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)

Airlines now have enough passengers, not enough crew

Jul 16, 2021
"It went from a lack of demand from passengers to a lack of supply for pilots overnight, like a light switch," a pilot says.
A pilot walks through LaGuardia Airport in New York before the Fourth of July weekend. While Americans are traveling again, airlines are struggling to train and retrain staff.
Spencer Platt via Getty Images

Public transit tries to lure riders back with reduced fares, other incentives

Jul 12, 2021
Across the country, ridership is still way below pre-pandemic levels.
Passengers at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station in San Francisco. Despite the economy reopening, public transit use is still down dramatically in many metropolitan areas.
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images

The chip shortage is idling Ford plants – and Ford autoworkers

Jul 1, 2021
The automotive business has its ups and downs, but union contracts protect workers from big pay cuts.
A Ford worker at an F-150 truck plant in Michigan.
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

United places its biggest order for new planes

Jun 30, 2021
It's a sign that United believes travel is back and is betting on growth again.
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

The expanded child tax credit could "cut poverty in half"

Jun 28, 2021
Starting July 15, most parents will get monthly payments for half of the tax credit instead of a lump sum at tax time.
More parents will be eligible for the child tax credit this year. Above, a mother and daughter stand outside of a community food pantry in New York.
Spencer Platt via Getty

Can $8B in grants smooth out U.S. airports' uneven recovery?

Jun 23, 2021
Passenger numbers are bouncing back. But for business destinations and international hubs, the recovery is taking longer.
The United Airlines check-in counter at San Francisco International.
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. pledge to share 80 million vaccine doses with world stumbles on logistics

Jun 22, 2021
There's no shortage of the medicines, but you can't just put them on planes and hope for the best.
So far, the U.S. has distributed only a fraction of the promised vaccines overseas.
Sia Kambou/AFP via Getty Images

Nearly 9 million older Americans still have student loan debt

Jun 21, 2021
More people are going to college and graduate school. There's also been an increase in parents taking on loan debt for their kids.
And the total amount of debt they owe is growing faster than for any other age group.
zimmytws/Getty Images

How broadly will a Supreme Court ruling on LGBTQ rights and religious freedom apply?

Jun 18, 2021
It was a relatively narrow decision in favor of Catholic Social Services, but some say it indicates a shift at the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court ruled recently that states can prosecute crimes allegedly committed by non-Natives on tribal land.
Zach Gibson/Getty Images

U.S. housing market short 6.8 million homes, report says

Jun 16, 2021
Construction of homes, especially those that are affordably priced, has fallen in recent years, according to National Assn. of Realtors.
Slowed construction of affordable housing over the past two decades has contributed to a nationwide shortage of dwellings.
Drew Angerer via Getty Images