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Kai Ryssdal

Host and Senior Editor

SHORT BIO

Kai is the host and senior editor of “Marketplace,” the most widely heard program on business and the economy — radio or television, commercial or public broadcasting — in the country. Kai speaks regularly with CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, startup entrepreneurs, small-business owners and everyday participants in the American and global economies. Before his career in broadcasting, Kai served in the United States Navy and United States Foreign Service. He’s a graduate of Emory University and Georgetown University. Kai lives in Los Angeles with his wife and four children.

Latest Stories (5,837)

Banks will pay the cost of SVB's collapse, and maybe that's "how it should be"

Mar 13, 2023
As the government moved to backstop depositors affected by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, surviving banks will end up footing the costs, says Laurie Stewart at Sound Community Bank in Seattle.
The federal government announced it would ensure that depositors affected by Silicon Valley Bank's collapse would be made whole. "I'm really happy for them," said Laurie Stewart. "But here's the thing: we're gonna pay for it. Banks are going to pay for it."
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Holding excess inventory keeps getting pricier for this manufacturer

As the global supply chain smooths out its kinks, warehouse costs are top of mind for the Legacy Companies.
For large manufacturers, storing excess inventory means paying growing warehouse fees.
Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

When it comes to inflation, monetary policy might not be getting the job done

Mar 9, 2023
"It's clear there have been some shifts in the economy that just make their policies less effective," says Neil Irwin of Axios.
On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appeared before the Senate Banking Committee.
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Can you build a sustainable federal budget?

Mar 8, 2023
"The Fiscal Ship” game demonstrates public policy trade-offs that go into government budgeting.
The home page for "The Fiscal Ship," a game meant to help players better understand federal budget tradeoffs.
Screen capture taken March 7, 2023

"We are explicitly for members of the lesbian community": Inside Los Angeles' first lesbian bar in years

Mar 7, 2023
Last month, Mara Herbkersman and Emily Biealgus opened The Ruby Fruit, a restaurant and wine bar.
Mara Herbkersman, left, and Emily Bielagus at The Ruby Fruit.
Andie Corban/Marketplace

The impact of survey fatigue on key economic indicators

Mar 7, 2023
Response rates to The Bureau of Labor Statistics' JOLTS report are continuing to waver according to Bloomberg reporter, Reade Pickert.
Survey fatigue is impacting response rates to important economic data surveys.
Michael Cohen/Getty Images

Yellen: "Progress on inflation is not going to be a straight line"

The Treasury secretary says "people don't need to lose their jobs" to cool down the labor market.
"There's a great sense of community but an enormous amount of trauma that everyone in Ukraine is experiencing," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says. Above, Yellen at a school in Kyiv earlier this week.
Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images

For Tubi chief, streaming’s future is serving fragmented audiences

Feb 28, 2023
Since Fox bought the ad-supported streaming service in 2020, growth has been like a "rocket ship," says Tubi CEO Farhad Massoudi.
"We have audiences that love Black cinema, some love horror movies, some want to watch anime," says Tubi CEO Farhad Massoudi, seen in 2019. "And I think that's the way of the future."
Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images

Understanding the civil rights movement as a labor and economic movement

Feb 23, 2023
Legalized segregation was an economic system that determined people’s livelihoods, says history professor Robin D.G. Kelley.
Protestors hold signs reading "Union Justice Now!" and "Honor King: End Racism!" in Memphis, Tennessee, in April 1968, days after the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

“It wasn’t what we wanted, but its what we expected”

Feb 22, 2023
A flower company CEO reflects on a shifting economic landscape.
Christina Stembel, CEO of Farmgirl Flower, an online flower delivery company.
Photo by Anna-Alexia Basille