About | Cast & Crew

David Brown

A true Renaissance man, Marketplace host David Brown is a motorcycle-loving, history-reading, Southern-born gentleman who believes that Alexis de Tocqueville’s "Democracy in America" should be required reading for all citizens. An enigmatic and multifaceted individual, he would love to have had the opportunity to interview T.E. Lawrence, and believes that journalists have the honor and heavy responsibility of writing the first draft of history. Brown is also one of public radio's most highly respected and broadly experienced hosts and producers. He joined Marketplace in the fall of 2000 as senior producer before being named host in September, 2003.

"I've said to David many times that as senior producer he was the best collaborator I've ever had in understanding and reinforcing what makes Marketplace special," says Marketplace Executive Producer J.J. Yore. "It's great to see him put those same skills to work in his new and even more prominent role as the voice of Marketplace."

The new host of Marketplace likes to question authority and credits his journalistic success to his lifelong role as the consummate student trying to satisfy his own insatiable curiosity. "If I'm a good journalist, it is because I'm a curious student -- and that's what makes public radio so wonderful. There is this community of curious and intelligent people interested in learning about each other and the world, and they all come together here." Marketplace General Manager Jim Russell, who recruited Brown along with Yore, considers Brown to be "a journalist's journalist." "His interests are very broad, and he is -- at heart -- a student, a researcher who cherishes the opportunity that journalism provides him to investigate the subjects that interest him." Russell first discovered Brown when he was a reporter for Monitor Radio, the public radio broadcasts produced by "The Christian Science Monitor" newspaper.

Among Brown's many colorful stories from his years living abroad for "The Christian Science Monitor," his favorite is the time he met Sir Denis Thatcher, aka Mr. Margaret Thatcher, in the streets of London. "I had just been thrown out of the Iranian National Oil Company's headquarters twice, while trying to gain access for an interview. When I walked a few streets away, I noticed a familiar-looking man in a bowler hat coming my way and returning my gaze suspiciously." Brown believed that he was being tailed due to his overzealous attempts to gain access to the oil company execs and decided to turn the tables on his pursuer. "I waited until the man passed me and then began to tail him." He was led on a wild goose chase that concluded at a dead-end. The man in the bowler hat turned around and Brown heard the click of gun safeties being released all around him. It was then that he realized the familiar-looking man was none other than Sir Denis Thatcher, and convincingly talked his way out of the situation by asking Sir Thatcher for an interview, which he politely declined.

Brown has worked extensively in broadcasting over the last 20 years. He anchored the live hour-long daily international news program Monitor Radio for PRI from 1993-1997. Prior to that, he served as Washington bureau chief and chief national correspondent for Monitor Radio and Monitor Television, as Monitor Radio's London correspondent, and as program producer of Monitor Radio's Daily Edition. In 1989, he served as executive producer of CalNet, the California Public Radio News Network.

In 1996, Brown decided to leave Boston's winters and took up residency in Laguna Niguel, Calif., where he continued to anchor Monitor Radio via the miracle of a broadband connection from the closet of his Pacific Ocean apartment. In 1997, Brown left Monitor Radio to pursue a degree in law at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Va., in order to "unveil the spin that is in so many news stories." However, Marketplace called to him even then at a memorable meeting with Russell and Yore, where they tried to talk him out of his decision to become a lawyer and return, instead, to radio. Brown failed to be persuaded, but Russell warned him that he would not give up that easily and continued to pursue Brown through all three years of law school.

When Brown graduated in 2000, Russell and Yore were on his doorstep again, and whether because of his love for radio, or just to be left alone, he finally succumbed to their three-year recruitment campaign and agreed to join Marketplace as its senior producer. "I had heard the very first Marketplace broadcast in 1989," says Brown, "and fell in love with the show's concept. I knew it was going to be a success." The decision to take on the host position in 2003 was an easy one. "Our show is for people who may not know an IPO from a CEO, but who are intelligent and genuinely curious about how the world looks through a different lens. It's often irreverent and conversational in tone, but we cover serious subjects while working very hard to tickle the intellectual funny bone. It's a wonderful challenge for a journalist: to inform and delight at the same time."

During Brown's tour of duty as senior producer of Marketplace, the program won numerous awards, including the prestigious Peabody Award for overall excellence in broadcast journalism. Even with a sinking economy and interest in business news appearing to be eclipsed by international politics, Marketplace's audience doubled. Marketplace's programs now reach more than 7 million listeners weekly: more than any other business news broadcast in America.

In addition to his law degree, Brown also has a master's degree in Classics/Great Books from St. John's College, Annapolis, Md., and a bachelor's degree in journalism from Georgia State University, Atlanta. He has won awards for his extensive journalistic endeavors, including Gold and Silver Medals from the International Radio Festival, and is also a member of the California Bar.

A native of Georgia, Brown grew up in the once-rural farm town of Fayetteville (now part of the sprawl known as "Metro Atlanta"). A self-described "motorhead" who once rebuilt and customized Harley-Davidsons for kicks, he spends most of his time in Los Angeles riding his Triumph Motorcycles or shuttling to Vegas in his big, black American sedan.

Q&A with David Brown

Marketplace: What's your favorite word?
David Brown: "Onomatopoeia." Because it's fun to say.
MP: What's your least favorite word?
DB: "No." Because it gets in the way.
MP: What turns you on?
DB: People who are quietly brilliant and surprise you with the things they say.
MP: What turns you off?
DB: People who take personal offense while arguing ideas.
MP: What sound or noise do you love?
DB: A 3-cylinder engine at 6,000 RPM. It makes a howl that's truly haunting. Also, the sound of KK Downing's guitar, "turned up to 11." Sinatra & Jobim.
MP: What sound or noise do you hate?
DB: Christopher Cross.
MP: What is your favorite curse word?
DB: If forced to pick a favorite, it would be that "four-letter" one...
MP: What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?
DB: Rock star, full-time college student, appellate lawyer -- deep down, I think I'm just a frustrated DJ.
MP: What profession would you not like to attempt?
DB: I'd like to avoid being a telemarketer, collection agent or a mortician, thanks.
MP: If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
DB: "First of all, David, heaven does, indeed, exist -- and secondly, you're in!"