Samantha Fields

Senior Reporter

SHORT BIO

Samantha Fields is a senior reporter at Marketplace.

She’s particularly interested in how the economy affects people’s everyday lives, and a lot of her coverage focuses on economic inequality, housing and climate change.

She’s also reported and produced for WCAI and The GroundTruth Project, the “NPR Politics Podcast,” NPR’s midday show, “Here & Now,” Vermont Public Radio and Maine Public Radio. She got her start in journalism as a reporter for a community paper, The Wellesley Townsman, and her start in radio as an intern and freelance producer at “The Takeaway” at WNYC. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Latest Stories (537)

What might the extended pause on federal student loan repayment mean for borrowers?

Dec 23, 2021
The Biden administration says there are more than 40 million people with outstanding student loan debt.
The Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden's loan forgiveness plan, but the Biden administration has announced some remedies that will provide some borrowers with relief.
zimmytws via Getty Images

A new strategy to fight COVID: more home test kits

Dec 22, 2021
Starting in January, people will be able to sign up to get free rapid COVID tests mailed to them at home.
Rapid at-home Covid-19 test kits are ready to be distributed by the GreenRoots environmental protection organization and Chelsea Community Connections in Chelsea, Massachusetts, on December 17, 2021.
JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images

How do people see their personal finances heading into 2022?

Dec 21, 2021
Many say they worry that inflation will keep them from getting ahead, even though the job market has improved and wages are rising.
People aren't expecting their financial situation to improve due to inflation.
Chainarong Prasertthai/Getty Images

Payments and interest on federal student loans set to resume after nearly 2 years

Dec 20, 2021
More than 40 million borrowers with federal student loans have had a respite through the pandemic. That ends Jan. 31.
Activists hold festive signs calling on President Joe Biden to cancel student debt.
Paul Morigi/Getty Images for We, The 45 Million

Wednesday's child tax credit payments could be the last

Dec 15, 2021
The expansion of the child tax credit was temporary and will expire at the end of the year unless Congress votes to extend it.
Children draw on a canceled check prop during a rally in Washington urging extension of the expanded child tax credit.
Alex Wong via Getty Images

The Fed has ways to put the brakes on rising prices

Dec 14, 2021
Most of them need a little time to slow the economy down.
To curb inflation, the central bank can reduce bond buying, raise interest rates and try to  influence consumers' expectations and behavior.
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

FEMA plans to double down on climate preparedness

Dec 10, 2021
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's new strategic plan focuses on helping communities adapt to the changing climate.
A FEMA task force searches a flooded North Carolina neighborhood in 2018. The emergency response agency is boosting its investment in helping communities withstand destructive weather.
Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
Omicron has halted many employers' plans to bring people back to the office.
Getty Images

This year's hurricane season was the fourth most expensive on record

Dec 3, 2021
Two hurricanes and three tropical storms each caused over a billion dollars of damage.
Cars sit abandoned on the flooded Major Deegan Expressway in New York City following a night of extremely heavy rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida on September 2, 2021.
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Renewable energy generating capacity hit a record this year. But that's half the story.

Dec 1, 2021
Because no form of electrical generation operates at full capacity all the time.
Onshore windmills generally produce energy about one-third of the time, an expert said. Above a wind farm near Palm Springs, California.
Gabriel Bouys/AFP via Getty Images