Podcast
Smart Girl Dumb Questions
Hosted by Nayeema Raza · EN
It's a curiosity party, and you're invited. On Smart Girl Dumb Questions, Nayeema Raza asks simple Qs to big thinkers (like Neil deGrasse Tyson, Diplo, or two 11 year olds), trying to make sense of life.
Send us your dumb Qs: nayeema.raza101@gmail.com
56episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Who’s Scarier: Gangsters, Billionaires or Investigative Journalists?
Yesterday01:11:15Summary readyNobody 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 Gagosian parties, Mark Burnett making Trump, whether rich people are scarier than gangsters, and the tragic story at the center of London Falling — a teenage boy in London who invented an oligarch father and conned the adults who wanted access to him. Also on the agenda: El Chapo’s midlife crisis, Anna Delvey in the audience, Larry Gagosian’s parties, and the tragic story of a teenage boy in London who invented an oligarch father. Send us your “dumb questions” on IG/TikTok @smartgirldumbquestions or by calling 1-855-MyDumbQ. Make sure you’re following Nayeema and the show on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. And obvi: SHARE THE SHOW WITH YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR MOM and your favorite accountant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Rent vs Buy? And Other $$$ Qs
1w ago00:47:50Summary readyRent 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 diamonds, the avalanche method of debt recovery, stocks as gifts and why Nicole’s baby might be richer than all of us. Send us your “dumb questions” on IG/TikTok @smartgirldumbquestions or by calling 1-855-MyDumbQ. Make sure you’re following Nayeema and the show on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. And obvi: SHARE THE SHOW WITH YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR MOM and your favorite accountant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Is the American Dream Still a Thing? with Harvard Economist Raj Chetty
2w ago01:01:36Summary readyRaj Chetty has the IRS (and Facebook) data to make sense of how we make it in America. In this episode we discuss what it means to make it, why progress is still possible and why your Zip Code and closest friends may dictate your riches. 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 right income bracket to have a kid, and where you should (and shouldn’t) move if you want your kids to have a better shot than the “Lost Einsteins.” Send us your “dumb questions” on IG/TikTok @smartgirldumbquestions or by calling 1-855-MyDumbQ. Make sure you’re following Nayeema and the show on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. And obvi: SHARE THE SHOW WITH YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR MOM and your favorite married couple.. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Is Who You Marry Your Most Important Financial Decision? with Divorce Attorney Jim Sexton
4w ago01:20:00Summary readyWhich 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? **btw if you’re in NYC on Tuesday 5/26, we’re taping SGDQ live at the cellar. Get your tickets here** Also on the agenda: crypto divorces, koi ponds that cost more than your annual salary, the three-step autopsy of every marriage (identification, valuation, distribution), why money fights are usually about safety and power, and how to talk about money without accidentally fighting your partner’s dad. Plus: Jim’s rom-com therapy corner,, the most unhinged prenup clause he’s ever seen (yes, it was upheld), and why “fidelity clauses” fail. Thanks to our partners at Chime. This is episode 1 of our SGDQ Smart Money series brought to you by Chime. Stay tuned for more episodes on whether the American Dream is still in reach, if it's better to rent or buy and more dumb-but-smart money Qs for people who seek progress. Send us your “dumb questions” on IG/TikTok @smartgirldumbquestions or by calling 1-855-MyDumbQ. Make sure you’re following Nayeema and the show on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. And obvi: SHARE THE SHOW WITH YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR MOM and your favorite married couple.. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Aliens Encounters and UFO Files?! with Neil deGrasse Tyson
May 1201:19:40Summary readyNeil 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 guest Suborno Bari - the child genius you’ve heard on SGDQ. Send us your “dumb questions” on IG/TikTok @smartgirldumbquestions or by calling 1-855-MyDumbQ. Make sure you’re following Nayeema and the show on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. And obvi: SHARE THE SHOW WITH YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR MOM and your favorite alien. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Is There A War on Men?
May 501:12:51Summary readyNayeema 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 male bonding and power? (Richard would like you to know: THIS IS A MINEFIELD). Subscribe to Richard’s SUBSTACK and find his work at the American Institute for Men & Boys where he serves as Director. Send us your “dumb questions” on IG/TikTok @smartgirldumbquestions or by calling 1-855-MyDumbQ. Make sure you’re following Nayeema and the show on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. And obvi: SHARE THE SHOW WITH YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR MOM and your favorite boy.#men #boys #dating #incels #tradwife #mentalhealth #SmartGirlDumbQuestions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Does Silicon Valley Run the Country? with Former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo
Apr 1401:25:13Summary readyYou’re Invited: SGDQ is Recording Live at the Comedy Cellar NYC with Neil deGrasse Tyson on 4/20. Limited tickets here. And on THIS episode we laugh and learn with Silicon Valley icon, Dick Costolo, the CEO who took Twitter public 10+ years ago and investor who’s made smart bets since the 90s. Nayeema asks: Is Elon Musk an alien to go home? Is venture capital a Ponzi scheme? And did we just wake up in a K-shaped economy where the shareholders get richer and everyone else gets replaced by AI? Also on the agenda: SpaceX at a $1.5T+ IPO (??), why so much value gets captured in private markets before you even get a shot, the SEC rule change that helped companies stay private forever, plus how crypto + prediction markets are winning over D.C. Send us your “dumb questions” on IG/TikTok @smartgirldumbquestions or by calling 1-855-MyDumbQ. Make sure you’re following Nayeema and the show on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. And obvi: SHARE THE SHOW WITH YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR MOM and your drycleaner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Is Dry Cleaning … Really Dry?
Apr 701:00:55Summary readyDry cleaning is the ultimate black box: you drop off your clothes… and somehow they come back looking better than your life choices. Nayeema goes inside the fairytale with the father/son duo behind Jeeves New York, Jerry and Zachary Pozniak to ask: how do you clean something “dry”? Where do the clothes actually go? And do they worry about the chemicals? They unpack what dry cleaning really is (spoiler: it’s not dry), why “dry clean only” labels can be… kind of fake and how to make a family business work. Also: why their skills are critical at the Met, Louvre and Lincoln Center. Send us your “dumb questions” on IG/TikTok @smartgirldumbquestions or by calling 1-855-MyDumbQ. You can find Zach on TikTok and IG @jeeves_ny. Make sure you’re following Nayeema and the show on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. And obvi: SHARE THE SHOW WITH YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR MOM and your drycleaner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Why Does Everyone Have a Podcast? Nayeema & Sammi Cohen
Mar 3101:13:54Summary readyWhy does everyone have a podcast… and do you need one too? Nayeema pulls back the curtain with Sammi Cohen of Social Currency fame. One has made it in podcasting, and is still building on social — the other has made it in social, and is building on podcasts. Both open up about the ups, downs and dollars . Also on the agenda: “is everything a scam?” (dentistry! eyeglasses! Forbes 30 Under 30!), why live streaming is coming for everyone, why people “watch your podcast on Instagram,” and the uncomfortable truth about how money actually gets made online. Send us your “dumb questions” on IG/TikTok @smartgirldumbquestions or by calling 1-855-MyDumbQ. Make sure you’re following Nayeema and the show on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. And obvi: SHARE THE SHOW WITH YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR MOM and your pet dinosaur. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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What’s Rich People Healthcare Like?! with Dr. Florence Comite
Mar 2400:55:04Summary readyDr. Florence Comite is a Yale-trained endocrinologist, longevity expert, and author of the forthcoming book Invincible. Her precision medicine clients include CEOs, founders, athletes, artists… and recently, Nayeema, who got a tiny and generous glimpse into the process. So Nayeema asks Comite: can I live forever? Would my health care be better if I were richer? And what's up with peptides, GLP-1s and other medical hype? Also on the agenda: why women’s heart attack symptoms get missed, the “black box” hormone panic that shaped a generation, what your thyroid has to do with literally everything (mood, memory, heart rhythm, periods) what's the male equivalent of menopause and more. NOTE: this episode does not contain medical advice -- you should consult with your own doctor to understand what's best for your health. Send us your “dumb questions” on IG/TikTok @smartgirldumbquestions or by calling 1-855-MyDumbQ. Make sure you’re following Nayeema and the show on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. And obvi: SHARE THE SHOW WITH YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR MOM and your pet dinosaur. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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