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)

AI has helped Microsoft beat Apple to become the most valuable company in the world

Jan 30, 2024
And investors will be hoping for more good news on that front when the company announces quarterly earnings.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at an OpenAI event on Nov. 6, 2023.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

What does the indie film market look like in the wake of Hollywood strikes and a pandemic?

Jan 26, 2024
The Sundance Film Festival has seem some big buys, and renewed interest especially for the small screen.
A lot of indie filmmakers are making movies meant to be seen in theaters, but that market doesn't necessarily exist anymore at Sundance, says Variety film critic Peter Debruge.
Mat Hayward/Getty Images

What drove the strong growth in GDP at the end of 2023? Consumer spending.

Jan 25, 2024
Nostalgia, cold weather and an uptick in business travel have been good news for three Baltimore businesses.
The bump in GDP reflects increased consumer spending on goods and services.
LumiNola/Getty Images

Getting the "USDA Organic" seal costs time and money, but it can open doors to a growing market

Jan 23, 2024
Farmers and food companies need to pass rigorous inspections by third-party certifiers.
Organic inspector Dovi Naparstek at work in a facility owned by a chocolate maker in New York.
Stephanie Hughes/Marketplace

Is there room in an aspirational budget to spend on fun and save for a house?

Jan 17, 2024
Consumers' plans for spending on fun edge out everyday essentials and big-ticket items, according to a survey from the New York Fed.
Consumers are spending more on things like skin care, make-up and candles, says Natalie Kotlyar of BDO.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Fenty Beauty by Rihanna

How pizza can explain a proposed rule about bank capital

Jan 16, 2024
Regulators want to make sure banks have enough money on hand to weather wobbles in the economy. Too much risk can ruin a good meal.
If you think of the funding a bank uses to do business as a pizza, debt would be slices with unusual toppings (which come with more risk) and equity slices would be plain cheese. The proposed rule would require more of those plain slices. But the banking industry warns that would cost more.
Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

It doesn’t take a Mathlete to know a “Mean Girls” remake adds up for Hollywood

Jan 12, 2024
The latest iteration is a musical movie, and a chance to make money by presenting old material to a new audience.
More "Mean Girls": Bebe Wood, left, Avantika and Reneé Rapp star in the new musical movie.
Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures

Rent data has clout in the consumer price index — but also limitations

Jan 11, 2024
The CPI's calculation of shelter costs is considered a lagging indicator.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics checks rent prices every six months, so it can take time for increases to be reflected in the data.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

After the long night of inflation, consumers finally expect to see the sun

Jan 8, 2024
Consumers forecast inflation at 3% a year from now, the lowest their short-term expectations have been in three years.
One reason consumers are feeling better about inflation is that major price hikes for essentials like gasoline and eggs appear to be in the past. But that doesn't mean prices will fall.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Temp jobs have been disappearing. That's actually good news for workers and companies.

Jan 2, 2024
Workers prefer the stability of permanent jobs, and permanent workers tend to be more productive.
The temporary employment sector has weakened as demand softened and many temps became permanent.
Portra/Getty Images