Zoe Chace
Zoe Chace explains the mysteries of the global economy for NPR's Planet Money. As a reporter for the team, Chace knows how to find compelling stories in unlikely places, including a lollipop factory in Ohio struggling to stay open, a pasta plant in Italy where everyone calls in sick, and a recording studio in New York mixing Rihanna's next hit.
In 2008, Chace came to NPR to work as an intern on Weekend Edition Saturday. As a production assistant on NPR's Arts Desk, she developed a beat covering popular music and co-created Pop Off, a regular feature about hit songs for Morning Edition. Chace shocked the music industry when she convinced the famously reclusive Lauryn Hill to sit down for an interview.
Chace got her economic training on the job. She reported for NPR's Business Desk, then began to contribute to Planet Money in 2011. Since then Chace has also pitched in to cover breaking news for the network. She reported live from New York during Hurricane Sandy and from Colorado during the 2012 Presidential election.
There is much speculation on the Internet about where Chace picked up her particular accent. She explains that it's a proprietary blend: a New England family, a Manhattan childhood, college at Oberlin in Ohio, and a first job as a teacher in a Philadelphia high school.
The radio training comes from the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, and collaboration with NPR's best editors, producers and reporters.
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Americans have very little choice over their cable Internet provider. This is largely because of a decision made 12 years ago, when the U.S. went one direction and the rest of the world went another.
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It's not easy for the U.S. to put effective sanctions on Russia. But even Russians need to use U.S. financial institutions, and you pressure a country by limiting access to dollars and world markets.
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Ukraine pays most of its citizens' gas bills. That's become hugely expensive for the government — and it's central to the country's conflict with Russia.
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The Jones Act, which dates back to World War I, is part of the reason New Jersey ran short of salt this winter.
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A reporter shadowed eight young people during their first two years on Wall Street, when the bailouts were still fresh and anti-Wall Street sentiments were running high.
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President Obama is asking a group of CEOs to pledge not to discriminate against the long-term unemployed. But new research suggests that these job seekers may face an even greater challenge — many of them are not even being considered by employers. Our Planet Money team looks into the research and challenges facing these job seekers.
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An obscure provision in the finance overhaul is causing problems for small banks. It turns out, it's hard to figure out which risks banks should be allowed to take.
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People are digging out after the year's first big winter storm dumped snow and dropped temperatures from Michigan to Maine. Flights were delayed, roads were closed, and several deaths were reported. But most residents seem to feel that it could have been much worse.
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In order to get the North American Free Trade Agreement signed 20 years ago, a specific trade-off was made. The trade-off would not protect U.S. jobs from moving overseas.
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Bangladesh is the cheapest place in the world to make a T-shirt. But this month, the minimum wage there will rise from $39 a month to $68 a month. That's got some factory owners nervous about whether Western retailers there will pull out.