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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 (6,123)

Marketplace

What happens if Trump brings back Schedule F?

Oct 31, 2024
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Make Me Smart | Episode 1275

Some not-so-scary news for the Fed

Oct 31, 2024
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Marketplace

The consumer spending sweet spot

Oct 30, 2024
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Make Me Smart | Episode 1274

Is Big Tech’s investment in AI paying off?

Oct 30, 2024
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Make Me Smart | Episode 1273

Live from Boston, Part 2: Heather Cox Richardson

Oct 29, 2024
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Marketplace

Why American solar manufacturers are divided on tariffs

Oct 29, 2024
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Marketplace

Why Fed independence is crucial

Oct 28, 2024
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Make Me Smart | Episode 1272

Keeping calm in the eye of the election storm

Oct 28, 2024
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Make Me Smart | Episode 1271

Make Me Smart: Live in Boston

Oct 25, 2024
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Marketplace

What's better, a pension or a 401(k)?

Oct 24, 2024
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Latest Stories (5,831)

How could the return of Trump-era "Schedule F" job appointments reshape the federal workforce?

by Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry
Oct 31, 2024
Schedule F would expand the role of political appointees in the government. So what would that mean for federal economic data?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Building in Washington, D.C.
Bill Clark/Getty Images)
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"The Diplomat" creator wants to demystify the work of diplomacy

by Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry
Oct 29, 2024
"Somebody recently put it as not realistic, but authentic," said Debora Cahn, creator of "The Diplomat." "And I think that's the right way to describe the goal."
Debora Cahn, speaking in New York in October, 2024.
Bonnie Biess/Getty Images for Netflix
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In a 2nd Trump term, Fed independence would go “out the window,” economist says

by Kai Ryssdal and Andie Corban
Oct 28, 2024
Kai Ryssdal explores what would happen to the global economy if the Federal Reserve lost its autonomy.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell says the process for making interest rate decisions “is always the same.” At meetings, FOMC members ask, “What's the right thing to do for the people we serve?' … It's never about anything else."
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
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Private equity is buying up businesses in the skilled trades

by Kai Ryssdal , Sean McHenry and Sofia Terenzio
Oct 24, 2024
Skilled trades businesses, like HVAC repair and plumbing companies, are seen as stable, future-proof business models. Private equity wants in.
Private equity firms will buy a few skilled-trade businesses, then combine them to make one much larger company. "The idea is you improve the margins and efficiencies," said Te-Ping Chen from the Wall Street Journal.
Craig Hudson/The Washington Post via Getty Images
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Poker bots have invaded online gambling

by Kai Ryssdal , Aleezeh Hasan and Sean McHenry
Oct 14, 2024
These robots are basically unbeatable, and they suck the fun — and the money — out of playing, says Kit Chellel of Bloomberg.
If you've ever played online poker, you've probably played against a bot and not known it, says Bloomberg's Kit Chellel.
Bruno Vincent/Getty Images
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Chicago Fed president explains “the hardest thing that a central bank has to do”

by Kai Ryssdal and Sarah Leeson
Oct 10, 2024
Austan Goolsbee talks about the Fed's timing in moments of transition, if COVID is still affecting the economy, and why he's a "data dog."
"I'm in the data dogs. And the thing about the data dogs [is that they] don't respond to one month," says Austan Goolsbee about the importance of taking the long view before making decisions.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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Musician Dessa on balancing the needs of body, art and business

by Kai Ryssdal and Sarah Leeson
Oct 8, 2024
The singer, songwriter and author discusses creativity and the "double bottom line" that rewards artists but makes them vulnerable.
Dessa in performance. "There is a constant tension that becomes more pronounced the longer you stay in the game," she said. "Like, what’s good for the art versus what’s good for the artist."
Al Pereira/Getty Images
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The CIA runs a nonprofit venture capital firm. What's it investing in?

by Kai Ryssdal and Andie Corban
Oct 7, 2024
Agency's taxpayer-funded investment arm seeks tech that could boost national security. It's made some smart bets, says Jon Keegan of Sherwood.
In 1999, the CIA created a venture capital firm to invest in technologies that could be used in national security programs.
Charles Ommanney/Getty Images
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The U.S. military and Coca-Cola go way back

by Hayley Hershman and Kai Ryssdal
Oct 3, 2024
Archaeologists have uncovered World War II-era human remains and caches of Coca-Cola bottles at a U.S. military base on the Marshall Islands.
Senior archeologist Susan Underbrink shows "Marketplace" host Kai Ryssdal her collection of Coca-Cola bottles uncovered around Kwajalein.
Hayley Hershman/Marketplace
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Breaking Ground

How the relationship between government and economy has changed since "The Great Society"

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
Oct 2, 2024
Decades after the promise of "The Great Society" for Americans, President Biden is once again changing the relationship between the economy and the government.
Many modern government programs have roots to "The Great Society."
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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