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 (490)

Austin Powers and Dr. Evil can teach us to adjust for inflation

Jun 11, 2024
Don’t be like Dr. Evil, who didn’t check the CPI before making ransom demands.
"One meeellion dollars!"
Still from "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery"

What does the Phillips curve tell us about the economy?

Jun 5, 2024
The Phillips Curve says that low unemployment is linked to high inflation. But history shows that the economy doesn't always work that way.
Economist A.W. Phillips came up with what’s known as “the Phillips curve” in 1958. It says that low unemployment is linked to high inflation.
Orbon Alija via Getty Images

Steady hiring and quitting rates may be a sign that workers are staying put

Jun 4, 2024
The data suggest the job market could be returning to more normal times after an exceptional period of hiring new employees.
The April JOLTS report is a sign the economy is coming back to a very good job market. It's just not the once-in-a-lifetime market of 2021 and 2022, says economics professor Ethan Struby of Carleton College.
SDI Productions/Getty Images

What motivates companies to replace workers with machines?

May 30, 2024
A labor shortage in manufacturing seems to be tempting them.
Jim Young/AFP via Getty Images

Core capital goods spending rose in April, a positive sign for future production

May 27, 2024
The measure, which also increased year over year, tracks big, one-off purchases like machinery for manufacturing.
The core capital goods category tracks big, one-time purchases made by businesses, like machinery.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Why home improvement retailers are going after pro contractors

May 21, 2024
Lowe’s reported that first quarter sales are down from the same period last year, but spending by professionals is up.
About 25% to 30% of Lowe’s sales are to professional contractors.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Now that the Dali has moved, will business in the Port of Baltimore return to normal?

May 20, 2024
The Coast Guard expects to allow the same size and kinds of cargo ships to come into the port that were able to prior to the bridge collapse.
Trans American's Baltimore warehouse is nearly empty.
Stephanie Hughes/Marketplace

End of pandemic funding forces some schools to consider cutting teachers, programming

May 15, 2024
School districts across the country have relied on a combined $190 billion in federal money for more than three years. But time’s up: the funds have to be accounted for by Sept. 30.
Schools must account for pandemic relief funds by Sept. 30,
Jon Cherry/Getty Images

“It’s Jenga meets pick-up sticks, which meets slinky rubber band”

May 14, 2024
Workers clearing Key Bridge debris include members of the Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, Navy and civilian salvagers.
Workers use different tools, from torches to weights, to break apart the parts of the collapsed Key Bridge.
Stephanie Hughes/Marketplace

Consumers don't expect their incomes to grow as fast as prices

May 13, 2024
Consumers forecast inflation at 3.3% this time next year and are less confident that their earnings will rise as much as they had expected.
Consumers expect to spend more on the need-to-haves, like housing and food. Discretionary want-to-haves in their budgets may be squeezed.
Scott Olson/Getty Images