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 18, 2007
Feature-length business starts in Utah
Actors, directors, marketers and sales people are converging on the Sundance Film Festival — along with thousands of others. Film festival consultant Mitch Levine talks about the event with Kai Ryssdal.
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Jan 18, 2007
A plan for the flow of Iraq’s oil money
A tentative deal is in the works to share Iraq's oil money when and if it starts coming in, according to Reuters. Kai Ryssdal talked with Alistair MacDonald, Reuters' Baghdad bureau chief, about the plan.
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Jan 17, 2007
Verizon sells off New England lines
Verizon's about done with old-fashioned phone lines. The company announced today it's spinning off local lines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Keith Shortall reports.
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Jan 17, 2007
P.J.’s Cliffs Notes on Adam Smith
It's the book that made free trade famous: "The Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith. But who's got time to read its 900-plus pages? Humorist P.J. O'Rourke did and wrote his own book about it. He talks with Kai Ryssdal.
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Jan 10, 2007
Feeding on myths, stories and image
Author Barry Glassner says for many Americans it's not "You are what you eat," it's "You eat what you think you are." He talks with Kai Ryssdal about his new book, "The Gospel of Food."
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Jan 9, 2007
Dear Marketplace . . .
Even though it was the holiday season, many of you still took time to write us. Kai Ryssdal reviews some of your comments and complaints.
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Jan 9, 2007
Pizza for pesos
If you've got Mexican pesos in your pocket and a hankering for a pepperoni pizza, then Pizza Patron's the place for you. Antonio Swad, the Dallas-based company's president, talks with Kai Ryssdal about the new offer.
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Jan 9, 2007
Detroit dresses up for its big show
The Big Three U.S. carmakers have a lot riding on the Detroit car show that opens later this week. Kai Ryssdal talks with Los Angeles Times auto critic Dan Neil about what he expects to see there.
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Jan 6, 2007
New Iraq plan: Spend a lot more
Details of President Bush's plan for Iraq are leaking out. It would involve spending a lot more money. Rick Barton with the Center for Strategic and International Studies talks with Kai Ryssdal about the plan.
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Jan 5, 2007
It won’t be business as usual
Democrats took power in Congress today. Apart from Republicans, probably nobody has been dreading the day more than business interests. Marketplace's John Dimsdale talks with Kai Ryssdal about the changes to come.
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