In this episode, StartWell welcomes Nayeema Raza, creator and host of Smart Girl Dumb Questions, for one of the most expansive conversations we’ve had on how media is changing - and what creators must do to stand out.
Nayeema's origin story spans filmmaking, video journalism at The New York Times, podcast production, and now hosting her own show. But the through-line is simple: curiosity is the last true creative differentiator. Her show works because she leads with what she doesn’t know - openly asking the very questions audiences silently Google.
She breaks down the three categories of guests who thrive on her show:
1. Big names who reveal new layers of personality when the format loosens their guard.
2. Experts who usually seem rigid but open up when a levity-driven host reframes their knowledge.
3. Everyday people whose stories rarely get platformed - yet show us more about society than celebrity interviews ever do.
The conversation also unpacks the shifting media landscape:
• The explosion of explainers and science content
• Why video podcasting is now essential in a fragmented attention economy
• Why creators must think multi-modal: watch, listen, read
• The tension between community vs. reach
• The decay of trust in institutions and the rise of personality-driven storytelling
• Why owning your feed and distribution is now a strategic necessity
We also look forward - exploring how live formats might return in a big way, why hardware shapes culture, and how AI will unlock new creative frontiers (from real-time visual environments to hyper-contextualized storytelling).
