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)
A 60-year-old program for workers hurt by globalization comes to a close
by
Kai Ryssdal
and Sarah Leeson
Aug 3, 2022
The Trade Adjustment Assistance program aids workers laid off due to trade competition. It stopped taking applications in July.
Here's how HP recycles its ink cartridges — and works on climate pledges
by
Kai Ryssdal
and Andie Corban
Aug 2, 2022
We visit an 80,000-square-foot facility in La Vergne, Tennessee, where the cartridges are taken apart and readied for their next life.
Hollywood can't keep up with TV screen tech
by
Kai Ryssdal
and Sarah Leeson
Aug 1, 2022
As the TV in your living room gets better, the special effects in big-budget Hollywood films are starting to look worse. Lane Brown of New York magazine discusses.
Despite travel rebound, inflation and staffing continue to limit this Hawaiian tourism business
by
Kai Ryssdal
and Andie Corban
Aug 1, 2022
Manu Powers, who co-owns boat and snorkel tour company Sea Quest Hawaii, said their gas bill recently hit five figures for the first time.
Eviction filings hit pre-pandemic levels a year after the end of the moratorium
by
Kai Ryssdal
and Richard Cunningham
Jul 29, 2022
"The long-term goal has to just be structurally changing this untenable housing system that we have," said Carl Gershenson, the project director at Princeton University’s Eviction Lab.
When we expect big things from tech, the economy does better, according to new research
by
Kai Ryssdal
and Sarah Leeson
Jul 28, 2022
There's a link between anticipating future technology and spending decisions in the present, says macroeconomics professor Cristoph Görtz.
For farmers, it's not just today's inflation that matters. It's next year's too.
by
Kai Ryssdal
and Sean McHenry
Jul 27, 2022
"We're wondering what this next crop year brings," said Brian Duncan. "But farmers are price takers, and that puts us in a really tough spot."
Hearst celebrates 135 years and new business ventures
by
Kai Ryssdal
and Anais Amin
Jul 26, 2022
CEO Steven Swartz highlights the media giant’s important, if little-known, stakes in automotive information and B2B operations.
There's a new spate of working-class sitcoms, and they're not sold on the American dream
by
Kai Ryssdal
and Sean McHenry
Jul 25, 2022
"They're sort of poking fun at the idea of upward mobility, of the American dream being something that's attainable," said Vulture's Roxana Hadadi.
Strong dollar is squeezing profits from this Washington farmer's exports
by
Kai Ryssdal
and Anais Amin
Jul 21, 2022
Patrick Smith, CEO of Loftus Ranches, is fighting inflation as well. Some fertilizer materials have nearly doubled in a year or two, he says.