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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COVID-19 has brought so much loss and hardship, but there was at least one pleasant surprise for Beijing - less hazy skies and air pollution.
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Many people will watch movies on a big screen this summer, but the pandemic fundamentally changed the industry. How can movie theaters survive and possibly thrive post-pandemic?
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Zoom is the most popular video conferencing software and many people's communications lifeline during COVID-19. How did the tiny company beat tech giants like Google, Microsoft and Cisco?
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Several schools have cut women's sports teams during the pandemic, and some of the teams have lawyered up in response. Ultimately, these lawsuits ask the question: how do we measure equality?
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The U.S. just backed calls by South Africa and India to waive intellectual property protection for COVID-19 vaccines, but that may not be enough to ramp up vaccine production.
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Skinny jeans dominated the jeans market for nearly two decades. Now they make up about 33% of jeans sales. The Indicator from Planet Money investigates the possible demise of the skinny jean.
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Matel has given Barbie a total makeover, and it's led to skyrocketing sales. The Indicator from Planet Money explores how having a more inclusive lineup of dolls was key to the company's success.
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Bozeman, Mont., resident Sean Hawksford tried nearly 20 times to buy a house. But a flood of new home buyers from the coasts — who can work remotely — has driven home prices way up and supply down.
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For some people, giving up their house or apartment and living on the road is a choice. But for many Americans priced out of the housing and rental markets, living in a vehicle is a necessity.
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With college applications expected to decline in coming years, many U.S. schools are having trouble balancing their books. This tough financial reality has led to a wave of recent school mergers.