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)
What's it like publishing your first book in a pandemic?
Aug 18, 2020
The pandemic has created “a very challenging environment” for first-time authors.
What does Trump's order on student loans actually mean for borrowers?
Aug 13, 2020
The president over the weekend signed a memorandum extending the current payment pause and interest waiver for most federal student loans through the end of the year.
Risk of deepening hunger crisis as SNAP exemption expires
Aug 11, 2020
When the pandemic began, the federal government made it easier for states to approve people for SNAP, but that flexibility is ending this month, raising concerns that more people will go hungry.
The $600-a-week unemployment aid expired, but millions are still being laid off
Aug 5, 2020
Without federal unemployment benefits, "the economy tanks."
Can I file a backdated unemployment claim?
Jul 31, 2020
If you’ve struggled to get through to the unemployment office, you should still be able to file and get weeks or months of back pay.
Months into pandemic, many still not getting unemployment
Jul 29, 2020
Some who have lost jobs because of COVID still have not filed for unemployment benefits, even though they’re eligible.
Need for food stamps surges with pandemic
Jul 27, 2020
More than six million people signed up for food stamps in just three months, more than in the first 17 months of the Great Recession.
Rent relief funds quickly overwhelmed by need
Jul 22, 2020
In Los Angeles, more than 220,000 people applied to the city’s rent relief fund, but there is only enough money to help 50,000 people.
Americans were already struggling to save for retirement. The pandemic is making it worse.
Jul 15, 2020
Widespread unemployment is putting more people at risk of not being financially secure in retirement.
With tips down, some restaurants have raised wages for servers. Will it last?
Jul 13, 2020
“A lot of workers are saying no, I refuse to go back and put my health at risk and my family's health at risk for $2, $3 or $4 an hour.”