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 (476)

What does it take to launch a successful toy?

Feb 17, 2022
Americans are buying lots of toys right now. But launching a new one is still very difficult — a good idea is no guarantee of success
Clixo, a toy that launched during the pandemic, uses magnets to connect pieces. A Duplo Lego set is in the background.
Stephanie Hughes/Marketplace

More states are requiring high schoolers to complete financial aid application

Feb 16, 2022
Applications for federal aid for college have decreased, so schools and states are looking at ways to get more grants into students' hands.
In states that require high school students to fill out the FAFSA, the number of students applying for financial aid has gone up.
Tero Vesalainen/Getty Images

School districts are grappling with rising costs

Feb 15, 2022
As school districts start to plan for the future, they are trying to figure out if costs for things like fuel, paper and cafeteria food are going to continue to go up.
Inflation has affected school districts everywhere, as costs for everything from cleaning supplies to bus fuel has gone up.
shaunl / Getty Images

Congress looks to ban lawmakers from trading individual stocks

Feb 8, 2022
Some of the proposed legislation would include spouses; some would include dependents as well.
A man walks by the New York Stock Exchange in New York City.
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Are we ready for an augmented reality future?

Feb 7, 2022
Snap, Snapchat's parent company, turned a profit for the first time this quarter.
Though the technology for widely-used augmented reality glasses isn't quite there yet, companies are certainly working on it.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Companies' costs are up, but for many, so are profits

Feb 3, 2022
That’s because for certain things …customers are just willing to pay more.
welcomia / Getty Images

Some states are considering raising teachers' salaries. Is it enough to keep them on the job?

Feb 1, 2022
Approximately 30% of teachers leave within their first five years in the classroom.
Alabama's governor is proposing a 4% pay raise for school teachers. Other states may follow suit.
Kenny Holston/Getty Images

Schools got $122 billion from the American Rescue Plan — and have a deadline to spend it

Jan 31, 2022
School districts have until September 2024 to spend the money. In a letter to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, they say they need more time.
Michael Loccisano/ Getty Images

The price of lithium is way up. And right now, electric cars depend on it.

Jan 26, 2022
The metal is a key ingredient in the batteries that power all those electric cars.
The price of lithium, used in the batteries of electric vehicles, has increased by more than 40% in the past year.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

If film festivals are about networking, what's a virtual Sundance about?

Jan 21, 2022
Sundance, one of the biggest opportunities for filmmakers to get distribution deals, is online for the second time this year.
People and cars walk and drive up and down Old Main Street where filmgoers would have gathered for the 2022 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 6, 2022 in Park City, Utah.
George Frey/Getty Images)