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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 (4,511)

Make Me Smart with Kai and Molly | Episode 305

The real cause of the coronavirus recession

Oct 22, 2020
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Marketplace

The $20 billion missing from this economy

Oct 22, 2020
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Make Me Smart with Kai and Molly | Episode 304

How the stock market is preparing for Nov. 4

Oct 21, 2020
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Marketplace

What happened to Quibi?

Oct 21, 2020
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Make Me Smart with Kai and Molly | Episode 303

What you need to know about dark money in this election

Oct 20, 2020
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Marketplace

The antitrust case against Google

Oct 20, 2020
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Make Me Smart with Kai and Molly | Episode 302

Hey, what's Adam Neumann up to these days?

Oct 19, 2020
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Marketplace

China shows what a coronavirus recovery could look like

Oct 19, 2020
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Make Me Smart with Kai and Molly | Episode 301

The real "October surprise"

Oct 16, 2020
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Marketplace

Americans are on the move

Oct 16, 2020
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Latest Stories (5,175)

Why this CEO went public with her coming out experience

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
Oct 22, 2020
CEO Wynne Nowland talks about announcing her transition at work, and how it exceeded her greatest expectations.
Wynne Nowland, CEO of Melville, New York-based insurance and financial services company Bradley & Parker.
Courtesy of Bradley & Parker
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Elections 2020

What would delayed election results mean for the economy?

by Kai Ryssdal and Andie Corban
Oct 22, 2020
The results from the election could remain uncertain for weeks. "And uncertainty is generally really bad for economy activity," said Brookings' Wendy Edelberg.
Even with record-breaking early voting, it could take some time to know who won the presidential election this year.
Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images
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COVID-19

"You work twice as hard to make half as much”

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
Oct 21, 2020
For Puerto Rico’s restaurant industry, COVID-19 is just the latest in a series of challenges.
Chef María Mercedes Grubb and her brother John Mercedes, outside their restaurant Gallo Negro in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Gallo Negro's original location closed in December 2019.
Courtesy of María Mercedes Grubb
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COVID-19

How COVID-19 changed this U.S. clothing manufacturer

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
Oct 19, 2020
Los Angeles-based Lefty Production Co. became a PPE manufacturer to remain essential. But will the need for U.S.-made masks and gowns remain?
Above, a worker at Lefty Production in Los Angeles. CEO Marta Miller thinks brands ordering less inventory in the wake of the pandemic could help drive American manufacturing.
Ira Joffe, courtesy of Lefty Production Co.
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COVID-19

What you need to know about Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation

by Mitchell Hartman , Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry
Oct 14, 2020
And what happens when the PEUC program expires at the end of the year?
People lining up to file unemployment claims in Calexico, California, in July.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
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COVID-19

How Broadway is keeping busy, nearly 7 months into shutdown

by Kai Ryssdal and Andie Corban
Oct 5, 2020
"It's hard to stay hopeful of all the things that we need to get live theater back," Broadway producer Eva Price told Kai Ryssdal.
Broadway producer Eva Price at Sardi's restaurant in New York City.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace
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COVID-19

Canada’s tourist-driven PNE pivots to hosting film production

by Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry
Oct 1, 2020
The Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver has had a devastating 2020. Could displaced Hollywood film production help keep it afloat?
An aerial of the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Courtesy of PNE
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COVID-19

How COVID-19 repurposed city streets

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
Sep 30, 2020
“If you ran a business, and you didn't update the way that you use your assets for 50 or 60 years, you'd probably be out of business,” said Seleta Reynolds, the general manager of the LA Department of Transportation.
People enjoy a newly added outdoor dining area created by the city partially blocking a main boulevard. “My big challenge now is, how do I make this permanent?” said Seleta Reynolds, the general manager of the LA Department of Transportation.
Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

Why this CEO is having her employees tested for COVID-19 every other week

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
Sep 29, 2020
"I saw how hard it was, and I don't want anybody to go through that," said Farmgirl Flowers CEO Christina Stembel.
A worker insde Farmgirl Flowers' distribution and fulfillment center in Watsonville, California.
Courtesy of Farmgirl Flowers
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Race and Economy

Atlanta Fed President Bostic on our "less-than economy"

by Kai Ryssdal and Bennett Purser
Sep 28, 2020
While Amazon and Home Depot are doing well, small businesses are not. "There really is a split going on, and disparities are getting wider," he says.
"We're going to let evidence show that inflation is starting to get out of control" instead of trying to preempt it, says Raphael Bostic, president of the Federal Bank of Atlanta.
Courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
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