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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)

What does equitable infrastructure look like in communities of color?

Jul 20, 2021
"Marketplace" host Kai Ryssdal speaks with Christopher Tyson about the history behind urban renewal projects and the role of the public sector in rebuilding America’s infrastructure.
An aerial view overlooking the financial district of downtown Baton Rouge is shown. Christopher Tyson, president and CEO of Build Baton Rouge, is advocating for public investment in infrastructure to promote equity.
graphiknation

How TikTok is becoming a powerful consumer marketing tool

Jul 16, 2021
The app can cause certain products to blow up overnight, Vox's internet culture reporter Rebecca Jennings says.
Photo by Nelson Almeida/AFP via Getty Images

Lagging care economy "makes us uncompetitive," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says

Jul 15, 2021
Raimondo discusses the infrastructure packages moving through Congress and the semiconductor chip shortage.
"If we're able to land the plane on these packages, it'll be a great day in America," says Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo about the Biden administration's infrastructure plan.
Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Fortune/Time Inc.

On the intersection of shipping containers, food halls and economic development

Jul 14, 2021
Barney Santos, founder of BLVD MRKT in Montebello, California, hopes to help revitalize the local economy with a food hall made out of repurposed shipping containers.
Barney Santos, founder of BVLD MRKT food hall in Montebello, California, wants to help revitalize the local economy.
Daisy Palacios/Marketplace

To understand the Fed’s bond-buying dilemma, picture a lake

Jul 13, 2021
A Columbia Business School professor explains quantitative easing and the Feds' $120 billion per month bond-buying program with an analogy.
If water on a lake is too low, boats can't go from one side to the other smoothly. "The Fed is basically adding some water in that lake to keep the liquidity — or to keep the water — from completely drying out,” says Yiming Ma of Columbia Business School.
Ethan Miller via Getty Images

Why this South Carolina county is seeing an investment boom

Jul 12, 2021
Spartanburg County is receiving more investment this year than in the last four years, much of it in manufacturing.
About 36% of Spartanburg County jobs are auto-related, said David Britt, chair of the county's economic development committee. The local economy is enjoying what he calls "Earth-shattering numbers."
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Hog farmers brace for "tumultuous" time amid rebounding pork demand

“It's a pretty tumultuous time,” said Brian Duncan, vice president of the Illinois Farm Bureau. “We're trying to hang on to some profits.”
U.S. hog farmers said they’re competing with a recovering Chinese hog industry while also handling regional droughts affecting feed production and meatpacking plant slowdowns.
Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images

How some workers changed their careers during the pandemic

Jun 30, 2021
We talked to three people about how their career paths were altered during the pandemic and where they think they'll be a year from now.
As the COVID-19 pandemic begins to wane in the U.S., workers are reevaluating their job options.
Joe Raedle via Getty Images

What the “beer game” can teach about supply chain challenges

Jun 29, 2021
From semiconductors to chicken wings, global supply chains are experiencing whiplash. A Harvard professor explains how to avoid that.
Kegs stacked outside distribution for a brewery in Reydon, England. A supply chain management exercise known as the “beer game” can help illustrate the forces creating shortages across the economy.
Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images

One New York City wine bar's reopening bet

Jun 24, 2021
Brian Keyser, owner and general manager of Casellula in NYC, is holding out hope that Congress will add money to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
Marco Bertorello/Getty Images