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Marielle Segarra

Senior Reporter

SHORT BIO

Marielle Segarra is a former reporter for Marketplace. She covers taxes and consumer psychology. She covered retail, consumer psychology and the economy. One topic she enjoyed exploring: how we shop – and the emotions that come up as we do. Pride. Guilt. Frustration. She also followed small businesses as they find their way in the pandemic and is always trying to show people how the ins and outs of the economy are relevant to their lives.

What was your first job?

Summer camp counselor to a bunch of 5-year-olds.

In your next life, what would your career be?

I think I would still want to create things. Maybe I'd be a chef. Or an interior designer. Or I'd write for a TV show.

Fill in the blank: Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you ______.

Financial stability, which is a good start.

What’s the favorite item in your workspace and why?

My stash of chocolate.

Latest Stories (452)

U.S. retailers fret over possible tariffs on products from China

Apr 5, 2018
As the tariff fight between China and the United States escalates, retailers are worried. They say U.S. tariffs on Chinese products could result in higher prices and have some other unintended consequences. Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

What a Chapter 11 retail bankruptcy looks like on the ground

Mar 23, 2018
Multibillion-dollar retailers are enormous machines, with a complex network of suppliers and tens of thousands of workers around the country. Chapter 11 puts them in limbo.
Toys R Us filed for liquidation in a U.S. Bankruptcy court and plans to close 735 stores, leaving 33,000 workers out of jobs. Above, a Toys R Us store in Emeryville, California.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

March Madness means lots of illegal sports betting

Mar 22, 2018
A New Jersey casino gambling case before the Supreme Court could open the door for more legal sports gambling.
A general view as the Miami Hurricanes face the Wichita State Shockers during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Dunkin' Donuts Center on March 19, 2016 in Providence, Rhode Island. 
Tim Bradbury/Getty Images

Toys R Us and why the retail downturn is all about debt

Mar 14, 2018
Store closings and bankruptcies are usually blamed on online competition. But that's only part of the story.
Toys R Us is closing about a fifth of its stores.
DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images

Markets don't like the departure of Trump's chief economic adviser

Gary Cohn, Trump's chief economic adviser, resigned on Tuesday.
Trump's chief economic adviser Gary Cohn arrives for a joint press conference with President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway at the White House in Washington, D.C, on Jan. 10, 2018.
JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

In West Virginia, teachers get a victory

Mar 1, 2018
West Virginia teachers head back to the classroom Thursday morning after a four-day teacher’s strike culminated in a deal with the governor for a 5 percent pay increase. It’s being seen as a victory for teachers unions across the country. But is that true? Click the audio player above to hear the full story.

Were retail jobs always low wage, with few benefits?

Feb 9, 2018
A brief history of retail work in America.
STR/AFP/Getty Images

Wage pickup, a long time coming, leaves investors unhappy

The pace of wage growth increased in January, with average hourly earnings up 2.9 percent year-over-year, according to the Labor Department’s monthly Employment Report. But real, inflation-adjusted wages have been nearly stagnant for decades, rising just 7 percent for the median household over the past 40 years, according to analysis by the Economic Policy Institute. […]

The financial reality facing America's 16 million retail workers

Jan 29, 2018
A lot of retail workers have to use credit cards and borrow money from family members to meet basic expenses.
A female Wal-Mart employee walks through a parking lot as she returns to work at a Wal-Mart store June 23, 2004 in St. Charles, Illinois.
Tim Boyle/Getty Images