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Meet BJ Leiderman, the NC composer behind many of public radio's theme songs

BJ Leiderman illustration
Album cover by Paul M. Howey

If you’re an avid public radio listener, you’ve heard composer BJ Leiderman’s name countless times in the credits of NPR shows like “Morning Edition” and “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.”

But have you ever heard his voice? Due South hosts Leoneda Inge and Jeff Tiberii get the chance to interview the man behind those timeless tunes from his home studio in western NC, where he’s still making music.

Guest

BJ Leiderman, songwriter, composer, and musician; he's composed the theme music for many public radio shows, including "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!," "Marketplace," "Weekend Edition," and "Morning Edition"

Leoneda Inge is the co-host of WUNC's "Due South." Leoneda has been a radio journalist for more than 30 years, spending most of her career at WUNC as the Race and Southern Culture reporter. Leoneda’s work includes stories of race, slavery, memory and monuments. She has won "Gracie" awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and several awards from the Radio, Television, Digital News Association (RTDNA). In 2017, Leoneda was named "Journalist of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Journalists.
Jeff Tiberii is the co-host of WUNC's "Due South." Jeff joined WUNC in 2011. During his 20 years in public radio, he was Morning Edition Host at WFDD and WUNC’s Greensboro Bureau Chief and later, the Capitol Bureau Chief. Jeff has covered state and federal politics, produced the radio documentary “Right Turn,” launched a podcast, and was named North Carolina Radio Reporter of the Year four times.
Rachel McCarthy is a producer for "Due South." She previously worked at WUNC as a producer for "The Story with Dick Gordon." More recently, Rachel was podcast managing editor at Capitol Broadcasting Company where she developed narrative series and edited a daily podcast. She also worked at "The Double Shift" podcast as supervising producer. Rachel learned about audio storytelling at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Prior to working in audio journalism, she was a research assistant at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.