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 (5,827)

“Low Earth orbit is now open for business”

Nov 29, 2023
This is how Varda Space Industries hopes to commercialize manufacturing in space.
Will Bruey, CEO and co-founder of Varda Space Industries and Wendy Shimata, VP of Autonomous Systems observe Varda’s spacecraft as it orbits Earth.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace

"Has there ever been a bigger gap" between economic mood and actual numbers? Chicago Fed president asks

Nov 28, 2023
Chicago Fed's Austan Goolsbee on the consumer sentiment disconnect, and what happens if interest rates stay high for too long.
Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images

In the fight against food fraud, producers are getting high-tech

Nov 22, 2023
Between edible microchips, invisible ink and more, the food supply chain is becoming more transparent than ever.
High end foods such as caviar, regional cheese and wines are trying new methods to thwart dupes.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

There's big business behind those annoying CAPTCHA puzzles

Nov 22, 2023
As AI becomes more sophisticated, the industry is growing to match it, says journalist Justin Pot, who wrote about CAPTCHA for The Atlantic.
milindri/Getty Images

Are we still living in Milton Friedman’s economy?

Nov 15, 2023
A conversation about the life and legacy of economist Milton Friedman with historian Jennifer Burns.
Milton Friedman, one of the most famous economists of the 20th century, died in 2006. But his ideas remain a presence in economics today.
STAFF/AFP via Getty Images

Content creator economy is everywhere, but labor data and protections are sparse

Nov 9, 2023
The government has virtually no data on this mostly unregulated, $250 billion global industry, says Drew Harwell of The Washington Post.
"This is a market of millions of people around the world who work as creators or influencers," said Drew Harwell at The Washington Post.
Phillippe Lopez/AFP via Getty Images

Why isn't there an Amazon for real estate?

Nov 8, 2023
Despite the world going digital, homebuying is still a highly analog process. James Rodriquez of Insider discusses the quest for a superapp.
While the initial house hunt can be done online, arranging inspections, figuring out escrow and other tasks tend to be done in person, on the phone and on paper.
Shaun Curry/AFP via Getty Images

His EV trip through the Southeast required a charging station map — and privilege

Adam Mahoney, a reporter for Capital B News, explains how driving an electric vehicle put him in a precarious situation as a Black man.
"I wasn’t necessarily as versed in just the long-distance aspect of EV travel with public charging," says Adam Mahoney, a reporter with Capital B News. "So it ended up taking that initial trip from being a five-hour drive to almost 12 hours."
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

With rising elder care costs, the Great Wealth Transfer won't be so great

Older generations are spending down their nest eggs and leaving smaller inheritances to adult children, writer Annie Logue explains.
Many Americans, especially baby boomers, will have to spend much of their savings on health care as they age.
Getty Images

Small phones are hard to find

Nov 2, 2023
Makers seem to favor devices with much larger displays. Sean Hollister at The Verge recounts his search for a good small phone.
Customers are being directed toward phones with larger displays, like Apple's latest release, the iPhone 15 Pro.
James D. Morgan/Getty Images