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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 (5,839)

After 40 years at Montana mall, manager prepares to say goodbye

Dec 5, 2024
The Butte Plaza Mall is in its last holiday shopping season before new owners take over. "It's time to change," says manager Alana Ferko.
On Black Friday, "everybody hit their numbers," said Butte Plaza Mall manager Alana Ferko. New owners plan to make substantial changes at the property.
Kena Betancur/Getty Images

This customs broker is prepping for another round of Trump tariffs

Dec 2, 2024
"We don't have any inside information," says customs broker Gretchen Blough. "So we're just kind of holding hands with our customers."
"We've been getting a lot of phone calls and emails asking if we have any kind of information as to what the tariffs will be on on commodities," says Gretchen Blough of Logistics Plus in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images

The key to running Save the Children: supply chain management

Nov 21, 2024
Janti Soeripto, CEO of Save the Children U.S., discusses the challenges of moving goods and making high-stakes decisions in response to crisis.
"Getting stuff from A to B on time, in full, with good quality, at optimal cost is exactly what is required in this sector," says Janti Soeripto, CEO of Save the Children U.S.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

This renewable energy CEO expects growth in Trump’s 2nd term

Nov 19, 2024
“I am feeling ready to be surprised,” said Gene Gebolys of World Energy, an alternative fuels provider.
At Gene Gebolys' company World Energy, yellowish beef tallow is used to make sustainable aviation fuel.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace

Despite looming tariffs and "the worst harvest I've ever had," Iowa farmer remains optimistic

Nov 8, 2024
Corn and soybean farmer April Hemmes is preparing for new tariffs from a second Trump administration.
April Hemmes says farmers like her are "running scared" because over half of their soybeans are exported to China.
Ben Hethcoat/Marketplace

Energy barge businessman expects fewer mandates, fewer headwinds under new administration

Nov 7, 2024
Austin Golding says the oil and gas industry should meet climate goals via competition and evolution rather than constraints on production and transport.
"We're looking for a world that is competitive and not mandated," says Austin Golding at Golding Barge Line in Mississippi.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Trump inherits a sturdy economy

Nov 6, 2024
Higher tariffs and lower taxes are key to Trump's plan. The WSJ's Greg Ip weighs their potential effect on the economy Biden and the Fed built.
Greg Ip of The Wall Street Journal emphasizes that we can't predict what the economy will look like under a second Trump administration.
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Surveying the beaches where Navy Seals train

As climate change erodes beaches, how will that impact coastal military bases?
Kai Ryssdal, right, speaks with Jason Golumbfskie-Jones of the U.S. Navy at the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, where Navy Seals train.
Sophia Paliza-Carre/Marketplace

How could the return of Trump-era "Schedule F" job appointments reshape the federal workforce?

Oct 31, 2024
Schedule F would expand the role of political appointees in the government. So what would that mean for federal economic data?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Building in Washington, D.C.
Bill Clark/Getty Images)

"The Diplomat" creator wants to demystify the work of diplomacy

Oct 29, 2024
"Somebody recently put it as not realistic, but authentic," said Debora Cahn, creator of "The Diplomat." "And I think that's the right way to describe the goal."
Debora Cahn, speaking in New York in October, 2024.
Bonnie Biess/Getty Images for Netflix