John Dimsdale

Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief, Marketplace

SHORT BIO

John Dimsdale has spent almost 40 years in radio. As the former head of Marketplace’s Washington, D.C., bureau, he provided insightful commentary on the intersection of government and money for the entire Marketplace portfolio.

As Dimsdale notes, “Sooner or later, every story in the world comes through Washington,” and reporting on those issues is like “… going to school with all the best professors and then reporting to listeners what I found out at the end of the day … Can you believe they pay me to do that?”

Dimsdale began working for Marketplace in 1990, when he opened the D.C. bureau. The next day, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, triggering the first Gulf War, and Dimsdale has been busy ever since.

In his 20 years at Marketplace, Dimsdale has reported on two wars, the dot-com boom, the housing bust, healthcare reform and the greening of energy. His interviews with four U.S. Presidents, four Hall-of-Famers, broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite, computer scientist Sergey Brin, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson and former U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey stand out as favorites. Some of his greatest contributions include a series on government land-use policies and later, a series on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal site.

Before joining Marketplace, Dimsdale worked at NPR, the Pennsylvania Public Television Network, Post-Newsweek Stations and Independent Network News.

A native of Washington, D.C., and the son of a federal government employee, Dimsdale has been passionate about public policy since the Vietnam War. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Washington College in Chestertown, Md., and a master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo.

Dimsdale and his wife, Claire, live in the suburb of Silver Spring, Md., and when not working, he enjoys traveling, carpentry, photography, videography, swimming and home brewing.

Latest Stories (983)

Congress fights over Export-Import Bank funding

Mar 19, 2012
Some senators want to beef up funding to help exporters promote their wares overseas, but airlines say that only helps foreign competitors buy aircraft more cheaply than domestic airlines.

Freshman GOP congressman backs surtax on rich

Mar 16, 2012
Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas says we can't get a deficit agreement without tax hikes. Could this be another crack in Grover Norquist’s tax pledge never to raise taxes?

Funding cuts stall long-term transportation projects

Mar 12, 2012
The Senate is likely to pass an extension of the federal transportation spending bill this week. But it will only fund highway and transit projects for two years. Most generally take five years.

Food stamp fraud grows in the U.S.

Mar 9, 2012
A recent report says that as the food stamp program has grown, so has fraud. And it's costing the government hundreds of millions of dollars.

President Obama hopes to boost IRS budget, tax revenue

Mar 5, 2012
We're less than six weeks away from tax day, and this year the IRS is gonna have to do more with less when it comes to processing all those returns. President Obama hopes to change that.

Super PAC money no help building campaign organizations

Mar 5, 2012
Super PACs are not allowed to spend the millions they take in on campaign organizations. Some cash-rich Super Tuesday candidates were so organization poor they couldn't collect enough signatures to get on ballots in all ten states.

Shell tries to skirt potential court challenges

Mar 1, 2012
The oil company hopes to avoid long delays in its plans to start offshore drilling in the Alaskan Arctic Ocean. But a preemptive lawsuit may create more problems than it solves.

North Korea suspends nuclear programs for U.S. food aid

Feb 29, 2012
The agreement may have been less about food than a political move by North Korea's new young leader. But it does open the door for restarting multi-nation disarmament talks.

Super PAC money keeps candidates afloat longer

Feb 29, 2012
Unlimited political campaign donations from super PACs are keeping struggling GOP candidates like Newt Gingrich in this year's presidential primaries longer than they might have survived in past elections.

Tax surpluses for many states

Feb 27, 2012
Amid gloomy reports of government budget deficits, there was some good news at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington. State tax revenue has been rising at the fastest pace since 2006. Many states are even reporting surpluses.