Hey there, Stephen Dubner.

I hope you've been enjoying our weekly replay of the No Stupid Questions archive based on your emails and reviews.

Some of you think it's even better the second time around.

And if this is your first time, that's good too.

Today we've got a bonus episode.

I wanted you to hear a new podcast that I think

you'll like. It's called Smart Girl Dumb Questions, and it's hosted by Naima Raza. The episode

you're about to hear is a conversation between Naima and one of my favorite people, the

scientifically inclined food writer Jay Kenzie Lopez Alt, who's the author of The Food Lab.

We've actually had Kenji on Freakonomics Radio a couple times over the years.

After you listen to this episode with Naima, you might want to check out Freakonomics Radio

episode 226 called Food Plus Science Equals Victory.

And now here is Smart Girl dumb questions. Is brunch a scam?

Is brunch a scam? No. In order for saying to be a scam, there has to be an element of

deception. With brunch, you know what to expect. Yeah. Avocado toast. Yeah. And good chatter.

Yeah. And part of the chatter is discussing is this $17

avocado toast a scam. Exactly. But that's part of the experience of it, right?

Smart Girl. Dumb Questions.

Welcome to Smart Girl, Dumb Questions.

I'm Naima Raza, and my guest today, the great brunch defender, is J. Kenji Lopez-Alt.

Kenji is a James Beard award-winning chef, cookbook author, and what I'd call a recipeologist.

He really came to fame for his very scientific approach to cooking. He used to write a column called The Food Lab in Serious Eats, and the Food Lab is also the title of Kenji's first, number one, New York Times best-selling book.

...