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Maria Hollenhorst

Producer

SHORT BIO

Maria Hollenhorst is based in Los Angeles, California.

She produces content for Marketplace’s flagship broadcast including host interviews, economic explainers, and personal stories for the “Adventures in Housing” and “My Economy” series. Her work has been recognized by the Association for Business Journalists Best in Business Awards.

When not making radio, she can be found hiking, skiing, jogging, roller-blading, or exploring this beautiful world. Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, she wound her way into journalism after graduating from the University of Utah. She has a deep appreciation for trees.

Latest Stories (402)

For small-business owners, “it’s just never-ending”

Mar 17, 2021
An independent hairstylist reflects on her newfound respect for small-business ownership after a year on her own.
Hairstylist Ashley Nelson’s private suite in downtown Boise, Idaho. She's looking to grow and bring people with her.
Courtesy of Ashley Nelson

“This is not Christmas,” Illinois comptroller warns of federal relief money

Mar 16, 2021
“That money is essentially spoken for,” Susana Mendoza says of the $7.5 billion coming to the state from the American Rescue Plan.
Federal relief money offers a chance for Illinois to pay down its debt. Above, a view of Lake Michigan from the Sears Tower Skydeck in Chicago.
Tim Boyle/Getty Images

Why this unemployed bartender feels “betrayed” by the nation's safety net

Mar 4, 2021
Neil Cairns of Portland, Oregon, is finding that returning to work is a tough job.
"I'm casting my net as wide as I can," says former bartender Neil Cairns about his search for work.
Thomas Patterson

What does inflation look like?

Feb 23, 2021
Inflation’s been hard to find in this economy for years, but what if that changes?
At 2% inflation, the Federal Reserve's target rate, it takes about 35 years for prices to double.
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Do looks matter for success in economics? Actually, they're pretty important.

Feb 18, 2021
The short answer is yes, but you should read the long answer too.
A recent working paper on the effect of attractiveness on the job outcomes of economists is the latest example of the economics profession reflecting on itself.
Photo by Norman Smith/Fox Photos/Getty Images

The pandemic as seen by a high-school senior and his older brother

Feb 17, 2021
“It's very easy to just stay in your room all day and not let anybody know what's happening to you,” says student AJ Williams.
CPA Michael Durant, right, and his younger brother, AJ Williams. The brothers lost their mother to COVID, and Williams is missing his freedom because of the quarantine.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace

Checking in on America’s “data infrastructure”

Feb 11, 2021
For everything you do, there's a statistic, and behind that number are federal statistical agencies in need of attention.
Whether it’s determining optimal highway width or the size of Social Security benefits, “there’s a stat for that,” says Robert Santos, president of the American Statistical Association.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Attention job seekers: “We all have worth, we all have value”

Feb 5, 2021
A story about job hunting from a job-hunting counselor. “I learned a valuable lesson,” says Carolyn Kennard of Texas.
Carolyn Kennard, a regional facilitator at the Houston-Galveston division of nonprofit Workforce Solutions, leads a career workshop for high school students in 2019.
Workforce Solutions – Houston, Texas

Why Valentine’s Day shipping delays are this CEO’s “biggest fear”

Feb 3, 2021
“There’s just a lot of it that’s out of our control completely,” says Christina Stembel of Farmgirl Flowers.
Valentine's Day shipping delays have the potential to cost Farmgirl Flowers $12 million in a worst-case scenario, CEO Christina Stembel says. Above, a Farmgirl Flowers bouquet.
Courtesy of Farmgirl Flowers

Despite challenges, this movie theater operator is optimistic about the future

Jan 28, 2021
“While streaming is a reality, it’s not communal,” said Stephanie Silverman of Nashville’s Belcourt Theatre. People “will want to be out in the world again.”
An empty screening room at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, which has been closed for indoor screenings since Jan. 1.
(Courtesy of the Belcourt Theatre)