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)

Biden student loan plan would let borrowers pay less, get forgiveness faster

Jan 10, 2023
People who borrowed less than $12,000 for undergrad schooling could have debt forgiven after making regular payments for a decade.
Under the regulations, people who borrowed less than $12,000 for their undergraduate education could receive debt forgiveness after making regular payments for a decade.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

John Deere says it will make it easier for farmers to repair their own equipment

Jan 9, 2023
The tractor maker will allow farmers access to manuals and tools they need to fix increasingly high-tech agricultural machinery.
John Deere has more than 40% of the market share for tractors and other agricultural machinery in the U.S.
David Becker/Getty Images

More than half a million health care workers were hired last year. We still need more.

Jan 9, 2023
The recent jobs report shows a marked rise in the number of healthcare jobs added to the economy.
The latest jobs report shows that the number of workers in the health care sector has climbed back to around pre-pandemic levels.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

The costs of banning women from education in Afghanistan are felt everywhere

Jan 6, 2023
The World Bank estimates the costs of not educating girls through high school is between $15 and $30 trillion dollars in lost lifetime productivity and earnings. But the costs go beyond the financial.
Afghan women and girls take part in a protest in front of the Ministry of Education in Kabul on March 26, 2022, demanding that high schools be reopened for girls.
Ahmad Sahel Arman/AFP via Getty Images

Layoffs at tech companies signal a shift in IT spending

Jan 5, 2023
Salesforce said this week it’s reducing office space and laying off about 10% of its workforce, after years of increasing employee headcount. Some analysts say this could be a sign of the company maturing.
Salesforce announced that it will lay off around 10% of its workforce, which comes after a previous pandemic-era expansion.
Stephen Lam/Getty Images

'Tis the season of post-holiday gift returns

Jan 4, 2023
About 18% of all holiday sales are expected to be returned. That comes with costs to companies, consumers, and the climate.
An estimated $171 billion in returns are expected from this holiday season, says a report from the National Retail Federation.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Federal student aid office has a big to-do list in 2023, but the same budget

Dec 29, 2022
The office will have to manage student loan forgiveness — if that clears Supreme Court challenges — and the resumption of loan payments after a pandemic pause.
The Supreme Court will hear challenges to the administration's student debt forgiveness policy in February.
Paul Morigi/Getty Images for We the 45m

Which products — and people — are left out of the FSA bonanza?

Dec 28, 2022
The end-of-year deadline often means a rush to buy eligible items, like thermometers, pain relievers and feminine hygiene products.
Feminine hygiene products, like tampons, became FSA-eligible in 2020.
Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Community colleges continue to see a drop in academic staffing

Dec 21, 2022
It's often hard for community colleges to recruit instructors because of competition from other job opportunities that pay more.
Community colleges often compete for faculty with four-year universities, which usually can offer higher wages, lighter teaching workloads and more full-time jobs. 
crisserbug/Getty Images

What it means to buy a house on a block that loves Christmas

Dec 20, 2022
Residents of 34th Street in Baltimore purchased not just a dwelling, but a whole new way of life during the month of December.
Joey Zeledon (left) and Martelle Esposito work on the display in front of their home on 34th Street in Baltimore.
Stephanie Hughes/Marketplace