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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)

New index gets a "more real-time view" of rent inflation

Jan 26, 2023
Housing is one of the biggest parts of inflation, but current metrics lag by about a year. The new tenant repeat rent index aims to change that.
A new index measures rent inflation by tracking new leases.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Liquid Death is an “entertainment machine” with a water brand attached

Jan 25, 2023
“We think about our marketing team more like 'Saturday Night Live,'” says Mike Cessario, the beverage startup’s co-founder and CEO.
“Anybody can put water in a can,” said Mike Cessario, CEO of beverage startup Liquid Death. “But that's not why we're successful.” Above, Cessario at Liquid Death’s headquarters.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace

What does the future of the streaming economy look like?

Jan 24, 2023
"This battle that the big streamers are undertaking ... it could turn into a bloody battle, and there could be victims of it," said NYU professor Luis Cabral.
"If you look at Netflix, I mean, they spent billions of dollars, they've created a lot of good content. But it's an iffy proposition. What if it doesn't pan out?" said NYU professor Luis Cabral.
Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images

This grad course teaches MBA students how to handle conflict at work

Jan 23, 2023
Role-playing is key in training to fix interpersonal problems on the job. "It's not about being right or wrong, it's being effective," a facilitator says.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Esports have exploded, but the profits haven't followed

Jan 19, 2023
Over the past decade, esports have grown to a point where events sell out NBA stadiums. But as popularity has boomed, esports leagues still face major business barriers.
The League of Legends World Championship at San Francisco's Chase Center in November 2022.
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

How a Buffalo business weathered a record-breaking storm

Jan 19, 2023
Inventory loss “could have been a lot worse,” said Johanna Dominguez of Put a Plant on It. But merchants suffered as shoppers stayed home.
Vehicles sit buried in snow and abandoned in downtown Buffalo, New York, the day after Christmas. The storm's cost surpassed $1 billion.
Joed Viera/AFP via Getty Images

The origin of the U.S. debt ceiling

Jan 19, 2023
The U.S. government hit its debt ceiling Thursday and must raise the debt limit to avoid defaulting. How did we get here?
With the debt ceiling reached, the U.S. Treasury initiated "extraordinary measures" to avert a government default.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

What if we told you inflation was back to its target rate?

Jan 17, 2023
When we focus on recent months rather than year-on-year increases, inflation numbers look pretty good, says economist Alan Blinder.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell, above, isn't ready to declare victory over inflation yet, says economist Alan Blinder.
Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images

How people are making six figures a year through Instagram Reels

Jan 13, 2023
Many of the videos show creators reacting to a filter that generates a random answer to questions like "What Disney princess are you?"
"Instagram really wanted people to create material from the features that already existed on the site," says Jacob Sweet, who writes for The New Yorker.
Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images

These NY farmers are building a space to teach Black people about farming

Jan 12, 2023
Ashanti Williams and Arian Rivera of the Black Yard Farm Collective talk about moving their farm to a new location and working with kids.
"It's a just kind of getting reacquainted with — or getting acquainted with — new land and building infrastructure," Ashanti Williams says of relocating the Black Yard Farm Collective.
StockSeller_ukr/Getty Images