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
63episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Has There Ever Been a Worse Time for Journalism?
Yesterday01:05:20Summary readyDavid 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 gets David to give grades to each President (um, does anyone get an A on press freedom?). They talk about The New York Times’ unique role in protecting the first amendment (is David basically Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard?). Plus: the Nerdy Legal 101 you didn’t know you needed. **ps: even if you hate the news these days, this episode is worth listening to. It will make you smarter. 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 LAWYER. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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He Drives 200 MPH. What Scares Him? with NASCAR Star Carson Hocevar
1w ago00:51:52Summary readyNayeema’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 and break some news about his relationship with one of the leading TikTokers of our time. 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 DAD, and anyone who thinks NASCAR is "just left turns." 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 UBER DRIVER. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Birth Rates Are Low. Can A “Fertility President” Fix That?
2w ago01:02:07Summary readyAnd 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 crisis, does picking embryos based on IQ make you a eugenicist, and in a movement that intersects with racist overtones are the Collins interested in drawing a line in the sand or in co-opting controversy in their aspirations of fame? Also: how does one afford five to twelve kids anyway? Whether you think they're visionaries or completely off the rails, this is one conversation you won't forget. 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 PREGNANT FRIEND. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Is Everything a Cult?
3w ago00:55:39Summary readyNayeema 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 @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 CULT LEADER. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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What Does Love Hurt? with Dr. Justin Garcia
4w ago01:03:01Summary readyNayeema 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 book, The Intimate Animal. 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 THE EX YOU KEEP GOING BACK TO. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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When Do We Move to Mars? (or the Moon)
Jun 3000:57:13Summary readyNayeema 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 data centers in orbit, whether Elon Musk might secretly be an alien and why astronauts cry when they see Earth from space. 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 ideal planet to call home.. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Can the NBA Fix the USA? with Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert
Jun 2301:09:51Summary readyIt’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 gratitude. Also on the agenda: whether Taylor is actually a Knicks fan, a record pizza delivery and Nayeema’s Q: is being a billionaire anything like we see on HBO’s Succession. 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 NBA owner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Who’s Scarier: Gangsters, Billionaires or Investigative Journalists?
Jun 1601:11:15Summary 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
Jun 900:47:50Summary 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
Jun 201:01:36Summary 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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