Kai Ryssdal

Kai Ryssdal took the reins as host of Marketplace in August 2005. He previously hosted the Marketplace Morning Report for more than four years.

Before joining Marketplace, Kai was a reporter and substitute host for The California Report, a news and information program distributed to public radio stations throughout California by KQED-FM in San Francisco.

His radio work has won first place awards from the Radio and Television News Directors Association and the national Public Radio News Directors Association.

After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta, Kai spent eight years in the United States Navy, first flying from the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, and then as a Pentagon staff officer. Before his career in public radio, Kai was a member of the United States Foreign Service and served in Ottawa, Canada, and Beijing, China.