Kai Ryssdal is the King of Naps

So That's How You Spell His Name; "Marketplace" Host Recalls His Start on the Financial-News Dawn Patrol

When I first heard the "Marketplace Morning Report" during breaks of "Morning Edition" on NPR, I initially assumed the newscasts were taped the night before. But then I heard how the European markets were doing "at this hour" and how the Nikkei and Hang Seng had fared overnight.

Then I wondered how the host, Kai Ryssdal, could be so damn upbeat, given he was broadcasting from Los Angeles, where it was the dead of night.

Ryssdal tells the Miami Herald some of his sleep secrets:

I rolled out of bed at midnight and was at work at quarter to one. It would give me two hours to figure what was going on in the world. I would work until noon. Grab a three-hour nap, get the kids from school. I'm married with three kids.

We'd do homework, put the kids to bed and have time with my wife. And then sleep from nine to midnight. So I would have two three-hour naps.
I think we made it work. I had taken a job with my eyes open and understood it was an overnight shift.

Ah, so that's it, keeping your eyes open, something this night person had a hard time doing when he got stuck doing morning drive during more than a decade in radio.

Ryssdal's hours have been a little more sane for the last two years, since he took the reins of the main "Marketplace," which tapes at 2:30 p.m. Pacific time. We emphasize a little. He gets up at 4:45 a.m. to start trolling for news. Old habits die hard, but the dedication uniformly shows up in what goes on the air.

So, belated props for all those years of providing a little public-radio pep, something current Marketplace Morning Report co-host Doug Krizner could use more of. Someone hook this guy up to a Starbucks I.V., stat!