Smart People Get Curious

Smart People Get Curious

Brilliant people-CEOs, entrepreneurs, artists - a r e often known for one big thing. But behind the headlines, they're just as curious as the rest of us. What internet rabbit holes, childhood fascinations, or weird obsessions keep them up at night? In each episode, a high-profile guest gets to nerd out with a real expert in a field they're fascinated by - but know nothing about. They ask al their "dumb" questions, and listeners get to learn alongside them. It's unscripted, surprising, and refreshingly human.

Episodes

December 30, 2025 12 mins

In this most replayed moment, Ross asks Molly: what if we put all of our efforts towards fusion? Or if not fusion, what is the ONE thing could solve the climate crisis? If we're adding more carbon to the atmosphere every year, how can we reverse that?

Molly Wood is a longtime journalist turned climate tech investor. She is the founder and CEO of Molly Wood Media, a climate solutions media company, where she hosts the podcast Everyb...

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If the climate crisis keeps you up at night, it might help to ask the dumb (and intermediate) questions.  


Entrepreneur Ross Richmond talks climate solutions with journalist-turned-tech investor Molly Wood. There’s hope for us yet—but we’re gonna have to get really clear on the plan. 

Get curious about: 

- How the average consumer can influence climate consciousness

- How we get carbon out of the atmosphere

- The future of fusio...

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The most-replayed clip of the episode is Dr. Ribeiro explaining why strangers on opposite sides of the world can share the same dream.
He then dives into how being disconnected from our dreams makes it harder to grasp the ripple effects of our choices — or the possibilities waiting for us.


Shannon Race, founder and CEO of Bio.me, poses her pressing questions about sleep and dreaming to Brazil-based neuroscientist Sidarta Ribe...

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You’re not imagining it: your dreams are trying to tell you something.  


Shannon Race, founder and CEO of Bio.me, poses her pressing questions about sleep and dreaming to Brazil-based neuroscientist Sidarta Ribeiro and the conversation takes a few dreamy twists and turns. Our takeaway? Start talking about your dreams. 


Get curious about: 

  • What REM sleep is and why we need it

  • Lucid dreaming

  • Finding the meaning and purpose of ...

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Tune into the most replayed moment on this episode, and learn how the U.S. prison system influences systems around the world.


Salt & Straw CEO and Co-Founder Kim Malek has questions about the US prison system, and there’s perhaps no one better to answer them than academic and activist Dr. Baz Dreisinger. It’s never too late to get informed and get involved—and this episode is a great place to start.


About Kim MalekKim M...

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Why does the US lock up more people per capita than anywhere else on Earth? 


Salt & Straw CEO and Co-Founder Kim Malek has questions about the US prison system, and there’s perhaps no one better to answer them than academic and activist Dr. Baz Dreisinger. It’s never too late to get informed and get involved—and this episode is a great place to start. 

Get curious about: 

  • How the US influences global incarceration

  • The l...

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Have you ever wondered who you’ve been? Did you know there are signs that consciousness can survive death? Tune into this most replayed moment of the reincarnation episode of SPGC ft. MomsFirst founder Reshma Saujani and Dr. Jim Matlock.


Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code and Moms First, talks past lives with reincarnation researcher Dr. Jim Matlock. Those “impossible” stories you’ve heard about kids remembering who they wer...

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Have you ever wondered who you’ve been? 


Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code and Moms First, talks past lives with reincarnation researcher Dr. Jim Matlock. Those “impossible” stories you’ve heard about kids remembering who they were before? There’s more to it than you think. 

Get curious about: 

  • Kids’ past life memories

  • Where we go between lives

  • Karma

    • What consciousness really is


    Reshma Saujani ...

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    A former Obama White House speech writer and a Scotch whisky master blender walk into a podcast. Speech writer and messaging strategist Sarada Peri talks to Johnnie Walker Master Blender Emma Walker (no relation) about how Scotch whisky is made, the art of building a whisky flavor profile, and what Scotch pairs best with Indian food.


    Get curious about:

    • What “single malt” means, and what separates grain whisky from malt whis...
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    Is there such a thing as nothing? What is our universe expanding into? And, most importantly, will Tania and Charlotte get through this episode without having panic attacks?


    In this most watched moment, Dr. O takes us through how time moves differently at altitude. Listen to the full episode here! Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/46pV115vWmLsljuf8pzDUY?si=d4f36630a9454de7

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    Is there such a thing as nothing? What is our universe expanding into? And, most importantly, will Tania and Charlotte get through this episode without having panic attacks? 


    Charlotte Cruze, co-founder and COO of Alice Mushrooms, talks to award-winning NASA astrophysicist and cosmologist Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi about the big questions of space, time, spacetime, and the cosmos. 

    Get curious about: 

    • The Higgs boson particle

    • How g...

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    September 22, 2025 55 secs

    The teaser. The trailer. The show is finally here! Introducing Smart People Get Curious, hosted by Tania Zaparaniuk.

    Brilliant people-CEOs, entrepreneurs, artists - are often known for one big thing. But behind the headlines, they're just as curious as the rest of us. What internet rabbit holes, childhood fascinations, or weird obsessions keep them up at night?

    In each episode, a high-profile guest gets to nerd out with a real e...

    Listen
    Watch
    Mark as Played

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