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

Jul 31, 2008
Iraq in need of spending lessons
A new report says Iraq's flush with money, but if that's true, why are so many of its residents still without basic infrastructure? Host Kai Ryssdal asks Stuart Bowen where Iraq's cash is going and where it isn't.
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Jul 31, 2008
Fed keeps the lending window open
Wall Street will continue to be able to take out emergency loans from the Federal Reserve through next year. Host Kai Ryssdal asks economist Cary Leahy about the impact of the Fed's lending.
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Jul 29, 2008
Firefighting efforts burn through money
The equipment necessary to stave off wildfires costs a lot of money. Host Kai Ryssdal asks L.A. Times reporters Bettina Boxall and Julie Cart who's making a buck off the blazes.
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Jul 29, 2008
Team building, summer-camp style
Looking to laugh off those Monday office blues? Host Kai Ryssdal talks with author John Austin about his office-prank guidebook, "Cubicle Warfare." And the Marketplace staff tries out a few of the gags.
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Jul 26, 2008
Week on Wall Street
Stockbroker and business analyst David Johnson chats with host Bob Moon about what happened on Wall Street this week and what may lie ahead.
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Jul 26, 2008
Movies put big profits in comics’ books
The big annual comic conference, Comic-Con, is underway in San Diego. Host Kai Ryssdal talks Joe Field, president of the comic retailer's trade group ComicsPro, about the summer blockbuster movies' impacts on comic book sales.
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Jul 26, 2008
Stockton: America’s foreclosure capital
Stockton, Calif., tops a list of cities with the most home foreclosures, with 1 out of 25 homes in trouble. Host Kai Ryssdal talks with Bob Bressani, Stockton's interim housing director, about why the city has been hit so hard.
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Jul 24, 2008
Housing bill passes in House
The housing bill appears on its way to becoming law. Host Kai Ryssdal asks Nic Retsinas of Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies what impact the bill will have on the housing market.
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Jul 23, 2008
Too many owners lead to gridlock
Private ownership can create wealth, but too much of it can bog down the economy. Host Kai Ryssdal asks Columbia law professor Michael Heller about the problems with the current property rights system.
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Jul 17, 2008
Nigeria a valued but risky oil source
In his continuing series of interviews on oil prices, host Kai Ryssdal talks with Fareed Mohamedi of PFC Energy about how Nigeria's production of about 2 million barrels of crude a day affects what we pay at the gas pump.
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