🌎 It’s World Press Freedom Day. Stand with Marketplace and our independent journalism. Donate now

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 (480)

Which products — and people — are left out of the FSA bonanza?

Dec 28, 2022
The end-of-year deadline often means a rush to buy eligible items, like thermometers, pain relievers and feminine hygiene products.
Feminine hygiene products, like tampons, became FSA-eligible in 2020.
Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Community colleges continue to see a drop in academic staffing

Dec 21, 2022
It's often hard for community colleges to recruit instructors because of competition from other job opportunities that pay more.
Community colleges often compete for faculty with four-year universities, which usually can offer higher wages, lighter teaching workloads and more full-time jobs. 
crisserbug/Getty Images

What it means to buy a house on a block that loves Christmas

Dec 20, 2022
Residents of 34th Street in Baltimore purchased not just a dwelling, but a whole new way of life during the month of December.
Joey Zeledon (left) and Martelle Esposito work on the display in front of their home on 34th Street in Baltimore.
Stephanie Hughes/Marketplace

No chicken nuggets? How supply chain snags are affecting school lunch.

Dec 16, 2022
Shortages and unavailable goods mean schools can't always serve what's listed on their menus.
This fall, more than half of public schools are still having trouble obtaining the food items they want.
Jon Cherry/Getty Images

When school buses are delayed, the costs add up

Dec 15, 2022
Nearly 8% of all transportation positions in American public schools were vacant as of this October. The lack of staff can lead to delays.
A school bus pulls up to Dumbarton Middle School in Baltimore County, Maryland, on Dec. 13.
Stephanie Hughes/Marketplace

Most financial aid offers have a fuzzy bottom line, GAO reports

Dec 9, 2022
More than 90% of American colleges write offers without stating the net price. That makes it hard for prospective students to compare schools.
More than 90% of American colleges either don’t supply the final price in those letters or understate it, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.
Andy Jacobsohn/AFP via Getty Images

After years of watching movies at home, are audiences ready to return to theaters?

Dec 5, 2022
There have been only 66 films in wide release so far this year, down more than a third from this point in 2019, according to Comscore.
Studios are trying to predict what audiences want — to watch movies at home or in the theater.
Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

Day cares continue to hire, but number of caregivers is well below pre-pandemic levels

Dec 2, 2022
Child care is critical if more parents are going to return to work.
A scarcity of open spots in day care programs can prevent parents from returning to the workforce.
Kurt Desplenter/Belga Mag/AFP via Getty Images

What it means to be a new teacher in 2022: "I'm a student teaching students"

Dec 1, 2022
School districts, flush with cash from federal Covid relief funds, are looking to hire, and new teachers are figuring out how schools must adapt in the wake of a pandemic.
New teachers are navigating the start of their careers in the wake of the pandemic.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

12,000 striking academic workers reach tentative agreement with University of California

Nov 29, 2022
The ramifications of what union leaders call the largest strike in U.S. higher ed history will likely reach far beyond California.
Unionized academic workers and supporters marched at the UCLA campus Nov. 15.
Mario Tama/Getty Images