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)

As more teachers leave the profession, substitutes become even more essential

Aug 2, 2022
Pandemic-era needs for substitute teachers are changing how schools fill the job – and who they hire to fill it.
The concept of the substitute teacher has been altered because of the pandemic-fueled teacher shortage.
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Colleges get creative to solve housing insecurity among students

Jul 29, 2022
At the University of Utah, students can live with alumni. One California school is using a parking garage as a stopgap.
A lack of affordable housing can be a barrier to attending college, so schools are trying to find alternatives.
Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Most workers who switched jobs earned more, Pew study finds

Jul 28, 2022
Even when adjusted for inflation, 60% percent of workers who changed jobs earned more in their new roles.  
Pay is a highly visible reason people leave one job for another.
pcess609/Getty Images

As the school year approaches, districts scramble to hire teachers

Jul 22, 2022
In many districts, the kids are due back in August, and lots of school leaders are still trying to figure out who’s going to be in front of them.
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Peer-to-peer payment use is growing. So are scams.

Jul 20, 2022
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will reportedly push banks to reimburse customers who lose their money through scams on apps like Paypal, Venmo and Zelle.
Payment apps haven’t disclosed how much consumers have lost from scams, but Lisa Ellis with MoffettNathanson estimates it’s around $10 billion.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

U.S. schools are rebuilding on safer ground to combat flooding and climate change

Jul 18, 2022
Thousands of schools are located in areas subject to flooding, a Pew study says. Rebuilding puts schools in competition for safer land.
Needing to rebuild and re-purchase supplies after a flood can be very expensive for schools and their communities, said Matt Casale with the Public Interest Research Group. Above, volunteers clean a school in Houston after flooding from Hurricane Harvey in 2017. 
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With a new school year in view, many districts struggle to find enough teachers

Jul 14, 2022
Some districts are offering more pay and housing stipends. Others are cutting back, putting a bigger load on remaining teachers.
Some school districts are offering hiring bonuses to fill a shortage of educators. Others are simply making do with fewer teachers.
John Cherry/Getty Images

What role should college rankings play in choosing a school?

Jul 13, 2022
The rankings created by U.S. News have become very influential, but critics say prospective students should do more research.
The Columbia University campus in New York City. Last week, U.S. News & World Report said it was removing the school from its influential college rankings because of questions about the data Columbia submitted.
Jeenah Moon/Getty Images

As baby formula plant reopens, can the U.S. diversify the marketplace?

Jul 11, 2022
Almost all the formula bought in the U.S. is made domestically, and imports face multiple barriers.
The U.S. imposes tariffs on formula imports. Instead of lifting them, the Biden administration is trying to simplify the FDA approval process for certain foreign producers.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

A lack of affordable child care is keeping women out of the workforce

Jul 8, 2022
Child care is a poorly paid profession that continues to be one of the biggest expenses for parents.
The child care sector is down nearly 100,000 workers since the start of 2020, according to one estimate.
Stephanie Keith/Getty Images