Kai Ryssdal

Host and Senior Editor

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 from Kai Ryssdal

Jan 16, 2018
Denver wants to help the middle class move on up
A new housing subsidy plan in Denver aims to make high end apartments affordable.
Read More
Jan 16, 2018
Why the Dow breaking 26,000 points is making some analysts nervous
While the markets closed today with a slight loss, they opened at a high point. This morning, the Dow broke 26,000 points for the first time in its 120 year history — and that’s after a year with practically no dips to speak of. But that lack of volatility has some market watchers a little […]
Read More
Jan 13, 2018
The week that could’ve been an economic homerun for Republicans
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Close, but no cigar.
Read More
Jan 12, 2018
How the Rockefellers came to be at odds with Big Oil
Earlier this week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New York City would divest its pension funds from fossil fuels and that the city would sue the big five oil companies. The reason? To collect damages for the cost of coping with the effects of climate change on city infrastructure. The irony […]
Read More
Jan 12, 2018
Facebook is changing your News Feed to show more personal posts
Facebook announced this week that it will change the algorithm that governs what content users see in their News Feeds. Users can expect to see less news content and more posts from friends and family. Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal talked with Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood about the change and what it means for Facebook. […]
Read More
Jan 11, 2018
Why investing in coal companies may not help the people living in coal country
When we subsidize coal companies, does that make it back to the people living in coal country? In her reporting for Quartz, economics writer Gwynn Guilford found that the answer may be a loud, resounding “no.” For her article “The 100-year capitalist experiment that keeps Appalachia poor, sick, and stuck on coal,” Guilford reported on the […]
Read More
Jan 11, 2018
Why Walmart’s employees are getting a raise now
If you work at Walmart, you might be getting a raise. The retailer announced today it will raise entry-level wages to $11 an hour next month. The announcement came as the company stands to benefit from the changes to the tax code passed into law in late 2017. Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal spoke with Abigail […]
Read More
Jan 11, 2018
Business books deliver new buzz words with the old hype
Want to realize your untapped potential? How about boost your ______. Those are the kind of promises that grace the cover of some of the 11,000 business books published in the United States each year. But has the language used to to market these books changed over time? Miriam Quick analyzed decades’ worth of business […]
Read More
Jan 10, 2018
Mexican truckers get pushback across the US border
For Mexican truckers, life hauling goods across the border can be tough. That’s because they don’t get to travel very far across the border with the United States. Though the North American Free Trade Agreement ensures the free travel of goods across the continent, Mexican truckers have faced pushback from American truckers’ unions over their […]
Read More
Jan 10, 2018
Why we’re hanging up the power suit
Power suits are out. That may not come as a shock in the era of hoodie-wearing billionaires, but it doesn’t mean suits are gone for good. Millennial men are still buying suits, just not for work. Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal spoke with Robin Givhan, fashion critic for The Washington Post, who wrote about the demise […]
Read More