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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.

Episodes by Kai (5,973)

Make Me Smart | Episode 1177

Less is not always more in economic data

Jun 7, 2024
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Marketplace

Better-than-expected job growth

Jun 7, 2024
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Marketplace

What do interest rate cuts in Europe mean for the U.S.?

Jun 6, 2024
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Make Me Smart | Episode 1176

Why the Fed won't hop on the rate-cutting bandwagon just yet

Jun 6, 2024
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Marketplace

Lone Star stock exchange

Jun 5, 2024
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Make Me Smart | Episode 1175

What summer heat waves mean for prisons

Jun 5, 2024
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Make Me Smart | Episode 1174

The good, the bad and the ugly of election polling

Jun 4, 2024
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Marketplace

The "great stay"?

Jun 4, 2024
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Marketplace

Who benefits from mortgage interest tax breaks?

Jun 3, 2024
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Make Me Smart | Episode 1173

A shadow looms over the Fed

Jun 3, 2024
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Latest Stories (5,794)

The IRS pilots its free tax-filing program

by Kai Ryssdal , Aleezeh Hasan and Sean McHenry
Mar 6, 2024
The new program, called Direct File, has been rolled out in a dozen states. But how does it stack up to private tax-filing software?
“I give it a solid B,” says Dylan Matthews of Vox about the IRS' free filing software.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
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Can AI patent an invention?

by Kai Ryssdal and Sofia Terenzio
Mar 5, 2024
The Patent and Trademark Office only recognizes human inventors. Regulators are trying to keep up with tech, says Fordham's Janet Freilich.
Artificial intelligence can't be considered an inventor, but people can use AI to invent new products, says Janet Freilich of Fordham.
Golibtolibov/Getty Images
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Shelf Life

How NYT critic Morris looks at movie watching

by Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry
Mar 4, 2024
Cooper, Giamatti or Murphy? Morris weighs in on the range of talent up for Oscars and the "range of experiences" he seeks as a moviegoer.
Which film will win best picture honors at this year's Academy Awards? "It's 'Oppenheimer' city, baby," says Wesley Morris.
Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for The New York Times
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This might be the economy that liberals wanted, but do most voters feel the same?

by Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry
Feb 27, 2024
If people don’t feel the strength of the economy, Democrats may have a problem this election season, says Victoria Guida at Politico.
President Biden has low approval ratings despite vigorous economic growth, low unemployment and a strong stock market.
Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
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Why do we measure consumers' feelings?

by Kai Ryssdal and Sofia Terenzio
Feb 26, 2024
Consumer sentiment and confidence indexes are used in forecasting, which influences planning and investment. But feelings can be tricky.
Sentiment and confidence, says professor Sasha Indarte, are "related to people's behavior and decisions." That influences what companies and government plan for and invest in.
Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
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In the golden age of sports content, traditional sports journalism is disappearing

by Kai Ryssdal and Richard Cunningham
Feb 23, 2024
The teams have the money, and remaining media outlets like ESPN are becoming more dependent on them. Author Keith O’Brien explains.
Rugby pros Mitch Kenny, left, and Brian To'o are interviewed in Manchester, England. Sports are as visible as ever, but professional coverage is waning, along with pressure for transparency and accountability.
Catherine Ivill/Getty Images
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Breaking Ground

The Biden administration’s bet on sustainable aviation fuel

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
Feb 22, 2024
Right now, sustainable aviation fuel is “a drop in the bucket” compared to conventional jet fuel, but that might not be the case for long.
"Marketplace" host Kai Ryssdal and Samir Sukhtankar, director of operations for World Energy, a biofuels maker, look over the company’s Paramount production facility.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace
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"I think our fear of high inflation is well warranted," Minneapolis Fed president says

by Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry
Feb 21, 2024
Neel Kashkari weighs in on the state of the economy and what's left to bring inflation down to the Fed's 2% target.
"I do the grocery shopping for my family. I started doing that when the pandemic hit, and I still have sticker shock," says Neel Kashkari, Minneapolis Fed president.
John Lamparski/Getty Images
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How a bank failure 150 years ago still shapes many Black Americans' relationships to financial institutions

by Kai Ryssdal and Richard Cunningham
Feb 15, 2024
The Freedman’s Bank was the first opportunity for formerly enslaved people to save and protect their money. But its failure in less than a decade still haunts Black Americans today.
Pictured above, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge at the Freedman’s Bank Forum held at the Treasury Department in 2022.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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China's economy has "downshifted fundamentally over the past couple of years"

by Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry
Feb 13, 2024
"If we have a China that's growing more slowly, there's less opportunity" globally, says economist Adam Posen.
Consumer prices in China have been falling for too long.
Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images
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