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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)

Black farmers face a slew of systemic challenges

Jan 12, 2021
Unfair pricing and land loss are just a few reasons the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund formed decades ago.
"We've had co-ops in Mississippi that knew they got less for their collard greens then their neighbor did," Cornelius Blanding says. "So they had to form a cooperative so that they can ship their products to Chicago to get a better price. That's been a reality for Black farmers for centuries."
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Due to "stigma," companies are pulling money from Trump and the GOP

Jan 11, 2021
From JPMorgan Chase to Marriott, companies have paused political donations to Republicans (mostly) in response to last week's riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Jamie Squire/Getty Images

A view of the vaccine rollout from rural America

Jan 8, 2021
Dr. Scott Anzalone, a family physician and president of the school board in Logan, Ohio, talks about pandemic challenges.
"It's tough to find someone who's willing to come into a rural community," Dr. Scott Anzalone says of finding a partner for his practice, above.
Cassidy Brauner

While an insurrection shook Capitol Hill, the markets were ... fine

Jan 7, 2021
In the wake of chaos and violence in Washington, the markets soared. Here's where the disconnect comes from.
A small sign of the damage inside the U.S. Capitol. The mob assault Wednesday did not seem to disturb investors.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

What the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol means for economic recovery

Jan 6, 2021
"The highest priority that Congress has is restoring stability and creating certainty," said Wendy Edelberg of Brookings.
Supporters of President Donald Trump protest after breaking into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

The business world hasn't quite grappled with protesters storming the U.S. Capitol

Jan 6, 2021
Sudeep Reddy, managing editor at Politico, joined Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal to discuss the events in Washington and how business leaders are reacting.
Tear gas is deployed against pro-Trump protesters attempting to enter the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. The disruption of government unnerved some business leaders, who value stability.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Bigger relief deal in a Democrat-led Senate is a "safe bet"

Jan 6, 2021
Two economists weigh in on what a Democrat-led Senate might mean for a stimulus package.
Democratic Sen.-elect Raphael Warnock, former Georgia legislator Stacey Abrams and Democratic Sen.-elect Jon Ossoff listen to President-elect Joe Biden speak during a campaign rally in Atlanta.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

How insuring ecosystems could help communities adapt to climate change

Dec 22, 2020
“We were trying to insure something that no one owns,” says Kathy Baughman McLeod, director of the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center.
Romeo Gacad/AFP via Getty Images

This lender wants young people to see the opportunity on the Pine Ridge Reservation

Dec 21, 2020
On the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, the woman running the sole business loan lender has a message: There's opportunity on the reservation.
A 2001 photo of the Wounded Knee cemetary and memorial, located in Badlands National Park on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Francis Temman/AFP via Getty

Dallas Fed president on the mood in the Fed’s Zoom room

Dec 18, 2020
“This downturn has not felt like a normal downturn for the whole economy because of fiscal relief,” says Robert Kaplan.
 Robert Kaplan, president and CEO of the Dallas Federal Reserve.
Courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas