Smart Girl Dumb Questions

It's a curiosity party. And you're invited. On Smart Girl Dumb Questions, Nayeema Raza asks simple Qs to big thinkers, trying to make sense of the complexities of modern life. While dumb questions will be provided, you can also BYODQ – just email Nayeema: nayeema.raza101@gmail.com

Episodes

Is It Safe to Fly Right Now? with Kate Kelly

May 30, 2025 • 55 mins

With recent crashes, close calls and control center outages: is it getting more dangerous to fly, or are we just paying more attention? Also: do pilots have walkie-talkies? What’s on their cockpit screens? Do these 30-90 second blackouts at Newark Airport matter? And how few air traffic controllers are … too few? Nayeema asks the dumbest questions she could think of to the best-sourced reporter she could find: New York Times invest...

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Wait… What’s The Deal With This Economy? with Paul Krugman

May 16, 2025 • 53 mins

Are we in a trade war with China? Will BTC replace USD? What’s the latest on tariffs? And are millennials the most screwed generation? Also: can I blame the economy for my difficult dating life? Nayeema asks the dumbest Qs she could think of to the most famous economist she could find: Nobel Laureate and former New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. For more of Paul’s wisdom after the episode, head to his Substack, where he breaks...

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Is It Better To Buy Flights On A Tuesday? with The Points Guy(s)

May 10, 2025 • 56 mins

Is TSA PreCheck faster than Clear? Who pays for all these “free” miles? And is it ever okay to take off your socks on a plane? Nayeema asks the dumbest questions she could find to the savviest travellers she knows: Brian Kelly (a.k.a. The Points Guy) and Nicky Kelvin, the aviation geek who is a senior director of content at The Points Guy. Also in this episode: child vandalism, T5 small claims court and secrets of, per the title...

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Is It Self-Care … or Capitalism? with Brooke DeVard

May 2, 2025 • 53 mins

Is beauty in the eyes of the beholder, or in the eye of the Kardashian industrial complex? What is Instagram face? How do we all agree what’s in or out? And why oh why are thin brows back in?! Nayeema asks the dumbest questions she could think of to Brooke DeVard, a beauty insider who worked at Ford Models, Vogue, Ralph Lauren and Instagram before leaving it all to pursue her Naked Beauty podcast and business full time. On the age...

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How Do Cranes Get Up There? An Astrophysicist & Construction Worker Walk Into a Bar

April 25, 2025 • 9 mins

Nayeema puts on a hard hat and visits a building site where she finds Brandon Hernandez, a construction worker who’s able to fill in some blanks for astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. It’s another episode of “CSI: Dumb Questions,” where everybody has stuff they don’t know – even the guy that runs Hayden Planetarium! Check out the full episode with Neil deGrasse Tyson in this feed or wherever you get your SGDQ fix to learn so muc...

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Is Cooking Art or Science? with Kenji Lopez-Alt

April 18, 2025 • 47 mins

Why are food memories so hard to recreate? Are eggs actually underpriced? Is brunch a scam? And does owning a rice-cooker make Nayeema a bad Asian? Nayeema asks the dumbest food and dining questions she could think of to J. Kenji Lopez Alt, the James Beard award-winning chef, cookbook author and recipe developer who came to fame for his scientific understanding of food. Kenji dispels cooking myths, unpacks the reality of restauran...

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Why Chew With Your Mouth Open? A Billionaire & Oxford Gastrophysicist Walk Into SGDQ

April 11, 2025 • 10 mins

Last time I saw Mark Cuban this mad is when the Mavs were down in the fourth quarter. Now, it’s about his “ultimate pet peeve”: open mouth chewing. In this first drop of the "CSI: Dumb Questions" miniseries, Nayeema ventures out to address this billionaire’s dumb Q – why do people chew with their mouths open? The investigation takes her across the pond to Oxford University, where she meets Dr. Charles Spence, an experimental psycho...

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When Is A Woman’s Prime? with Tamsen Fadal

April 4, 2025 • 52 mins

Don’t worry, this episode is for women AND men. How do we age well? Avert mid-life crisis? Why does love feel harder as we get older? Is marriage better the second time around? And can you explain to my mom why *I’m* not married yet? We’ve reached peak singledom: 51% of American women aged 18-40 are not paired up. Nayeema is part of that demo, and asks the dumbest (and most vulnerable) questions she could think of to Tamsen Fadal...

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What Do 11 Year Olds Do All Day? with Sophie and Dilan

March 21, 2025 • 55 mins

Are kids more chronically online than adults? Why do they feel more connected on FaceTime than IRL? And since when was recess cancelled? Also - do they drink coffee? And fall in love? What is Roblox? Why are Pokemon cards worth anything? 11 is a wild age - where you have newfound independence, privacy and a sense of yourself. So Nayeema asked the smartest and dumbest questions she could think of to the most interesting kids she co...

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Are We Living In A Simulation? with Neil deGrasse Tyson

March 14, 2025 • 61 mins

And what happened before the Big Bang? Would wormholes save us from ever going to the airport again? Do aliens exist? And, oh yes, are horoscopes real? Nayeema asks the dumbest questions she could think of to the geekiest astrophysicist she could find. She and Neil deGrasse Tyson tackle stars, the universe, the multiverse, time travel and more. Neil explains how math is the language of the universe. And Nayeema discovers she can ...

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Is the Future Too Bleak to Have Babies? with Cleo Abram

March 7, 2025 • 40 mins

Is the world terrible, or does the news just make it feel that way? And what does the future look like? Will robots take my job? Will AI replace me? Will artificial wombs carry my kids? Nayeema talks to Cleo Abram, a YouTuber who peers into the future in her show "Huge If True." They discuss babymaking in a world where fertility rates are plummeting and where over millennials and Gen Z increasingly cite climate change and the st...

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Can Billionaires Save Us? with Mark Cuban

February 28, 2025 • 58 mins

Can we join the billionaire group chat? Can Mark Cuban fix healthcare? Can the NBA fix America? And post Luigi, do rich people need more henchmen? This week Nayeema asks the dumbest questions she could think of to the richest dude she could find. They tackle money, the broken healthcare system, what the U.S. government could learn from the NBA when it comes to keeping billionaires in check. Oh, and find out what Mark Cuban is dumb...

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Coming Soon: SGDQ

January 2, 2025 • 1 min

A new show to answer the dumb questions we’re all thinking, but don’t want to ask out loud. It’s a curiosity party, and you know you’re curious. Oh, and the party starts in February. Hit follow and stay tuned! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Smart Girl Dumb Questions

Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Is It Safe to Fly Right Now? with Kate Kelly

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Wait… What’s The Deal With This Economy? with Paul Krugman

Is It Better To Buy Flights On A Tuesday? with The Points Guy(s)

Is It Self-Care … or Capitalism? with Brooke DeVard

How Do Cranes Get Up There? An Astrophysicist & Construction Worker Walk Into a Bar

Is Cooking Art or Science? with Kenji Lopez-Alt

Why Chew With Your Mouth Open? A Billionaire & Oxford Gastrophysicist Walk Into SGDQ

When Is A Woman’s Prime? with Tamsen Fadal

What Do 11 Year Olds Do All Day? with Sophie and Dilan

Are We Living In A Simulation? with Neil deGrasse Tyson

Is the Future Too Bleak to Have Babies? with Cleo Abram

Can Billionaires Save Us? with Mark Cuban

Coming Soon: SGDQ

Popular Podcasts

Is It Safe to Fly Right Now? with Kate Kelly

Wait… What’s The Deal With This Economy? with Paul Krugman