Stacey Vanek Smith
Stacey Vanek Smith is the co-host of NPR's The Indicator from Planet Money. She's also a correspondent for Planet Money, where she covers business and economics. In this role, Smith has followed economic stories down the muddy back roads of Oklahoma to buy 100 barrels of oil; she's traveled to Pune, India, to track down the man who pitched the country's dramatic currency devaluation to the prime minister; and she's spoken with a North Korean woman who made a small fortune smuggling artificial sweetener in from China.
Prior to coming to NPR, Smith worked for Marketplace, where she was a correspondent and fill-in host. While there, Smith was part of a collaboration with The New York Times, where she explored the relationship between money and marriage. She was also part of Marketplace's live shows, where she produced a series of pieces on getting her data mined.
Smith is a native of Idaho and grew up working on her parents' cattle ranch. She is a graduate of Princeton University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in comparative literature and creative writing. She also holds a master's in broadcast journalism from Columbia University.
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Thousands of cancellations, lost bags and endless lines have angry customers taking to social media to voice their discontent. -
Boy, have we talked a lot about inflation. It affected every part of our lives (and the economy) in 2022. Here are some of its highest highs and lowest lows. (It wasn't all bad news!)
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Treasury bonds paid out much more than usual this year. That's great for investors, but could spell trouble for the government. -
2022 has been a rough year for America's personal finances. That's sparked a throwback movement among some young debtors: all cash, all the time. -
US Treasury bonds are known as a super safe, super boring place to put your money. But the Series I Savings Bond got so popular last week, the surge in demand crashed the Treasury's website -
The luxury watch market was a sleepy, shrinking industry until it got caught up in a tidal wave of market forces. -
Inflation is hitting Americans hard at home with prices soaring for electricity, groceries, rent, even breakfast. A carton of eggs is 30.5% more expensive than it was last year. -
The woman next to me, who described herself as knowing "zero" about the economy, asked whether I thought the Federal Reserve would continue raising interest rates. I felt an acute sense of dread. -
Job market swings over the past few years have dampened the motivation of many workers and led to a decline in the fuel of the U.S. economy — productivity. -
It should be good news for Americans: a new poll shows almost everyone is getting a raise and they're not having to stick it out in jobs they hate. But for many the financial struggle continues.
