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

Aug 29, 2009
China lights up hope for Big Tobacco
The FDA's first tobacco regulator will begin work Sept. 14. But Big Tobacco is looking to China's emerging market to keep profits smoking. China bureau chief Scott Tong explains to Kai Ryssdal how smoking is interwoven into Chinese life.
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Aug 27, 2009
How long can banks ‘delay and pray’?
Kai Ryssdal talks to Marketplace's Senior Business Correspondent Bob Moon about a risky strategy by banks to put off dealing with the toxic assets that mucked up the economy and are still on their balance sheets.
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Aug 25, 2009
Better medical diagnoses, lower costs
There's no shortage nowadays of ideas for how to bring down the high cost of medical care. Dr. Lisa Sanders says we ought to be looking more at the point where patients first enter the medical system. She talks with Kai Ryssdal.
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Aug 14, 2009
District 9 creates augmented reality
To get people excited for the release of the alien thriller film District 9, Sony teamed up with marketing firm Trigger to create an augmented reality. Kai Ryssdal finds out what that means from entertainment journalist Claude Brodesser-Akner.
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Aug 14, 2009
Ad campaign boosts health care reform
President Obama is getting back on top of the health care debate though town hall meetings, and he's getting a boost from a $12 million ad campaign that started airing today. Kai Ryssdal talks to Chris Frates, who covers health care for Politico.
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Aug 13, 2009
On the web, content is king
Michael Eisner, CEO of The Tornante Company, talks about the importance of content on the Internet.
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Aug 13, 2009
230 mpg for Chevy Volt? Not always
General Motors says its Chevy Volt can get 230 mpg. But the bloggers over at Environmental Economics found out how GM really arrived at that number. Click here for a link to the blog.
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Aug 13, 2009
Economy really not as bad as it looks
After months of warnings that we were on the edge of disaster, it's a little tough now to make a case for optimism. But good news has been coming a little more frequently lately. Kai Ryssdal talks to senior business correspondent Bob Moon.
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Aug 13, 2009
Keeping the sick economy stable
OK, so we're not out of the woods yet. What does Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke have to do in the coming months to keep from worsening the recession? Kai Ryssdal talks to Dan Greenhaus, economic strategist with Miller Tabak.
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Aug 12, 2009
GM drives Buick into a new auto era
It's time for General Motors to get back to the business of making cars, and we got to preview its newest offering: the Buick LaCrosse 2010. Kai Ryssdal talks to L.A. Times car critic Dan Neil about why GM chose to relaunch with such an old brand.
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