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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)

An economic "hope story" in Buffalo, New York

Over the past few years, pay for low-wage workers in the city has risen more than 40%, according to one analysis.
In Buffalo, there is "the sense that low-wage workers are doing better than inflation," says Nela Richardson of ADP, walking down Elmwood Avenue with "Marketplace" host Kai Ryssdal.
Brandon Watson

Salem's complicated journey from witch trials to witch tourism

Oct 27, 2022
In the 1690s, women were hanged in Salem, Massachusetts on suspicion of witchcraft. Now, it's a witchy Mecca for tourists.
Hundreds of thousands of people descend on Salem during the Halloween season.
Sarah Leeson

Low water levels in the Mississippi River are disrupting the supply chain

Oct 24, 2022
Austin Golding says his family's barge business was able to plan ahead, but it's still costing the company money and productivity.
A tug pushes a barge down the Mississippi River through St. Paul, Minnesota.
Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images

E-bikes are soaring in popularity, but some still have reservations 

Oct 14, 2022
"I find myself looking at the other bikers going slowly and going ‘just get out of my way,’" says Ian Bogost, contributing writer at The Atlantic.

How female leadership can uplift companies — and why it's so undervalued

Oct 13, 2022
Female-led companies tend to outperform those led by men, yet women are a small minority among CEOs and startup founders.
Female-led companies tend to outperform those led by men, but women are underrepresented in upper management.
John Phillips/Getty Images for IPG

The mortgage business right now is even slower than 2008

Oct 12, 2022
Los Angeles mortgage broker Vivian Gueler says high rates, high home prices and a weak stock market are stopping people from buying homes.
High mortgage rates, among other factors, have chilled the recently hot real estate market.
Federic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

Looking to go viral? Try LinkedIn.

Oct 7, 2022
LinkedIn has shifted from a buttoned-up career-driven site to content creation and, sometimes, oversharing. Lora Kelley of The New York Times explains the changes.
LinkedIn is no longer a buttoned-up resume showcase as feeds fill up with crying selfies and tales of burnout. "People are posting about ... personal challenges," says Lora Kelley of The New York Times.
Edward Smith/Getty Images

As the Fed cranks up interest rates, critics ring warning bells

Some economists and policy advisers fear that the Federal Reserve's rapid hikes could tip the global economy into a painful recession.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks on Sept. 21, after the central bank decided to raise rates by 75 basis points for the third consecutive time.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Are computers ruining chess?

Oct 5, 2022
A controversy involving one of the game's rising stars has sparked debate about creativity.
Magnus Carlsen during a chess tournament in 2021. Carlsen recently accused another grandmaster, Hans Niemann, of cheating.
Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

Raising the curtain on "productivity theater"

Oct 4, 2022
Employees don't want be labeled "quiet quitters," so they're working to appear busy. Rani Molla of Vox explains the practice.
Nearly 90% of managers don't trust that their hybrid employees are productive, according to a Microsoft survey.
Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images