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PODCAST

Smart Girl Dumb Questions

It"s a curiosity party, and you"re invited. Every Tuesday on SGDQ, Nayeema Raza asks simple Qs about big ideas trying to make sense of life. Some of our faves? Neil deGrasse Tyson on how we"d know if we"re in a simulation, Esther Perel on why love gets harder with age, Diplo on why every guy I date is a DJ, and two 11 year olds on what it"s like to grow up right now. Send us your dumb (and smart) Qs: nayeema.raza101@gmail.com

society & culture comedy interviews

All Episodes

56:33

He’s Written 1600 Obituaries. What Has He Learned...

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/09/29

Nayeema sits down with Sam Roberts, the New York Times obituary reporter who’s studied some 120,000 years of life while penning obits for everyone from Washington’s most powerful people to Hollywood’s most famed vet and … Jesus Christ? So what has Roberts learned studying this much life? Who even gets an NYT obit? How do they handle scandal, mistresses or secret babies? Which is the meanest obituary Sam’s ever drafted? And is 92 the new … 82?Fact Check: At some point Sam says he may be, at age 79,

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61:54

Will AI Kill Us? Or Make Us Hotter?

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/09/22

Nayeema sits does with journalist Kevin Roose, who has covered tech for 15+ years and wrote *the* book on the AI race, to ask if this latest AI panic is just a way to drive up trillion-dollar IPOs and regulatory moats for Sam Altman and Dario Amodei. Also on the agenda: Do we need bunkers? What actually went down with the Hugging Face attack? If we’re in an AI war with China, why are we still sending Nvidia chips there? And with AI is coming for our brains, is now the perfect time to get a glow up

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61:00

Where Does Confidence Come From?

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/09/15

Nayeema sits down with Serena Kerrigan, who left a salaried job and a self-described “Nepo Baby Lite" lifestyle to become an influencer (slash "icon"). Six years later, she’s built an empire: an IG live show that led to a TV deal with Peacock, card games, merch and a new book, "Let's F*cking Date".The secret to her success? Confidence. Nayeema and Serena discuss how a mirror can make you an icon, why egg-freezing can change your mindset, and what modern feminism looks like in a world where we want

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56:22

Why Am I Working More and Getting Less Done?

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/09/08

Nayeema sits down with Cal Newport, an expert on deep work, pseudo-productivity and how technology is shaping work. He’s prolifically productive himself (he’s written multiple bestselling books, is a tenured Georgetown professor, and hosts a hit podcast called Deep Questions … all of which is made possible by his work process and his abstention from social media).In this episode of the SGDQ “What Even Is Work?!” series, Nayeema asks: Why are we working more and getting less done? Why does everyone

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51:25

Why Don't Adults Get Summer Vacation?

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/09/01

Is Gen Z Unemployable? And/or are the rest of us addicted to work? NYU Stern Prof and bestselling author Suzy Welch joins Nayeema in this first episode of the SGDQ “What Even is Work?!” series to figure out what we value and how we spend our days. Suzy breaks down the 16 values that organize our lives. You can take the test here. (get the *free* assessment or use SGDQ50 for 50% off). They analyze Nayeema’s results, which rank love and voice higher than, um, work. They also talk about trends from

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60:29

Can We Get Better at Flirting … with Rejection?

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/08/25

Whether you’re single, married or something in between: this episode is for you. Nayeema sits down with love coach and rejection survivor Francesca Hogi to talk about flirting as a way of life and rejection as a path to growth. Plus, Franny grades Nayeema’s Flirting Skills (and Diplo’s). Is anyone getting an A?!We get into the 8 types of flirting, how A.I. can or can’t help you in your relationships, and other nuggets from Franny’s book. Plus: can you actually LEARN how to flirt? Is it just improv

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62:08

Are Prediction Markets Destroying Society? I Asked...

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/08/11

Nayeema gets direct with Tarek Mansour, the 30-year-old CEO and Co-Founder of Kalshi. The prediction market hit $30 billion in trade volume this June as users put money on everything from the World Cup to Strait of Hormuz opening dates and the reality show Love Island. So is this gambling with a better brand, a peril to young people, ripe for insider trading, or a path to more accurate information? What does the company NOT allow? And, um, what's the best advice he ever got from Donald Trump, Jr

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65:20

Has There Ever Been a Worse Time for Journalism?

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/08/04

David McCraw has gone to battle with Harvey Weinstein, Sarah Palin, Justin Baldoni and Presidents from Bush and Obama to Biden and Trump. Today, Nayeema asks the lead newsroom lawyer for the New York Times what he’s learned fighting powerful people … what’s normal (or not) when it comes to tension between the government and a free press … and why the recent appearance of federal agents with subpoenas at the homes of New York Times journalists should shock the conscience of every American.Nayeema

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51:52

He Drives 200 MPH. What Scares Him? with NASCAR Star...

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/07/28

Nayeema’s learning all about NASCAR today with rising star Carson Hocevar, who’s constantly compared to the legend Dale Earnhardt Sr.So: what’s the difference between NASCAR and F1? What’s Hocevar’s risk-reward analysis on aggression? Does he have a safe word with the dude who’s in his ear? And when you go 200 mph most days, what’s it like to be stuck in traffic with the rest of us? Most of all: what is “Hurricane Hocevar” afraid of? Plus: we dive into Carson’s (one-sided?) feud with Zane Smith

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62:07

Birth Rates Are Low. Can A “Fertility President” Fix...

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/07/21

And does it even need to be fixed? In this episode Nayeema tries to understand whether demographic collapse is a crisis or a con job. She sits down with Malcolm and Simone Collins, a New Right pronatalist couple with ties to the Heritage Foundation and Elon Musk and policy drafts being submitted for White House consideration. They have 5 kids, 30 embryos on ice and aspirations to keep going til Simone’s uterus “falls out”.On the agenda: why aren’t people having kids (is it a modern marriage

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55:39

Is Everything a Cult?

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/07/14

Nayeema and cult expert Amanda Montell unpack why cults are everywhere now, why we’re obsessed with them and what all of that has to do with modern loneliness and capitalism. Montell — the bestselling author of Cultish and host of the podcast Sounds Like A Cult breaks down the innocuous language that will suck you in and how to help someone you love get OUT. Oh, and naturally they try to build a cult around Smart Girl Dumb Questions. We’re not above that. Send us your “dumb questions” on IG/TikTok

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63:01

What Does Love Hurt? with Dr. Justin Garcia

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/07/07

Nayeema sits down with evolutionary biologist Dr. Justin Garcia, Director of the world-famous Kinsey Institute, to unpack the science of love, sex and attraction. Why are there more single peoplethan ever? Are we still having sex? Why do breakups … feel like withdrawal? And what do pandas, penguins and pigs have to teach us about modern relationships? Also on the agenda: is kissing is “normal,” short kings and what makes someone a great long-term partner. For more from Justin check out his awesome

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58:28

When Do We Move to Mars? (or the Moon)

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/06/30

Nayeema sits down with space architect Ariel Ekblaw to ask: will my kids commute to the Moon? Why are we privatizing everything in outer space? And did SpaceX just turn space travel into … FedEx? Ariel is a Yale and MIT-trained founder and CEO of Aurelia Institute focused on space technologies including autonomously self-assembling space stations and future space habitats. And if all of this sounds trippy … we agree. Check out the episode! Also on the agenda: space hotels, moon vacations, AI

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69:51

Can the NBA Fix the USA? with Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/06/23

It’s NBA Draft Day and Nayeema’s sitting down with Cleveland Cavaliers owner, Rocket Companies founder and Detroit mega-booster Dan Gilbert to ask: How do you make up with LeBron James? Can a billion bucks buy happiness? Is the NBA socialist? And what can it teach the USA about fairness? Dan opens up about the infamous LeBron letter, what it’s really like sitting at a table with 30 billionaire NBA owners, why he’s invested so much in Detroit’s comeback and the personal tragedies that have taught him

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71:15

Who’s Scarier: Gangsters, Billionaires or...

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/06/16

Nobody understands GRIFT quite like New Yorker Journalist Patrick Radden Keefe. Nayeema sits down with the legendary New Yorker staff writer and bestselling author of Empire of Pain, Say Nothing, Rogues, and his latest book London Falling to ask: why are we so obsessed with people behaving badly? Is grift just … ambition? And when does “fake it till you make it” become “fake it until everything collapses”?Also on the agenda: Sacklers, El Chapo’s midlife crisis, Anna Delvey in the audience, Larry

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49:20

Rent vs Buy? Homes, IVF, MBAs and Other $$$ Choices

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/06/09

Rent or buy? Student debt or skip the degree? Nayeema asks @MoneyRehab host Nicole Lapin the money questions we all have. They discuss if home ownership is still part of the American Dream, what money mistakes NOT to make, and why it feels SO vulnerable to talk about your personal finances. Turns out “shame is not a good money management system.” Also on the agenda: IVF, MBAs and what is worth going into debt for? How much is Nayeema’s Harvard and Stanford educated brain worth? Plus: lab grown

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62:51

Is the American Dream Still a Thing? with Harvard...

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/06/02

Nayeema speaks to Professor Raj Chetty, who has the IRS (and Facebook) data proving that your zip code and close friends list may dictate your riches. They talk about the American dream, whether it's in reach, why the data and vibes conflict and why the Harvard University professor behind Opportunity Insights believes progress is STILL possible.This is the second episode of our SGDQ Smart Money series, presented by Chime. Also on the agenda: why GDP can be up while the vibes are down, what’s the

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80:00

Is Who You Marry the Most Important Financial...

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/05/19

Which money mistakes destroy a relationship? And which good money habits make a marriage work? No one sees into people’s finances like a divorce lawyer does. So Nayeema brings BACK killer NYC divorce attorney James Sexton, Esq. to ask: is marriage really the most important financial decision you’ll ever make? Does leverage kill love? And with an affordability crisis, does being middle class keep you (unhappily) married? All of this in Episode 1 of the SGDQ Smart Money Series brought to you by

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79:40

Aliens Encounters and UFO Files?! with Neil deGrasse...

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/05/12

Neil deGrasse Tyson and Nayeema are BACK with an all new episode taped live at New York’s Comedy Cellar. They discuss if aliens exist, how we’d know and what we should do when we see them? What’s the alien go back? And how do we balance skepticism with possibility in science and in life. Has any testimony, fact or experience ever challenged Neil’s alien skepticism?Nayeema also asks Neil to respond to President Trump’s UFO files, President Obama’s comments about Area 51 and a question from former

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72:51

Is There A War on Men?

Smart Girl Dumb Questions ·

2026/05/05

Nayeema sits down with Richard Reeves, THE expert on men and boys to ask: is there a men’s crisis? Has talking about it made men’s lives better …or worse? What’s a dude problem vs an everyone problem? Are we just gendering the impacts of modern capitalism? And what’s next: DEI for dudes? Also on the agenda: looksmaxxing, incels, tradwives (data vs vibes), the retreat of video games, the potential of the draft and an age-old fight for men’s allegiance. Plus: what do the Epstein files reveal about

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