Kai Ryssdal

Host and Senior Editor

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.

Latest Stories (5,794)

Colleges are hiring general managers to help athletes navigate NIL deals

Apr 11, 2024
Colleges want the best athletes to play at their school. So what's one way to attract them? Help them get the best name, image and likeness deals.
Schools want their athletes to benefit from their popularity "because it helps both the player, and it also helps the schools make sure they can get the best players," says Austin Meek or The Athletic. Above, Caitlin Clark in the NCAA championship game.
Thien-An Truong/ISI Photos/Getty Images

Fed Chair Powell: Interest rates likely won't return to "historically low levels" before the pandemic

Powell discusses how monetary policymakers arrive at consensus, the value of transparency and the issues that influence interest rate decisions.
"Marketplace" host Kai Ryssdal interviews Jay Powell, head of the Federal Reserve.
Courtesy Federal Reserve

Vending machines: An emerging side hustle

Some vending machine owners make hundreds of dollars a month, says Joe Pinsker, a reporter with The Wall Street Journal.
Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images

For some job seekers, AI-powered "resume spammers" are a good fit

Mar 28, 2024
These bots send out job applications in high volume for a fee. Reporter Aki Ito at Business Insider tried a few and reported the results.
"When I first started hearing about these services, I thought it was crazy," says Aki Ito, reporter at Business Insider. But based on what she learned, she'd consider using one in the future, she says.
Rawpixel/Getty Images

For aspiring CEOs, being a buyer rather than a founder is an increasingly attractive path

Mar 27, 2024
Raising "search funds" to find a business to buy may be an answer to a challenging startup landscape.
Although the concept has been around for decades, the number of "search fund" starts went from 20 in 2013 to 105 in 2023.
(Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

America's largest city has a trash problem. Can it be contained?

Mar 21, 2024
Plastic trash bags, and the rats they attract, are very visible parts of the New York landscape. A plan to bring in bins may squeeze scarce space.
The sheer volume of trash New York City has to collect every day is enormous. It's "kind of an insane feat," said Larry Buchanan, a reporter with The New York Times.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Wait, how much will the Inflation Reduction Act's climate provisions cost?

Mar 13, 2024
We break down the role of uncapped tax credits in the IRA's climate provisions with John Bistline of the Electric Power Research Institute.
Many of the IRA's tax credits are not capped and last for at least 10 years, creating variability in the total projected cost.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Good luck booking that big birthday dinner

Mar 13, 2024
Alina Dizik wrote in The Wall Street Journal about why some restaurants don't want parties of six or more people.
Bigger tables are harder on kitchens and servers, and they're not always welcomed. You may have better luck at less trendy eateries or at off-hours.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

This regional banker cheered by sector's resilience, disturbed by potential regulation

Mar 12, 2024
Laurie Stewart of Sound Community Bank is confident a year after three banks failed, but credit risk and cyber threats are on her radar.
The failure of Silicon Valley Bank didn't foreshadow widespread disruptions in the industry, as many feared.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Reviews or "paid promotional content"? Amazon is paying users to make videos of its products

Mar 7, 2024
The online retail behemoth is selling access to its sizable platform to gig workers, says Caroline O'Donovan of The Washington Post.
"I think it's an open question if these are reviews or just paid promotional content," says Caroline O'Donovan at The Washington Post about the influencer videos.
Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP via Getty Images