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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 (5,194)

Make Me Smart | Episode 700

"Everything is on the table"

Jun 24, 2022
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Marketplace

Reproductive rights and the economic divide

Jun 24, 2022
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Make Me Smart | Episode 699

A vibe check on the economy

Jun 23, 2022
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Marketplace

Who's hurt the most by a cooling job market?

Jun 23, 2022
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Make Me Smart | Episode 698

Are recessions normal?

Jun 22, 2022
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Marketplace

Is the pandemic over? Plenty of companies seem to think so.

Jun 22, 2022
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Marketplace

What are the odds of a recession?

Jun 21, 2022
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Make Me Smart | Episode 697

Inflation: Nobody really knows what the what

Jun 21, 2022
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Marketplace

The Putin-price-pump-pain thing is bolstering the case for remote work

Jun 17, 2022
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Make Me Smart | Episode 695

Making sense of the Jan. 6 hearings, Day 3

Jun 16, 2022
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Latest Stories (5,491)

With Roe v. Wade overturned, economic disparities are poised to get worse

by Kai Ryssdal , Andie Corban and Sean McHenry
Jun 24, 2022
For millions of Americans, the loss of abortion rights may affect educational attainment and lifetime earnings for generations.
Abortion-rights activists demonstrate in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday after the court's ruling was announced.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
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The minivan is kind of making a comeback this summer

by Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry
Jun 22, 2022
As travel picks up, the minivan is seeing a surge in popularity — and not just with families.
Looking to buy a minivan? Buckle up because prices have increased dramatically.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
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Why you should care about a Supreme Court decision on the "administrative state"

by Kai Ryssdal , Andie Corban and Maria Hollenhorst
Jun 21, 2022
Executive agencies implement laws passed by Congress. The conservative legal movement seeks to limit their power.
The court might rule this week on a case involving the Environmental Protection Agency that’s part on an ongoing legal debate about the powers of the executive branch.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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"We need to act decisively and affirmatively to get inflation under control," says Atlanta Fed president

by Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry
Jun 17, 2022
Raphael Bostic, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, on why he supports this week's rate hike.
Raphael Bostic, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, speaks at an event for the Rotary Club of Atlanta.
E. M. Pio Roda / Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
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Things are "awesome and amazing" at this Montana mall

by Kai Ryssdal and Andie Corban
Jun 16, 2022
Alana Ferko explains what's new at the Butte Plaza Mall.
Tim Boyle/Getty Images
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When you need 70,000 pounds of paper a month and the supply chain is in chaos

by Kai Ryssdal and Anais Amin
Jun 15, 2022
Claudia Smukler of Mother Jones explains the unique obstacles to producing a print magazine in this economy.
Magazines require a high grade of coated paper, one that ink will lay well on.
Bennett Purser/Marketplace
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What the Beveridge curve tells us about the Fed's path to a “soft landing”

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
Jun 14, 2022
If you want to understand the challenge of slowing inflation without damaging the labor market, picture a skateboard ramp.
The Beveridge curve appears when you plot the relationship between unfilled jobs and unemployment — it shows how those two variables move together.
Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images
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Dealing with shifts in the steel market

by Kai Ryssdal and Anais Amin
Jun 14, 2022
"When you take out major players, anything that destabilizes the world economy affects steel, affects all of us," says Lisa Goldenberg, president of Delaware Steel Company.
The war in Ukraine and ongoing inflation may be negatively affecting the steel market.
David McNew/Getty Images
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What's up with celebrities and cryptocurrency?

by Kai Ryssdal and Andie Corban
Jun 10, 2022
"Celebrities are rich for reasons having nothing to do with their crypto investments," says Vox's Emily Stewart.
Actor Matt Damon told viewers that "fortune favors the brave" during a Super Bowl ad for Crypto.com.
Valery Hache/Getty Images
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COVID-19

What will happen to women of color in the COVID-19 workforce?

by Kai Ryssdal and Anais Amin
Jun 9, 2022
“In almost every single state, the first person to be vaccinated was a woman of color,” says the 19th’s economy reporter Chabeli Carrazana.
A registered nurse vaccinates an 83-year-old woman at her home in Manchester, Connecticut, in February 2021.
Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images
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