Marketplace Cast and Crew

David Brancaccio, host and senior editor of Marketplace, has a knack for telling a story.

"We are like anthropologists, on the outside looking into a fascinating and sometimes alien civilization: the world of business, economics and finance," Brancaccio says. "Covering the ebb and flow of human commerce is like covering rock ‘n’ roll in the 1960s, a beat at the cutting edge of culture."

Before taking the host position 10 years ago, Brancaccio served in London as the European editor of the program, covering the continent's economic and political integration. During that time, he also covered diplomatic stories from Europe for the radio service of "The Christian Science Monitor."

During his tenure, Marketplace has won broadcast journalism's two highest honors, the Dupont-Columbia Award (1998) and the George Foster Peabody Award (2001). Brancaccio, 43, also hosts "California Connected," an innovative news program seen on public television throughout that state. He also contributes to CNN, CNBC, "Wall Street Week with Fortune," and "Now with Bill Moyers." His print work has appeared in such periodicals as "The Wall Street Journal," "Psychology Today" and "Journalism and Mass Communication Educator."

Brancaccio has been a broadcaster for 27 years. He hails from the state of Maine and has also attended schools in Italy, Madagascar and Ghana. He holds a B.A. in African Studies and History from Wesleyan University (1982). He holds a Master's degree in journalism from Stanford University (1988).

He is author of the book "Squandering Aimlessly" (Simon & Schuster, 2000 and Touchstone, 2001), an account of his pilgrimage to talk with Americans about wealth and values -- a work "American Journalism Review" called, "A stellar model for consumer reporting...Brancaccio's approach and attitude are irreverently nontraditional." "The Cleveland Plain Dealer" said, "Brancaccio brings the final erudition of a variety of sources together with his own wit, candor and storytelling skill."

Brancaccio is a frequent lecturer, moderator and an avid photographer. He is married with three school-age children and lives in Los Angeles.

Spotlight on David Brancaccio
David Brancaccio is host of Marketplace on KPBS Radio and California Connected on KPBS-TV. He checked in from Los Angeles to answer a few questions for On Air.

What is your favorite meal?
Food plays an involved role in my family's life. I'm half Jewish and half Italian, so we have these traditions. I have many favorites. (For example) instead of going out to an Italian restaurant, we like to cook at home because we can cook it much better. My favorite meal is when nice people unexpectedly show up and my wife and I can turn anything in the fridge into a fantastic pasta dish. The other day we had frozen lobster tails, and parsley artichoke hearts - with pasta, of course.

What's your idea of a perfect day?
Going out to the western deserts with a bag of cameras with my wife and family.

What's one of your favorite words?
Schadenfreude, the German word that means taking delight in someone else's misfortune.

What makes you mad?
People who don't vote, and then kvetch about the state of the world.

What's your favorite kind of weather?
There's a certain otherworldly purple light that happens when you have thin cloud cover late the day. It's magical.

What is your favorite movie?
Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow Up (not to be confused with Brian De Palma's Blow Out) - about a photographer who may or may not have photographed a murder scene.

Who were your idols as a little kid?
I'm not a big idol guy. Maybe Farrah Fawcett because I had her poster.

What character in literature, movies or television do you most identify with?
All the fools and jesters in Shakespeare. You get to have the most fun and tell the greatest truths.

What book are you currently reading?
Them: Adventures with Extremists by Jon Ronson.

Name a (or THE) defining moment in your life.
I lived through a terrible cyclone on the island of Madagascar where I attended a year of high school (freshman year). About the same time there was a coup d'état and Martial law. If I got though that, I could get through anything.

Without being asked, David adds the thing he does, but doesn't (normally) admit in public:
I read instruction manuals. I'm the only one on the planet who reads them. When I buy something online, I read the instructions the week before it gets there.

And, David also adds his favorite party trick:
I can count to 10 in Malagasy (the language of Madagascar).