Podcast · 54 episodes
Smart Girl Dumb Questions
by Nayeema Raza · English
It's a curiosity party, and you're invited. Every Tuesday on SGDQ, Nayeema Raza asks simple Qs about big ideas trying to make sense of life. Some of our faves? Neil deGrasse Tyson on how we'd know if we're in a simulation, Esther Perel on why love gets harder with age, Diplo on why every guy I date is a DJ, and two 11 year olds on what it's like to grow up right now. Send us your dumb (and smart) Qs: nayeema.raza101@gmail.com
Latest episodes
He’s Written 1600 Obituaries. What Has He Learned About Life?Sam Roberts, a New York Times obituary reporter, explains what writing death notices teaches about life—how advance obituaries work, how editors decide what to include, and why obituaries are really…29 Sep 2026 · 57 min
Will AI Kill Us? Or Make Us Hotter?AI existential risk and “p-doom” (probability of human extinction), why risks may be rising due to agentic systems, and what safety measures (e.g., “embedded evaluators,” slowing the frontier) could…22 Sep 2026 · 1 h 2 min
Where Does Confidence Come From?Smart Girl Dumb Questions episode about confidence and identity branding (Serena “F*ing” Kerrigan), whether Gen Z should pursue influencer careers, and how autonomy shows up in dating and fertility…15 Sep 2026 · 1 h 1 min
All episodes
He’s Written 1600 Obituaries. What Has He Learned About Life?Sam Roberts, a New York Times obituary reporter, explains what writing death notices teaches about life—how advance obituaries work, how editors decide what to include, and why obituaries are really…29 Sep 2026 · 57 min · 17 chapters
Will AI Kill Us? Or Make Us Hotter?AI existential risk and “p-doom” (probability of human extinction), why risks may be rising due to agentic systems, and what safety measures (e.g., “embedded evaluators,” slowing the frontier) could…22 Sep 2026 · 1 h 2 min · 30 chapters
Where Does Confidence Come From?Smart Girl Dumb Questions episode about confidence and identity branding (Serena “F*ing” Kerrigan), whether Gen Z should pursue influencer careers, and how autonomy shows up in dating and fertility…15 Sep 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 24 chapters
Why Am I Working More and Getting Less Done?Knowledge-work busyness and anxiety driven by technology-enabled “pseudo-productivity” (rewarding visible activity) and “hyperactive hive mind” collaboration (unscheduled back-and-forth via…8 Sep 2026 · 56 min · 20 chapters
Why Don't Adults Get Summer Vacation?Why adults don’t get summer vacation, tied to how societies and individuals organize life around “work” and other values; includes discussion of paid leave, “workism,” always-on culture, and how…1 Sep 2026 · 51 min · 23 chapters
Can We Get Better at Flirting … with Rejection?How to flirt and handle rejection without fear, framing flirting as a skill and as human connection (not just romance).25 Aug 2026 · 1 h · 31 chapters
Are Prediction Markets Destroying Society? I Asked the Kalshi CEOSmart Girl Dumb Questions interviews Tarek Mansour, CEO/co-founder of Kalshi, about whether prediction markets harm society, how Kalshi differs from offshore competitors, and how it handles moral…11 Aug 2026 · 1 h 2 min · 34 chapters
Has There Ever Been a Worse Time for Journalism?First Amendment protections for journalism, focusing on DOJ subpoenas served to New York Times reporters after the paper’s July 8–9 reporting about Trump’s use of a retrofitted Qatar Boeing aircraft…4 Aug 2026 · 1 h 5 min · 27 chapters
He Drives 200 MPH. What Scares Him? with NASCAR Star Carson HocevarNASCAR driver Carson Hocevar discusses what scares him (he’s not afraid of dying at 200 mph), why NASCAR feels different from F1, how aggression and rule-breaking work in racing, and his unusual path…28 Jul 2026 · 52 min · 24 chapters
Birth Rates Are Low. Can A “Fertility President” Fix That?Pronatalist movement and “fertility policy” amid low birth rates; whether a “fertility president” (Trump) can fix demographic decline; how pronatalists message, ally, and use incentives like IVF…21 Jul 2026 · 1 h 2 min · 31 chapters
Is Everything a Cult?The episode debates “Is everything a cult?” using a cult-language lens. Guests discuss why the U.S.14 Jul 2026 · 56 min · 27 chapters
What Does Love Hurt? with Dr. Justin GarciaHow love and sex “hurt” and why modern dating is hard—using evolutionary biology, cross-cultural research, and neuroscience to explain marriage, singledom, dating apps, kissing, fetishes, orgasm, and…7 Jul 2026 · 1 h 3 min · 28 chapters
When Do We Move to Mars? (or the Moon)Whether and when humans should move beyond Earth, focusing on low-Earth orbit and the Moon, and on building space habitats using self-assembling “magnet tiles” (Tesserae) to enable safer, scalable…30 Jun 2026 · 57 min · 34 chapters
Can the NBA Fix the USA? with Cavs Owner Dan GilbertCleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert discusses whether the NBA’s structure can offer lessons for the U.S., how billionaires should (and shouldn’t) rebuild cities, and what it’s like to be an NBA…23 Jun 2026 · 1 h 10 min · 26 chapters
Who’s Scarier: Gangsters, Billionaires or Investigative Journalists?The episode compares who’s “scarier” among gangsters, billionaires, and investigative journalists, using Patrick Radden Keefe’s nonfiction investigations to explore how charisma and ambition “drift…16 Jun 2026 · 1 h 11 min · 26 chapters
Rent vs Buy? Homes, IVF, MBAs and Other $$$ ChoicesRenting vs buying a home using numbers (the “5% rule,” opportunity cost, price-to-income ratios), plus debt decisions (good vs bad debt), debt payoff methods (avalanche vs snowball), and whether to…9 Jun 2026 · 49 min · 22 chapters
Is the American Dream Still a Thing? with Harvard Economist Raj ChettyWhether the American Dream—defined as children doing better than their parents—still holds in today’s economy, and what data-driven factors (neighborhoods, networks, social capital) affect economic…2 Jun 2026 · 1 h 2 min · 29 chapters
Is Who You Marry the Most Important Financial Decision? with Divorce Attorney Jim SextonWhether choosing a spouse is the most important financial decision; how money affects marriage success, divorce risk, and couple communication; what to do financially before partnering (including…19 May 2026 · 1 h 20 min · 34 chapters
Aliens Encounters and UFO Files?! with Neil deGrasse TysonSmart Girl Dumb Questions live with Neil deGrasse Tyson, mixing alien/UFO speculation with science, skepticism, and “etiquette” for first contact.12 May 2026 · 1 h 20 min · 37 chapters
Is There A War on Men?Men and boys “falling behind” (education, work, identity), male loneliness/suicide, and how online culture and media framing affect perceptions; also how male bonding/solidarity can become…5 May 2026 · 1 h 13 min · 37 chapters
Iran ... Um, How Does This End?Whether peace is possible in the Middle East, focusing on Israel-Palestine and Iran, and what negotiation looks like in practice.28 Apr 2026 · 1 h 18 min · 37 chapters
How Do You Win a Grammy?Archive (violinist Jonathan Myron, cellist Philip Shegog) discuss their Grammy win, how the Recording Academy works, and how they make “electroacoustic” string music—using electric violin/cello plus…21 Apr 2026 · 53 min · 22 chapters
Does Silicon Valley Run Washington? with former Twitter CEO Dick CostoloWhether Silicon Valley (and DC) effectively runs the country, how venture capital works (and when it resembles a “Ponzi” in outcomes), and how AI may deepen inequality via a “K-shaped economy.” The…14 Apr 2026 · 1 h 25 min · 46 chapters
Is Dry Cleaning a Scam? with the Father-Son Duo Behind JeevesWhat happens to clothes after drop-off at a dry cleaner, why “dry clean only” isn’t always necessary, how dry cleaning differs from wet cleaning, and how stains/textiles are handled (including…7 Apr 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 23 chapters