Who picks the music you hear on commercial radio stations? How does that person decide what to play and what to leave off? Ever wonder why you never hear certain songs, even though they were super popular a long time ago? 

These questions and more are answered in the latest edition of our Working Shift series. Rick O’Dell has been a fixture on Chicago’s radio scene for three decades. His latest gig is program director at MeTV FM, a station making waves for its incredibly deep playlist. 

We dive into O’Dell’s career, and find out how he’s finding success by breaking the radio rules.