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Samantha Fields

Senior Reporter

SHORT BIO

Samantha Fields is a senior reporter at Marketplace.

She’s particularly interested in how the economy affects people’s everyday lives, and a lot of her coverage focuses on economic inequality, housing and climate change.

She’s also reported and produced for WCAI and The GroundTruth Project, the “NPR Politics Podcast,” NPR’s midday show, “Here & Now,” Vermont Public Radio and Maine Public Radio. She got her start in journalism as a reporter for a community paper, The Wellesley Townsman, and her start in radio as an intern and freelance producer at “The Takeaway” at WNYC. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Latest Stories (532)

Home heating oil prices have dropped from record highs

Feb 10, 2023
A milder winter is one reason why. But it's still a significant expense, and applications for assistance are up.
A milder winter means milder demand for home heating oil.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Were last year's state payments taxable? Taxpayers wait while the IRS decides.

Feb 9, 2023
It's will depend on why the payments were made and who got them.
The Internal Revenue Service building in Washington. Even though tax season is upon us, the agency hasn't yet ruled whether special payments from states will be exempt.
Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Growth of solar energy and battery capacity yields sunny forecast for the industry

Feb 6, 2023
The federal Energy Information Administration predicts that more than half of the new capacity added to the electric grid this year will be solar.
"Now, there's more incentive and more availability of locations to build new solar projects," an Energy Department spokesman said.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

As workers slowly come back, big city office occupancy hits a new pandemic milestone

Feb 2, 2023
For the rest of the country, remote work numbers are stable.
Though more workers have begun returning to offices in larger cities, that's less true for workers elsewhere in the country. Above, a view of office buildings in San Francisco.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Retail is recovering — and flowering — in smaller cities and the suburbs

Feb 1, 2023
A new report from the JPMorgan Chase Institute finds retail has followed consumers to where many more now work and live.
Consumers are continuing to spend — just closer to home. Above, people walk at an outdoor shopping area in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Jessica McGowan/Getty Images

What is it about cookbooks?

Jan 31, 2023
You can get pretty much any recipe you want online. But cookbooks still sell. A lot.
Leslie Gray Streeter, prepping to cook mushroom risotto, has 47 cookbooks in her kitchen. This year, her goal is to make something from every single one.
Samantha Fields/Marketplace

Savings are up, spending is down. Are consumers better off or just nervous?

Jan 27, 2023
The savings rate went up half a percentage point in December, but it's still not back to pre-pandemic levels.
Wipada Wipawin/Getty Images

Renting is now cheaper than owning in most of the country

Jan 20, 2023
A new report from ATTOM says it's now cheaper to rent than own a place in most parts of the country.
A new report says that renting a place in most of the country has become cheaper per month than owning. 
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. hit its debt ceiling. Now it's time for “extraordinary measures.”

Jan 19, 2023
Basically, Treasury will have to move money around so it can keep paying the country’s most important bills. At least for a little while longer.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that her department would have to take "extraordinary measures" to keep the U.S. government from defaulting on its debt.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

Declining December retail sales hit especially hard for small businesses

Jan 18, 2023
How did this holiday season go? A few entrepreneurs weigh in.
The latest retail sales data shows a larger-than-expected decrease in purchases in December. For small businesses, those declines hit harder.
SouthWorks/Getty Images