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

Oct 24, 2009
Why "350" is key to global warming
Environmentalist Bill McKibben, one of the first authors to write extensively about climate change, talks with Kai Ryssdal about Saturday's International Day of Climate Action and why "350" is the magic number for global warming.
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Oct 24, 2009
Weekly Wrap: Rolling down the fiscal cliff
Leigh Gallagher of Fortune Magazine and Mike Mandel of Businessweek join Kai Ryssdal in discussing the cutting of executive's compensation at bailed-out companies and other business news of the week.
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Oct 23, 2009
Getting deep into ‘SuperFreakonomics’
In "Freakonomics," journalist Stephen Dubner and economist Steven Leavitt explored economics and human behavior. Kai Ryssdal talks to the two about their sequel, which applies the law of unintended consequences to prostitutes and global warming.
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Oct 23, 2009
Is free KFC chicken worth a long wait?
After attempting a free grilled chicken dinner giveaway in May, Kentucky Fried Chicken is trying it again, hoping for better results. Kai Ryssdal talks to Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch, who attended the first chicken run.
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Oct 22, 2009
It helps to know the rules on Wall St.
There are always interesting things to learn about how Wall Street really works. Senior business correspondent Bob Moon talks to Kai Ryssdal about the "whisper number" and tells a story about a candy drive he had in high school.
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Oct 21, 2009
When the Dow is up, news is down
You might think that when the Dow Jones Industrial Average is climbing, news coverage would increase too. But that's not what a study found from the Pew Center's Project for Excellence In Journalism.
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Oct 20, 2009
Comments from our listeners
Listeners let us know what they think of our coverage of checkout-line charity, Detroit supermarkets, New York City's Garment District, "The Tao of Wu" and shock advertising.
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Oct 20, 2009
Merging new music with good business
No independent music label has done more to bring a lot of bands from obscurity to the top of the college charts than Merge Records. It was started 20 by two punk rockers, Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. They talk with Kai Ryssdal.
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Oct 19, 2009
Is this crisis really different? No
Why didn't more people see the current financial crisis coming? It's not the first financial meltdown the world has seen. Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff has a new book with Carmen Reinhart that addresses that question. He talks with Kai Ryssdal.
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Oct 17, 2009
Weekly Wrap: Numbers besides 10,000
There were some meaningful numbers in the news this week beyond the Dow's 10,000 mark. Kai Ryssdal looks into Wall Street profits and losses with Felix Salmon from Reuters and business writer Heidi Moore.
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