme Court judges. Pundit died in April 2009, after a six-month struggle with cancer.

Mark is delighted to be heading-up the only public radio program in America devoted to animals.

Tara Boyle, Producer

Tara Boyle joined WAMU 88.5 as a producer for The Kojo Nnamdi Show in 2005. Since 2009, she's also produced the news segments for The Animal House. Every week, she gets to dive into the wild and fascinating world of animal science – from the behavior of birds in our backyards to the roaming patterns of Asian snow leopards.

Tara graduated summa cum laude from Boston University with bachelor's degrees in journalism and French. She received a master's degree in international affairs from George Washington University. When she's not out on the dance floor with her husband, she usually can be found hanging out with her in-laws and their charming (if a bit neurotic!) golden retriever, Copper.

Tara welcomes listener suggestions and story ideas – please email her at tboyle@wamu.org.

Karen Munson, Producer

Karen Munson has worked at WAMU 88.5 for since 2001. In that time, she has served as traffic manager in the programming department; producer of the American Forum, a radio collaboration with American University's School of Communication; and her current position, manager of content operations, in which she oversees all traffic and promotional products for WAMU 88.5, WAMU's Bluegrass Country, and WAMU-3. She also serves as the daytime host for WAMU-3. She resides in the District with her pet Beta fighting fish, Spike, which is the only species (other than homo sapiens) allowed in her building.

Andrew Chadwick, Audio Engineer

Andrew joined the engineering staff at WAMU 88.5 in November 2005. He's worked on both The Diane Rehm Show and The Kojo Nnamdi Show, and as a card-carrying pet lover, he's excited to work on The Animal House.

Andrew is a graduate of the University of Maryland, as well as the Omega Studios School of Applied Recording Arts and Sciences. Before he started at WAMU 88.5, he dabbled in various audio pursuits, including AM talk radio, theater, and mixing live sound in a handful of small, smoky clubs. When he's not pushing faders, he's probably taking care of his retired racing greyhound or his two rescue siamese cats.