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 (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
Episodes
November 4, 2025 • 40 mins
Olympian and author Alexi Pappas joins us this week to tackle one of Nayeema’s (and Neil deGrasse Tyson’s) pressing questions: Why are all these people running? What are they running from? Or where are they running toward? And do they just pee in their pants while running?
Together the two friends unpack the science of athletic “peaking,” the power of the marathon, practical tips for your running form, and why run clubs are the ne...
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October 28, 2025 • 50 mins
New York’s 27,000 doormen see everything. These social anthropologists know more secrets than your therapist does. So what stories do they have? Can they tell if someone's having an affair? Or about to break up? What does how we tip say about us? And do they think the city is getting safer or more dangerous?
Nayeema talks to Daryl and Joe, two veterans in the front-of-building business who are masters at the "ocular patdown,” mood...
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October 21, 2025 • 64 mins
Bill Nye the Science Guy taught an entire generation to love science and the scientific method so … what went wrong? Is the debate around science just healthy skepticism or is it a clear and present danger? What’s the next major scientific discovery AI can unleash? And can space science undivide America?
Nayeema talks to Bill Nye, the engineer, comedian, “Science Guy” and CEO of the Planetary Society. On the agenda: other life in ...
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October 14, 2025 • 52 mins
Hit “follow” on this show so you don't miss Bill Nye the Science Guy next week. Today, Nayeema ask Bill’s colleague Casey Dreier: do we really need to go to space? Is it worth billions of dollars? How does it make my life better? What's more important: space science or dudes on the moon? And can’t Elon Musk just do all the space science things for us?
Casey Dreier is the Chief of Space Policy at the Planetary Society — the indep...
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October 7, 2025 • 67 mins
Do actually successful Grammy-winning DJs sleep? What do music producers do? Should they date the musicians they produce? And is Diplo ever getting back together with Skrillex for Jack U?
Nayeema turns her curiosity (and flirt) onto Diplo, aka Thomas Wesley Pentz, the Grammy-winning musician and DJ whose hits range from house to country and Bollywood to Brazilian favelas, and who has collaborated with everyone from Madonna to M.I...
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September 30, 2025 • 65 mins
Why are we falling in love less? Is it feminism’s fault? Or the reality of getting older? Would Esther Perel rather date in 1955, 1985 or 2025? And does the future belong to tradwives or digitally arranged marriages, powered by AI?
Nayeema sits down with renowned psychotherapist, author and a big supporter in launching @smartgirldumbquestions – Esther Perel – to break down the evolution of modern romance, our obsession with self-...
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September 29, 2025 • 59 secs
The curiosity party is back, with new episodes every Tuesday. Nayeema returned from summer break (why don't adults get those?) with a spicy line up Qs we all have and guests who can help answer them.
Follow Smart Girl Dumb Questions, review the show and SHARE this show with your bestie, your mom and that group chat you've muted.
And check out our Last Dumb Question street series on IG or TikTok. Your LDQs are also welcome,...
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September 5, 2025 • 63 mins
What happens to our bodies and brains when we fall in love? And when we break up? Is orgasm linked to fertility? Who came up with the idea of marriage? And did capitalism just kill our sex drive?
Nayeema’s taking a break from summer break to ask the dumbest questions she has to the nerdiest evolutionary biologist she could find: Dr. Justin Garcia, Executive Director of the Kinsey Institute and author of an epic forthcoming book T...
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August 1, 2025 • 73 mins
Would NYC Mayor Eric Adams rather be trapped in an elevator with Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo, or Curtis Sliwa? What’s his relationship with President Trump and/or Turkish Airlines? Why should New Yorkers trust him with another 4 years? What would he do with it? And how much has he delivered when it comes to policing crime, relieving medical debt, and building affordable housing?
Nayeema wants to get behind headlines and memes t...
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July 18, 2025 • 74 mins
How did we get these two political parties? And, when most Americans don’t like either of them is the answer … to have more? Will Elon’s Musk recently announced “America Party” work? Or do we need an “Animal Lovers Party” instead?
Nayeema asks the dumbest questions she can think of to the nerdiest expert she could find: Lee Drutman. He’s a fellow at New America and author of the book Breaking The Two Party Doom Loop. They discuss...
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July 11, 2025 • 76 mins
Is anxiety the internet’s fault, your mom’s fault, or your food’s fault? Why does there seem to be a greater mental health crisis in the USA than other countries? Is therapy the answer … or is functional medicine? And is all other medicine … dysfunctional? Also where did MAHA come from?
Nayeema asks the most direct (and dumb) health questions she could think of to the most pragmatic, open-minded, and research-based doctor she coul...
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June 27, 2025 • 74 mins
What do Iranians think? Are they more or less into the Ayatollah (and nukes) after the last two weeks? Did the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites … take out the nuclear targets? How would we know? Also: why do all Iran’s proxies start with “H”?
Nayeema asks the dumbest questions she can think of to the foremost Iran expert she could identify: Dr. Vali Nasr, a professor and former dean at John Hopkins SAIS, former senior advisor ...
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June 20, 2025 • 59 mins
Will having kids make my life or ruin it? How can two independent, career-minded people navigate marriage? What is a contraction? And is childbirth hellish … or like an MDMA high?
Nayeema asks the dumbest questions she can think of to her most grown-uppest friends, New York Times bestselling cookbook author Alison Roman and Emmy-nominated director Max Cantor to understand if you’re ever going to feel ready for kids, and how you...
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June 6, 2025 • 49 mins
Is anything real about reality tv? And does going on it boost your business? Also: when it comes to fashion, why are buttons on one side for dudes and another for chicks? Are clothes sexist? And what will tariffs do to the price of a T-shirt?
Nayeema asks reality TV, fashion and Scientology questions to the freshly transparent designer and RHONY personality Rebecca Minkoff.
Check out Rebecca’s podcast, Superwomen and her book F...
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May 30, 2025 • 56 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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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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May 10, 2025 • 59 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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May 2, 2025 • 55 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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April 25, 2025 • 10 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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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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