Stephanie Hughes

Senior Reporter

SHORT BIO

Stephanie Hughes is a senior reporter at Marketplace. She’s focused on education and the economy, and lives in Brooklyn.

She's reported on topics including the effectiveness of technology used by schools to prevent violence, startups that translate global climate data for homebuyers, and why theater majors are getting jobs writing for chatbots.

Previously, she worked as a producer for Bloomberg, where she covered finance, technology, and economics. Before that, she worked as the senior producer for “Maryland Morning,” broadcast on WYPR, the NPR affiliate in Baltimore. She’s also reported for other media outlets, including NPR’s “Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered,” “The Takeaway,” and Salon.

At WYPR, she helped produce the year-long, multi-platform series “The Lines Between Us,” which won a 2014 duPont-Columbia Award. She’s also interested in using crowdsourcing to create online projects, such as this interactive map of flags around Maryland, made from listener contributions.

A native of southern Delaware, Stephanie graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in communications, studying at the Annenberg School. Before she found her way to radio, she worked in the children’s division of the publishing house Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Latest Stories (473)

The insurance industry is hiring

May 5, 2023
Insurance is a growing field right now. Severe weather and widespread worry are among the reasons.
Adverse weather is one reason the insurance industry is booming. For instance, insurers  need adjusters to examine the damage caused by floods and tornadoes.
Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images

What do bank branches offer in an online-banking world?

May 3, 2023
JPMorgan Chase's purchase of First Republic includes its brick-and-mortar locations. In-person interaction is still a key part of the business.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

How interest-only mortgages can be risky for borrowers and lenders

May 2, 2023
These mortgages were key to the economic climate that led to the 2008 financial crisis. First Republic had a lot of them.
First Republic Bank had a lot of of interest-only loans, which can be risky for both borrowers and lenders.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

College decision day announcements take on a life — and cost — of their own

Apr 27, 2023
The May 1 ritual can put pressure on students to make a choice before they have financial aid information, a college consultant says.
“A lot of times, you have to tell students, 'Divorce yourself from college signing day if that's what it takes to make the right decision for you,'" says Jennifer Jessie, a college consultant.
Getty Images

School superintendents are leaving in droves. How do districts prep new candidates?

Apr 26, 2023
The job requires leaders to be good with both people and money.
The Public Schools Superintendents' Association of Maryland is putting on an academy for aspiring superintendents to develop administrators qualified to lead districts.
Stephanie Hughes/Marketplace

What will the end of the pause on student loan payments mean for retailers?

Apr 21, 2023
Discretionary spending may decline as people add those payments back into their budgets.
When payment obligations resume as expected this year, discretionary spending could dip and affect big-box retailers and local bistros alike.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

In a tight labor market, technical training is everything

Apr 20, 2023
Employers need more skilled workers, and some technical and community colleges are getting more funding to train them.
There has been an uptick in overall state funding for technical and community colleges, which hospitals often rely on to train registered nurses and surgical technicians.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Employers rely on internships as a recruiting tool in tight labor market  

Apr 19, 2023
Internship hiring is projected to increase by 9.1% from last year, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
Employers expect to increase their summer intern numbers by 9.1% from last year according to a recent survey released by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
ExperienceInteriors/Getty Images

Should you trust chatbots to give you financial advice?

Apr 14, 2023
They may sound good. But the advice isn’t always sound.
People are using AI chatbots like ChatGPT to look up financial advice. But the quality of the recommendations isn't always up to snuff.
Leon Neal/Getty Images

Walmart’s store closures in Chicago highlight the challenges of urban big box retail

Apr 13, 2023
Walmart says that, collectively, its Chicago stores aren’t profitable. But academics point out they’ll still leave a hole when they’re gone.
A worker collects shopping carts at a Walmart store in Chicago. The company announced the closure of half of its stores in the city this week.
Scott Olson/Getty Images