Kai Ryssdal

SHORT BIO

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.

Episodes by Kai (5,963)

Make Me Smart | Episode 1172

The long game of high interest rates

May 31, 2024

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Marketplace

Slowly, but surely, the economy is cooling

May 31, 2024

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Make Me Smart | Episode 1171

The growing troubles at OpenAI

May 30, 2024

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Marketplace

Revised 1st-quarter GDP shows slower growth

May 30, 2024

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Marketplace

Breaking Ground: Change isn't coming — it's here

May 29, 2024

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Make Me Smart | Episode 1170

A Trump-Musk bromance

May 29, 2024

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Make Me Smart | Episode 1169

How Big Food changed the way we eat

May 28, 2024

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Marketplace

What could happen if Israel severs banking ties with the Palestinian economy

May 28, 2024

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Make Me Smart | Episode 1168

Biden doubling down on tariffs

May 24, 2024

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Marketplace

For female workers, an ailing feeling about financial health

May 24, 2024

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Latest Stories (5,790)

What’s that smell? A teenage boy wearing luxury cologne.

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst

May 31, 2024

Inspired by social media influencers, adolescents are splurging on high-end fragrances, journalist Callie Holtermann reports.

Adolescent boys are building collections of high-end fragrances, Callie Holtermann of The New York Times reports. Some parents say it keeps them away from doing riskier things.

Getty Images

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Breaking Ground

The Golden Triangle: How the CHIPS Act is changing one Arizona neighborhood

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst

May 29, 2024

The investment and growth spurred by government dollars are heightening competition among residents, business owners and local officials.

In the Phoenix area, development accelerated by CHIPS Act investment may disrupt rural lifestyles and transform parts of the desert. Above, developer Charles Eckert.

Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace

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Farming is "not easy and it's a lot of risk," says Iowa soybean producer

by Kai Ryssdal , Andie Corban and Sarah Leeson

May 28, 2024

"Soybeans are down 18 cents today and then they could go up 50 tomorrow. Who knows?" said April Hemmes, a soybean farmer in Iowa.

Heavy rains have meant some farmers have had to replant hundreds of acres, says farmer April Hemmes.

Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

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Honeybee populations are hitting record numbers. Weren't they dying off before?

by Kai Ryssdal , Sarah Leeson and Sofia Terenzio

May 16, 2024

Scientists were ringing alarm bells about colony collapse disorder a decade ago. Brian Walsh of Vox explains what happened.

Honeybees were too valuable to fail.

Barbara Gindl/APA/AFP via Getty Images

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The problem of sticky inflation resides with housing, Fed's Goolsbee says

by Kai Ryssdal and Sofia Terenzio

May 15, 2024

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee talks the latest CPI release and what it means for the Fed's continued fight against inflation.

Austan Goolsbee, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

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211 call centers show financial strain above the poverty line

by Kai Ryssdal , Andie Corban and Aleezeh Hasan

May 14, 2024

Many callers hoping to get referrals have moderate incomes but still struggle, explains Rachel Wolfe of The Wall Street Journal.

211 call centers are "a really great window into the state of the American consumer," says The Wall Street Journal's Rachel Wolfe.

Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images

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National Debt

Commerce chief lays out blueprint for chip manufacturing in America

by Kai Ryssdal and Sarah Leeson

May 10, 2024

The supply chain is being built to reduce U.S. vulnerability and seize opportunities like artificial intelligence, Raimondo says.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo discussed chips, China and jobs with Marketplace's Kai Ryssdal in Washington.

Nancy Farghalli/Marketplace

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Inflation is "not yet where it needs to be," Treasury Secretary Yellen says

by Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry

May 9, 2024

Janet Yellen addresses the state of the U.S. economy and underscores the country's rivalry and collaboration with China in an interview.

"I think it's important for Americans to understand how critical democracy is to economic performance," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says. Above, Yellen testifies at a House Ways and Means committee hearing on April 30.

Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

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If the divestment movement succeeds, will it have an economic impact?

by Kai Ryssdal and Sofia Terenzio

May 3, 2024

Divestment might not move the needle on government or corporate policy, but it could shift "hearts and minds," says Alison Taylor of NYU.

Allison Bailey/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

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Breaking Ground

Looking for a “fresh start” amid Phoenix’s semiconductor boom

by Kai Ryssdal , Heather Long and Maria Hollenhorst

May 2, 2024

The federal government is spending billions to support semiconductor manufacturing. But trainees seeking chipmaking jobs may have to wait.

Students in the Semiconductor Technician Quick Start training course at Mesa Community College practice while wearing “bunny suits,” the required workwear at fabrication plants.

Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace

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