Stephanie Hughes

Senior Reporter

SHORT BIO

Stephanie Hughes is a senior reporter at Marketplace. She’s focused on education and the economy, and lives in Brooklyn.

She's reported on topics including the effectiveness of technology used by schools to prevent violence, startups that translate global climate data for homebuyers, and why theater majors are getting jobs writing for chatbots.

Previously, she worked as a producer for Bloomberg, where she covered finance, technology, and economics. Before that, she worked as the senior producer for “Maryland Morning,” broadcast on WYPR, the NPR affiliate in Baltimore. She’s also reported for other media outlets, including NPR’s “Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered,” “The Takeaway,” and Salon.

At WYPR, she helped produce the year-long, multi-platform series “The Lines Between Us,” which won a 2014 duPont-Columbia Award. She’s also interested in using crowdsourcing to create online projects, such as this interactive map of flags around Maryland, made from listener contributions.

A native of southern Delaware, Stephanie graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in communications, studying at the Annenberg School. Before she found her way to radio, she worked in the children’s division of the publishing house Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Latest Stories (507)

Confident in the economy or not, American consumers are going out

Feb 28, 2023
Sales at restaurants and bars were up around 25 percent from last year. Part of that is likely due to pent-up demand.
Kooper's Tavern is one of many bars and restaurants in Fells Point, a historic neighborhood in Baltimore.
Stephanie Hughes/Marketplace

As the pandemic wanes, where's the market for massive online learning?

Feb 23, 2023
Some platforms have laid off employees, citing the need for sustainable growth.
The pandemic forced a corporate shift to online training platforms. And that may stick, now that employees are used to learning on their own terms.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Why are more and more public school principals quitting their jobs?

Feb 22, 2023
A Rand survey finds that 16% of public school principals retired or quit in the 2021-22 school year, more than double the rate from the year before.
School principals have increasingly been at the center of polarizing debates over issues like masking.
Jon Cherry/Getty Images

Why U.S. dollars are a growing form of international aid

Feb 21, 2023
One reason to give cash: It empowers people to buy what they need, not what aid groups think they need.
Syrian rescue teams search for survivors after the recent catastrophic earthquake.
Louai Beshara/AFP via Getty Images

On Presidents Day, many elect to shop, despite prices 

Feb 20, 2023
Retail sales were up 3% in January from the month before, but some categories — like building supplies — were mostly flat.
While overall retail sales were up 3% in January from the month before, business at building materials stores was mostly flat.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

New standards for EV chargers also mean new business opportunities

Feb 16, 2023
Standardization of electric vehicle chargers across the country mean they'll be able to serve all models of cars.
Tesla car sits parked at a Tesla Supercharger. The Biden administration's new standards for EV chargers announced this week could set the stage for more business opportunities.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Fed's Lael Brainard is leaving monetary policy for fiscal policy

Feb 14, 2023
It takes a versatile person to go from setting interest rates to setting an economic agenda, one expert says.
Economist Lael Brainard will be the next director of the National Economic Council, the White House announced Tuesday.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Several states experiment with putting Medicaid funds toward food

Feb 14, 2023
A handful of states received federal waivers allowing use of Medicaid funding for medically tailored meals or nutrition counseling.
A handful of states are piloting programs to expand Medicaid to food assistance. Some experts say it could help address wider health issues faced by patients on Medicaid.
Adam Berry/Getty Images

Disney “leans in” to existing franchises

Feb 9, 2023
Because if people liked a "Frozen 2," wouldn’t they like a "Frozen 3?"
Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

Americans’ use of credit is growing, but slowing 

Feb 8, 2023
In 2022, consumer credit increased 7.8% from the year before. But in December, the growth in borrowing decelerated.
Consumer credit increased 7.8% last year, according to recent Federal Reserve data. But some Americans appear to be getting more cautious about debt.
Scott Olson/Getty Images