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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NPR explores how ISIS gets its money and why that makes it so hard to turn off the money spigot. We examine how ISIS makes up its budget and manages it through its tax system, fees and the antiquities smuggling strategies.
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Our Planet Money team examines the financial life within ISIS territory. When members of the Islamic State take control of a town, they also take control of its businesses and its economy.
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When we drive, fly or walk, we contribute to carbon emissions that cause global warming. One solution often cited is to pay to heal the harm by underwriting the cost of planting a tree.
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Dinosaur fossils are often found along the U.S.-Canada border. But what happens after someone discovers them on their land depends on what the rules are about ownership, scholarship and preservation.
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As migrants pour into Europe, there's a debate about the impact they'll have. To help inform that discussion, here's a look at the economic history of the 1980 Mariel boat lift from Cuba to Florida.
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The U.S. has long made it easier for businesses to declare bankruptcy and move on than most of Europe. Many other countries thought these laws were too risky, but now they're copying those laws.
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To business owners the word bankruptcy can mean failure. We visit a retailer in Charlotte, N.C., which tried to avoid the big failure. But bankruptcy might be the secret weapon of the U.S. economy.
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Some California farmers are turning to more profitable crops — like pistachios and almonds — in order to fund the drilling of deeper wells to cope with the long drought. Those crops, however, are some of the thirstiest around.
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Trade negotiations, such as talks on the Trans Pacific Partnership, are done in secret. To understand what those negotiations are like, the Planet Money podcast looks at the last big trade deal.
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The computer doesn't pay attention to what you say. What matters is how you say it.