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Kai Ryssdal

Host and senior editor

SHORT BIO

I speak my native tongue into a microphone.

What was your first job?

Lifeguard. (Well, that and mowing lawns.)

What do you think is the hardest part of your job that no one knows?

Staying calm.

What advice do you wish someone had given you before you started this career?

Don't think — just talk.

In your next life, what would your career be?

Helicopter pilot.

Episodes Hosted by Kai (4,793)

Make Me Smart with Kai and Molly | Episode 452

And just like that, we have a big tech antitrust bill

Jun 11, 2021
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Marketplace

How consumer behavior is affecting the economic recovery

Jun 11, 2021
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Make Me Smart with Kai and Molly | Episode 451

Remember MoviePass? The FTC does

Jun 10, 2021
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Marketplace

Why people are worried about inflation

Jun 10, 2021
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Make Me Smart with Kai and Molly | Episode 450

Should you be worried about ransomware?

Jun 9, 2021
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Marketplace

About those wine and cheese tariffs

Jun 9, 2021
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Make Me Smart with Kai and Molly | Episode 449

Ransomware attacks are "death by a 1,000 cuts"

Jun 8, 2021
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Marketplace

The racial gap in appraisals devalues homes owned by people of color

Jun 8, 2021
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Make Me Smart with Kai and Molly | Episode 448

Jeff Bezos is going to space

Jun 7, 2021
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Marketplace

What will it actually take to achieve global tax reform?

Jun 7, 2021
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Latest Stories (5,322)

Small sawmill sees growth amid surging demand for lumber

by Kai Ryssdal and Minju Park
Jun 10, 2021
Katrina Amaral of Timberdoodle has seen more interest in custom orders. And the spike in lumber prices has improved her pricing power.
"In the sawmill world, we're probably more like a small organic farm that does wholesale to restaurants," says Katrina Amaral, co-owner of Timberdoodle Farm in New Hampshire.
Courtesy Katrina Amaral
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Race and Economy

After years of setbacks, socially disadvantaged farmers get debt relief

by Richard Cunningham and Kai Ryssdal
Jun 10, 2021
Dewayne Goldmon of the Agriculture Department sees the aid as narrowing the economic gap between farmers of color and white farmers.
The Trump administration's farm bailout failed to provide a significant share of aid to Black growers, reports show. The Agriculture Department, adviser Dewayne Goldmon says, "should be more equitable."
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
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Will food trucks return to urban offices?

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
Jun 8, 2021
A lot of food trucks found new opportunities in the suburbs during the pandemic, says Matt Geller of the National Food Truck Association.
“The office space that had been the bread and butter for the food truck industry hasn't come back yet,” says Matt Geller, president of the National Food Truck Association.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

Mohamed El-Erian on inflation and the recovery

by Kai Ryssdal and Andie Corban
Jun 7, 2021
The renowned investor and policy adviser is skeptical of the Federal Reserve's insistence that the inflation we're seeing is "transitory."
Mohamed El-Erian in 2016. "I'm more and more worried because of what I'm seeing on the ground," says the famed investor, author and policy adviser.
Rob Kim/Getty Images
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Why used cars are getting so expensive

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
Jun 4, 2021
Mark Kugman of Kugman Motors in St. Louis has two answers — one simple and one more complicated.
A used car for sale in El Cerrito, California on March 15, 2021.
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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Despite tariffs and rising costs, the steel industry might also have pricing power

by Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry
Jun 3, 2021
After a difficult 2020, VP of RM Metals in New Jersey Sam Desai talks about the outlook for his company and for the steel sector writ large.
A steel manufacturer in Harvey, IL.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
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From semiconductors to containers, “every day, it’s a different problem” on the supply chain

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
Jun 2, 2021
A conversation with the CEO of an importer caught in the crosshairs of global business disruption.
A cargo ship is loaded at a Chinese port. India Hynes, CEO of Vinotemp, said getting product onto vessels in China is among the biggest problems facing her company.
STR/AFP via Getty Images
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How can trucking companies get more drivers on the road?

by Kai Ryssdal and Minju Park
Jun 1, 2021
“COVID has shown Americans the importance of the trucking profession,” said Darrel Harris, president of Yellow Corp.
Photo courtesy Heather Nauert
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Inside a “ghost kitchen” with Kitchen United

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
May 27, 2021
Delivery-only restaurants are on the rise. Here's what a virtual food hall looks like.
A customer picks up a takeout order at Kitchen United’s pickup center in Pasadena, California where multiple restaurants share one storefront and fill takeout and delivery orders only.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace
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Why corporate America is making room in the C-suite for CSOs

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
May 26, 2021
According to a new report, the field of chief sustainability officers has grown by 228% over the past decade. And the role is evolving.
According to a new report, 31 publicly traded companies in the U.S. hired their first chief sustainability officer in 2020.
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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