The people you hear on the air most frequently are our hosts. Considered Director Bob Boilen answers your questions about the music you hear between stories.
Some directors listen to stories ahead of time and preplan what they play.
My style is much more like an improvising musician. I often listen to the story while you are hearing it, get an idea of mood, see how much time i have to play music, figure out what i need to transition to. I have a CD player in front of me and a pair of headphones. Before i come into the studio, I bring a selection of about 15 CD's, from our very large collection. When I hear something I like, I hand the CD to our engineer, and they cue it up in one of the on air CD players.