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 (524)

Why does a bank sell your mortgage?

Feb 6, 2024
Most are sold into the secondary market, which increases liquidity and makes it easier to get a mortgage at a lower interest rate.
Today, upward of 70% of mortgages are sold into the secondary market, typically bundled with others to create a mortgage-back security. It can be annoying, though, when your servicer changes.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

U.S. productivity is up for the third quarter in a row. What does that mean?

Feb 1, 2024
Rising productivity makes possible rising living standards over time.
One way to think about productivity is the total amount of income the economy is generating per hour, says Heidi Shierholz at the Economic Policy Institute.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Profits from sales of median-price homes fell slightly last year, but are still pretty huge

Jan 25, 2024
People who sold a median-price home last year made more than $120,000 in profit on a typical sale, according to a new report out today from the property data company ATTOM.
High home sale profits might be a sign that the market is starting to normalize.
George Rose/Getty Images

Rents for New York retail space haven’t caught up to pre-pandemic highs

Jan 23, 2024
Retail rents in Manhattan in late 2023 were still 20% to 30% below 2019 levels, thanks in part to fewer tourists and office workers.
"Some of the retail corridors like Fifth Avenue and Times Square have a little bit more vacancy than they did," said Keith DeCoster of the Real Estate Board of New York.
Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Can't sleep? Mattresses, masks and supplements say they can help.

Jan 22, 2024
A third of adults regularly get too little sleep. "Sleep tech" and other specialized products are growing, multibillion-dollar industries.
An artificial intelligence-capable mattress at the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show. A study found people are willing to spend up to 14% of their income trying to get better sleep.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Turns out EVs don't like the cold either

Jan 19, 2024
Some EV owners are finding that the batteries don't always perform optimally in the freezing temperatures affecting much of the country.
If you normally get 400 miles out of a full battery charge, there's a chance you might only get 200 or 300 miles depending on the car and how cold it is outside.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Shipping rates rise as Red Sea attacks continue

Jan 17, 2024
The attacks on ships by Houthi rebels are forcing expensive detours and more costly insurance for ships.
Roughly a third of global shipping usually passes through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea.
Sayed Hassan/Getty Images

Why Affordable Care Act coverage has record enrollment

Jan 15, 2024
Plans are cheaper because of pandemic-era subsidies, and millions who lost Medicaid coverage have found their way to ACA marketplaces.
Affordable Care Act plans have become less expensive in the last few years, thanks to pandemic-era subsidies. Above, a person fills out an insurance application at an ACA enrollment fair.
David McNew/Getty Images

That empty feeling: Office vacancy rates hit a new high

Jan 9, 2024
Many companies have decided they want employees in the office only part of the time, but they don't want to pay rent on empty space.
As companies commit to long-term hybrid work environments, less office space is needed, leaving many buildings partially vacant.
C. Taylor Crothers/Getty Images

For this Brooklyn ice cream company, 2023 felt like the first year "we're back on track”

Jan 5, 2024
Pooja Bavishi's Indian-inspired treats were always popular. But the path to the expansion of her business was long and complicated.
Part of the production space for Malai, which sells its Indian-inspired treats retail, wholesale and online.
Samantha Fields/Marketplace