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)

Facing shortages of construction materials and labor, builders try to be flexible

Aug 2, 2021
Often that means negotiating what gets done when.
Everything from worker shortage to material prices have forced builders to adapt.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

This summer on Cape Cod, longer lines and help wanted signs

Jul 30, 2021
Almost every restaurant and business is understaffed this summer. At the same time, there are more tourists on the Cape than ever.
At Mac’s on the Pier in Wellfleet, waiting in line has always been part of the experience. But according to the owner, waits have peaked from an hour and a half to five hours this summer.
Samantha Fields

Vaccine access is "principal fault line" in global economic recovery — IMF

Jul 28, 2021
The International Monetary Fund has raised its economic growth forecast for economies with relatively high vaccination rates and lowered it for those where rates are low.
Increasing vaccine access around the world "is clearly the No. 1 policy priority," says Malhar Nabar of the IMF. "That's the only way we're going to really beat back this pandemic."
Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images

Just $3 billion in rent relief has gone out, with CDC eviction ban set to end

Jul 23, 2021
More rental assistance was distributed in June than in the previous three months combined, but it's still a small fraction of the nearly $50 billion Congress approved.
Demonstrators march in the street during a "Cancel Rent and Mortgages" rally in June 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Brandon Bell via Getty Images

Fewer students fill out FAFSA, enroll in college since pandemic began

Jul 21, 2021
The National College Attainment Network estimates that about 270,000 fewer high school seniors have filled out the FAFSA since 2019.
People mill about on the City University of New York campus. During the pandemic, the number of FAFSA applicants dropped, which means fewer eligible could students receive grants and loans.
Drew Angerer via Getty images

After a wild year, the used-car market may be returning to normal

Jul 20, 2021
Inventory is rising as people sell extra vehicles to take advantage of high prices and dealerships make enticing trade-in offers, experts say.
The number of available used cars for sale is creeping back up after low inventory. Prices for the vehicles may peak this month.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

The pandemic has changed how some parents talk to their kids about money

Jul 19, 2021
“There were a lot more opportunities to have some of these conversations," one dad tells us.
CEO and founder of the Disparity Trap board game, Christian Telesmar, explains what led him to create such a game and how business is going.
Christopher Furlong via Getty Images

Airlines now have enough passengers, not enough crew

Jul 16, 2021
"It went from a lack of demand from passengers to a lack of supply for pilots overnight, like a light switch," a pilot says.
A pilot walks through LaGuardia Airport in New York before the Fourth of July weekend. While Americans are traveling again, airlines are struggling to train and retrain staff.
Spencer Platt via Getty Images

Public transit tries to lure riders back with reduced fares, other incentives

Jul 12, 2021
Across the country, ridership is still way below pre-pandemic levels.
Passengers at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station in San Francisco. Despite the economy reopening, public transit use is still down dramatically in many metropolitan areas.
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images

The chip shortage is idling Ford plants – and Ford autoworkers

Jul 1, 2021
The automotive business has its ups and downs, but union contracts protect workers from big pay cuts.
A Ford worker at an F-150 truck plant in Michigan.
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images