Smart Girl Dumb Questions

Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and Hayden Planetarium director, joins a live show to tackle alien existence and how we would recognize contact. He weighs skepticism versus possibility, discusses UFO files and Area 51, explains math and the periodic table as universal signals, and offers practical alien etiquette and survival thinking in rapid, funny exchanges.

Richard Reeves, director of the American Institute for Men & Boys and researcher on men’s issues, joins to tackle modern masculinity. They cover looksmaxing and online masculinities. They debate tradwife trends, boys’ falling literacy, rising young male suicide, male bonding and the Epstein files. They talk policy ideas like male-focused outreach, education fixes, and when a gender lens matters.

Robert Malley, veteran U.S. diplomat and negotiator who helped shape the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, reflects on decades of Middle East diplomacy. He walks through negotiation tactics, the human side of talks, and whether Trump-style dealmaking helps or harms. The conversation covers Iran’s responses, U.S.-Israel dynamics, engaging hardline actors, and whether lasting peace in Israel and Palestine is realistic.

Hear Philip Sheegog, cellist and technical mastermind of ARKAI, and Jonathan Miron, violinist and Grammy-winning visionary. They recount their surreal Grammy win, explain the voting and campaigning process, debate electric vs acoustic sound, reveal how Juilliard shaped them for a TikTok world, and discuss AI, partnership dynamics, and the tech behind their live setup.

Dick Costolo, former Twitter CEO and longtime Silicon Valley operator and investor, shares lively stories from taking Twitter public and advising startups. They riff on Elon Musk’s outsized influence, whether venture capital is a bubble, SpaceX valuations, private markets capturing value, and how AI may create a K-shaped economy. Expect sharp anecdotes, tech politics, and plenty of humor.

Zachary Pozniak, an engineer-turned-operator who modernized Jeeves New York, and Jerry Pozniak, a veteran textile restorer for institutions like the Met, explain what dry cleaning really is. They talk about misleading care labels, when wet versus solvent cleaning works, museum-grade restorations, stain testing, and the limits of sustainable packaging. Short, surprising, and oddly comforting.

Sammi Cohen, creator of Social Currency and social media entrepreneur, explains why she moved from short-form clips to long-form podcasts. They discuss podcasting as cultural reach, live streaming’s rise, monetization realities, building a studio, and using social as top-of-funnel. Short, candid conversations about consistency, editorial control, and turning audience attention into media business.

Dr. Florence Comite, a Yale-trained endocrinologist and longevity expert who practices precision medicine, joins to explore personalized longevity care. They dig into GLP-1s and medical hype. Conversation covers deep biomarker baselines, plasmapheresis and reversing biological age. Women’s heart symptoms, thyroid impact, menopause versus andropause, and practical steps like strength, movement and sleep also come up.

Daniel Yergin, Pulitzer Prize winning author and energy expert who advised multiple U.S. administrations, joins to unpack oil and geopolitics. He traces oil’s historical role in wars and global power. He explores the Strait of Hormuz risks, why the energy transition is metal intensive, AI and data center power demands, and how electrification, EVs, hydrogen and nuclear reshape the future.

Suborno Isaac Bari, a 13-year-old NYU math and physics prodigy who taught university students, discusses accelerated schooling, skipping grades, and why math feels both discovered and constructed. He tackles AI risks, hallucinations, and ethics. He also lays out a spicy three-point plan to reform American education.