His work explores the politics of sex and race, with a particular focus on the implications for public health. Kai contributes regularly to leading indy and community press such as Out, The Progressive and Poz magazines. He has written for publications ranging from the Village Voice to the San Francisco Chronicle since beginning his journalism career as a reporter for the Washington Blade newspaper in 1997. Kai is the author of Soldiers of Freedom: An Illustrated History of African Americans in the Armed Forces. The book explores America's struggle with race as it has been dramatized by the need to staff a viable military. Kai's also editor of The African-American Archive: The History of the Black Experience Through Documents and has contributed to a number of anthologies.