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 (5,831)

Stagflation fears unfounded?

Jun 21, 2006
Want to know what's been spooking the market lately? Two very similar words: inflation and stagflation. Host Kai Ryssdal talks with economist David Wyss about the terms.

Workers kidnapped in Iraq

Jun 21, 2006
Today 85 workers in Iraq were reportedly kidnapped as they left their jobs at an industrial plant north of Baghdad. Are workers being targeted now? We ask Borzou Daragahi of the Los Angeles Times.

Karmazin is Sirius about satellite radio; Part 2

Jun 19, 2006
Host Kai Ryssdal talks with Sirius Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin about the future of the broadcast media in our latest 'Conversation from the Corner Office.'

Karmazin is Sirius about satellite radio

Jun 19, 2006
After running CBS and Viacom, Mel Karmazin now heads up Sirius Satellite Radio. He tells Kai Ryssdal that he expects radio via satellite to one day be as common as cable TV. Another in our "Conversations From the Corner Office" series.

Money Matters: A tale of jobs

Jun 16, 2006
You want to work. But you don't really want to work. Author Stanley Bing takes Kai inside the world of jobs that pay a lot but ask very little.

Net neutrality

Jun 16, 2006
Companies, take your corners. Phone and cable businesses on one side. Internet firms on the other. And consumers are in the middle of a fight over how the internet should be run. Kai speaks to CNET's Declan McCullagh.

Our long legacy of slackers

Jun 14, 2006
Tom Lutz talks to host Kai Ryssdal about his new book on the history of slackers in America. You know, like Benjamin Franklin.

Options backdating probe grows

Jun 12, 2006
Monster joins a growing list of US companies whose stock option grants to senior executives are being investigated by the SEC. Host Kai Ryssdal talks to Marketplace's Bob Moon about what's at issue.

The IPO that went south

Jun 9, 2006
Internet phone provider Vonage's initial public offering hasn't done so well. How bad is it? So bad that customers who bought the stock are suing. Kai speaks with James Granelli of the Los Angeles Times.

The skinny on Motorola's success

Jun 8, 2006
Motorola was down on its luck until the Razr cell phone helped turn things around. Host Kai Ryssdal speaks to Fortune magazine writer Adam Lashinsky about how Moto found its mojo — and what's next.