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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.

Episodes by Kai (5,988)

Make Me Smart | Episode 1189

Are we living in a K-shaped economy?

Jun 25, 2024
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Marketplace

Why so miserable?

Jun 25, 2024
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Marketplace

Breaking Ground: Red Lake Nation's solar-powered future

Jun 24, 2024
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Make Me Smart | Episode 1188

The conservative push to weed out anti-Trump federal workers

Jun 24, 2024
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Make Me Smart | Episode 1187

The IRS battles a fraud-plagued tax credit

Jun 21, 2024
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Marketplace

Last resort

Jun 21, 2024
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Make Me Smart | Episode 1186

Turbulent times at Boeing

Jun 20, 2024
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Marketplace

Bill Gates goes nuclear, turning a small coal town upside down

Jun 20, 2024
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Make Me Smart | Episode 1185

From "What Happened in Alabama?": The history of Black land loss

Jun 19, 2024
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Make Me Smart | Episode 1184

The economics of building a life around friends

Jun 18, 2024
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Latest Stories (5,798)

For this London honey seller, the buzz is about British bees

by Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry
Jun 25, 2024
Business is strong for Samantha Wallace. But she's dealing with complicated import rules and seeking the right varieties of domestic honey.
A bee collects nectar from lavender in Knutsford, England. "Our passion is honey," says Samantha Wallace, who values "the diversity of flavor."
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
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Breaking Ground

How the Inflation Reduction Act could change the future of one Native American reservation

by Kai Ryssdal and Andie Corban
Jun 24, 2024
Bob Blake, member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa and owner of a solar development company, explains how the IRA could lead to more solar power on the reservation.
Bob Blake and Ralph Jacobson are developing solar energy at the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Northern Minnesota.
Andie Corban/Marketplace
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Librarians aim for better e-book accessibility

by Kai Ryssdal and Aleezeh Hasan
Jun 20, 2024
While e-book rentals may be free for library patrons, public libraries are still on the hook for expensive digital licensing fees.
"Because the copies that we circulate have digital rights management on them, we don't feel that we are violating anything having to do with copyright," says Sarah McCusker, head of the Connecticut Library Association.
Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images
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How the war in Ukraine created a new kingdom of king crab

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
Jun 18, 2024
Demand for alternatives to Russian exports, including seafood, has given this Norwegian fishing village a big economic boost.
King crabs caught in the waters off Bugøynes, Norway, in 2002. More recently, sanctions on Russian seafood products have boosted demand for the village's catch.
Jan-Morten Bjornbakk/AFP via Getty Images
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What's all the buzz about decaf coffee?

by Kai Ryssdal and Sarah Leeson
Jun 7, 2024
With advances in the decaffeination process and the use of better beans, coffee lovers are giving decaf another shot.
A coffee maker from Houston won the U.S. Brewers Cup, "but he won it with decaf, which is kind of like winning the Tour de France on a unicycle," says reporter Matt Kronsberg.
Tim Boyle/Getty Images
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Coworking spaces are trying to put a new lease on the WeWork business model

by Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry
Jun 5, 2024
A former church. A motorcycle repair garage. Some coworking space companies are eschewing the WeWork business model and are opting for a more local approach.
Forming positive connections with coworkers is important, but can be much harder to do in the era of remote work.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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E-cargo bikes could be coming to a bike lane near you

by Kai Ryssdal and Sofia Terenzio
Jun 4, 2024
Will these smaller, lower-emissions vehicles compete with trucks in making last-mile deliveries in urban areas?
E-cargo bikes are electric "micromobility" vehicles that can deliver goods to homes.
John Keeble/Getty Images
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From school cafeterias to professional athletes, Uncrustables sandwiches are everywhere

by Kai Ryssdal , Aleezeh Hasan and Sarah Leeson
Jun 3, 2024
The iconic Uncrustables sandwich is about to become a billion-dollar business after garnering attention from a range of new audiences.
Smucker's purchased the Uncrustables brand from two dads in the Midwest in 1998.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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What’s that smell? A teenage boy wearing luxury cologne.

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
May 31, 2024
Inspired by social media influencers, adolescents are splurging on high-end fragrances, journalist Callie Holtermann reports.
Adolescent boys are building collections of high-end fragrances, Callie Holtermann of The New York Times reports. Some parents say it keeps them away from doing riskier things.
Getty Images
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Breaking Ground

The Golden Triangle: How the CHIPS Act is changing one Arizona neighborhood

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
May 29, 2024
The investment and growth spurred by government dollars are heightening competition among residents, business owners and local officials.
In the Phoenix area, development accelerated by CHIPS Act investment may disrupt rural lifestyles and transform parts of the desert. Above, developer Charles Eckert.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace
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