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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The rise of fees on hotel bills, bank bills, restaurant bills and everywhere else has regulators cracking down. Turns out, they are just inflation in disguise.
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The rise in tipping has many customers fuming, but one worker who depends on tips says most customers misunderstand what they are — and shares what it feels like when people don't tip.
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The rise in tipping has many customers fuming, but one worker who depends on tips says most customers misunderstand what they are — and shares what it feels like when people don't tip. -
The pandemic, technology and the economy have combined to create the perfect storm for "tip-flation" — but we might be at a tipping point. -
The tip jar has been replaced with a touch screen, seemingly everywhere. Every little purchase, from coffee to a burrito, seems to lead to a screen asking for a minimum tip. How did we get here?
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Most of the countries that have recently fought inflation went from high to moderate inflation with minimal economic pain. Not one was able to get from moderate to low inflation without pain.
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The dollar has helped make the U.S. the most economically powerful country for most of the last century, but other countries — including rivals like China — have the greenback on their sights. -
Debt ceiling dramas have been going on a long time. The first one happened exactly 70 years ago. President Eisenhower asked Congress for an extra $15 billion and the Senate said, "No dice." -
Hundreds of thousands of people under age 35 are estimated to have fled Russia since the invasion. It's one of a handful of major challenges Russia's economy faces this year. -
Russia's economy has remained resilient in the face of sanctions and other trade and financial restrictions, but that could be changing now as economic challenges mount.
