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Nova Safo

SHORT BIO

Nova Safo is a correspondent for Marketplace, and co-host of the “Marketplace Minute” newscast.

He returned to Marketplace after a three-year detour at the international news wire service Agence France-Presse, where he was a Midwest correspondent covering 16 states and serving thousands of clients in print, online news, and broadcast TV and radio. 

He has also been a correspondent for the now-shuttered CNN Radio, a staff journalist at NPR and Yahoo! News, and freelancer for SoundVision Productions, LA Public Media (a project of the CPB and Radio Bilingue) and other outlets.

Latest Stories (356)

Why a Guarneri violin is expected to fetch $10 million at auction

Mar 1, 2023
Despite numerous scientific tests, there are no definitive answers for why Guarneri instruments have their unique, coveted sound.
Marketplace's Nova Safo playing  the ‘Baltic’ Guarneri at New York's Tarisio auction house next to Grammy-winning violinist Charles Yang. "It's like going from a Camry to a Lamborghini," Safo said.
Sean Conaboy

One big bank halts new fossil fuel investments. Will others follow?

Dec 29, 2022
HSBC said it will stop investing in new oil and gas fields. Climate activist Bill McKibben calls it a welcome first step.
Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Congress moves to boost rainy day funds for workers

Included in the $1.7 trillion spending bill Congress recently passed are measures to help grow workers’ emergency savings.
Ridofranz via Getty Images

For millennials, the cost of homes and other milestones just keep rising out of reach

We looked at the costs of major expenses like homes and vacations and adjusted for inflation. It's not pretty.
Younger generations looking to buy a home will encounter a volley of challenges due to years of inflation, stagnating wages and rising prices.
Getty Images

U.S. Forest Service is short thousands of firefighters amid pay raise delay

May 10, 2022
With a pay raise funded by the infrastructure bill stuck in bureaucratic morass, the agency is struggling to staff up to the full force it needs.
Many firefighters have sounded alarms about crews and forests being critically short-staffed, even as they prepare for what is expected to be another challenging summer.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

How patience can pay off when it comes to filing for Social Security

Waiting until age 70 to file for Social Security means a roughly 76% boost to benefits.
In this photo illustration, a Social Security card sits alongside checks from the U.S. Treasury on October 14, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Social Security Administration announced recipients will receive an annual cost of living adjustment of 5.9%, the largest increase since 1982. The larger increase is aimed at helping to offset rising inflation.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

In labor crunch, businesses back efforts to clear workers' criminal records

Oct 22, 2021
“Clean slate” laws call for updating court databases and creating algorithms to automatically clear records for minor offenses.
Many officials and activists are trying to modernize the record-clearing process for people with criminal records and ease their path to employment.
Joe Raedle via Getty Images

Ready or not, community around United Flight 93 memorial prepares for waves of visitors

Sep 10, 2021
The nationwide worker shortage's effects can be seen as local businesses prepare for the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
Visitors look out over the crash site at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on Sept. 9, 2021.
Nova Safo / Marketplace

United Flight 93 memorial leaves personal, economic mark on nearby communities

Sep 9, 2021
The Flight 93 memorial has attracted visitors to the area, but locals there say there hasn't been a massive boost.
A church near the Flight 93 National Memorial displays a sign with events scheduled for Sept. 11, 2021.
Nova Safo / Marketplace

Could the Steel City become a silicon city? A look at a post 9/11 Pennsylvania

This weekend marks 20 years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. We check in on Pennsylvania, where Flight 93 crashed in a field. Marketplace's Nova Safo joins us from Pittsburgh.
 In Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood, which used to be majority Black, longtime businesses mix with newcomers popping up amid redevelopment spurred by tech industry growth.
Nova Safo / Marketplace