Full Name
Ms. Nayeema Raza
Job Title
Journalist & Filmmaker
Speaker Bio
Nayeema Raza is a podcaster, journalist and filmmaker whose work has appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine and the Tribeca Film Festival. She hosts the comedic interview podcast “Smart Girl Dumb Questions” where she asks simple questions to big thinkers like Mark Cuban, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye and two eleven year olds who make sense of social media. The show launched as a top Apple pick and recently hit Spotify’s top 20 charts.
Nayeema was previously the on-air Executive Producer of Vox’s “On with Kara Swisher,"" the co-host of Semafor’s “Mixed Signals” and a Senior Editor at The New York Times. She came to journalism from a background in documentary film, with screen credits including “Sublime” (Tribeca Film Festival, 2019) and “That Animal Rescue Show” (CBS All Access / Telluride 2020). Nayeema frequently moderates the show Open to Debate, which runs on NPR, and is an adjunct professor at Columbia University where she teaches a course on technology, media and the end of trust.
Nayeema frequently hosts and speaks at events including SxSW, DLD, Milken Global Conference and TED Next. She is comfortable on stage in venues ranging from the United Nations to the Comedy Cellar.
Nayeema holds an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, an MPA from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and a BSFS from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. she is on the Young Patrons Leadership Committee of PEN America and on the Board of Advisors of Open to Debate. She is a member of the Writers Guild of America, a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a 2024 Henry Crown Fellow within the Aspen Institute.
Nayeema was previously the on-air Executive Producer of Vox’s “On with Kara Swisher,"" the co-host of Semafor’s “Mixed Signals” and a Senior Editor at The New York Times. She came to journalism from a background in documentary film, with screen credits including “Sublime” (Tribeca Film Festival, 2019) and “That Animal Rescue Show” (CBS All Access / Telluride 2020). Nayeema frequently moderates the show Open to Debate, which runs on NPR, and is an adjunct professor at Columbia University where she teaches a course on technology, media and the end of trust.
Nayeema frequently hosts and speaks at events including SxSW, DLD, Milken Global Conference and TED Next. She is comfortable on stage in venues ranging from the United Nations to the Comedy Cellar.
Nayeema holds an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, an MPA from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and a BSFS from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. she is on the Young Patrons Leadership Committee of PEN America and on the Board of Advisors of Open to Debate. She is a member of the Writers Guild of America, a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a 2024 Henry Crown Fellow within the Aspen Institute.