Smart Girl Dumb Questions

• Is Cooking Art or Science? with Kenji Lopez-Alt

  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 restaurant economics, explains if anyone needs 18 knives and shares insights from a fascinating background that fuses Asian and Western culture, East and West coast and science and music. Oh, and we learn what he’s cooking up in his kitchen (it involves rotten eggs, if you’d like a literal spoiler alert).  Thanks to my partners at Noom, the perfect companion for feeling good in your body as you age. Check out Noom.com today. Follow us on IG, TikTok & YouTube @smartgirldumbquestions. You can find Nayeema on Instagram too or on X. And you can find Kenji on YouTube or find his books, podcast and more here.  Send us your dumb questions! [email protected]

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• Why Do People Chew with Their Mouths Open? (Ft. Mark Cuban & Dr. Charles Spence)

  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 psychologist/gastrophysicist with an English accent and quiet un-English dining sensibilities.  Hear the full, fun Mark Cuban convo on Smart Girl Dumb Questions and hit follow or subscribe. Trigger warning: this episode contains chewing sounds. It’s definitely one to share with the open mouth chewers in your life … or, if you chew openly, you might feel validated sending it to anyone who’s ever complained! Follow us on IG, TikTok & YouTube @smartgirldumbquestions. You can find Nayeema on Instagram or X, and you can find Mark on IG, X or Bluesky. Both will be chewing with their mouths closed. For more crackle and crunch, check out Dr. Charles Spence’s work in Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating and Sensehacking.

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• When Is A Woman’s Prime? with Tamsen Fadal

  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, a journalist and former matchmaker turned healthcare advocate, and someone who has redefined aging in the modern world. They tackle dating, aging, catfighting and why everyone is talking about menopause, the subject of Tamsen’s latest book.  Thanks to my partners at Noom, the perfect companion for feeling good in your body as you age. Check out Noom.com today. Follow us on IG, TikTok & YouTube @smartgirldumbquestions. And you can find Nayeema on Instagram too or on X. And send me your dumb questions! [email protected]

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

  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 could find. She and 11 year old Sophie & Dilan tackle Roblox, the pressures of friend groups, what they wish they learned in school, and more. Also Sophie & Dilan explain why they care about… taxes?! And Nayeema discovers what kids are texting about.   Follow us on IG, TikTok & YouTube @smartgirldumbquestions. And you can find Nayeema on Instagram too or on X.  Send me your dumb questions! [email protected] Thanks to my partners at Omidyar Network. To learn more about the Kids Online Safety Act and other initiatives to protect kids online visit http://omidyar.com/kidsonlinesafety

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• Are We Living In A Simulation? with Neil deGrasse Tyson

  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 date outside the Cancer/Aries zodiac.  Send me your dumb questions! [email protected] Follow us on IG, TikTok & YouTube @smartgirldumbquestions And you can find Nayeema or Neil on Instagram too. For more mind-bending astrophysics Q&A, check out Neil’s latest book, Merlin’s Tour of the Universe. Thanks to my brand partners at Tinder, where you can date people in and outside your zodiac. Explore all of the possibilities for yourself on Tinder.

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