Where Does Confidence Come From?
episodePreviously titled “57% of Gen Z Want To Be Influencers. Is That A Good Idea?” — renamed by the publisher on Sep 15, 2026
Transcript
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How does Serena Kerrigan define confidence and use the mirror to become an icon?
This episode contains swearing more than usual. We'll start bleeping, but if you have a kid, cover their ears, maybe for a couple of minutes. If you don't like swearing, you should try covering my mouth. I need to come in really hot. Did you have a plan
to become an influencer? Or are you absolutely not. First of all, I'm not an influencer. I'm an icon. Smart girl, dumb questions, Serena fucking carriagan.
Smart girl. Dumb questions. Can we all be fucking confident? This is Smart Girl Dumb Questions. I'm Naima Raza. And today I'm joined by the self-appointed, it suits, Queen of Confidence, Serena Kerrigan. Actually, Serena Fucking Kerrigan. That's correct. September 22nd is when your book is coming out. It's called Let's F King Date. F King Date. It's called Let's Fucking Date. It's called Let's Fucking Date, but you why are you not allowed You're not allowed to have Fucking No. In the title of a book.
It's maybe my whole brand. Is that a law? I mean you can't sell it on Amazon. You can't you need to have you need to have an asterisk. So you put a So I put it.
Isn't that just so good? Doesn't it roll off the tongue? It's really a a book about confidence though, more than a book about dating. It really is. Yeah. Do you care about being liked? Yes, but SFK doesn't. Okay, so explain now the persona that's not legally your middle name.
Does it matter? I went to Duke University. Mm-hmm. And I was super insecure as a freshman. And I decided to tell everyone that my name was Serena fucking Kerrigan. Why? Because when I was in high school, my senior year, my best friend, Delilah Dorsey, was crying over a guy. And I was just like, oh, like, and she was about to miss her final. And I was like, oh, you're Delilah fucking Dorsey. Like, get over him. Like, go, go be a bad bitch. And it worked. Like she just kind of like became alive and aced her final, forgot about the guy, found a new boyfriend, and I was like, wow, that changed her entire energy. What if I did What if I did that for myself? So it started to get in front of my mirror and say it to myself
Here's Serena Fucking Kerrigan's it just I felt like it gave me the confidence I needed to start a new experience.
It's like an unlock. If I go as Naima fucking Raza, am I gonna be like, wait, what's gonna happen to my life? I just got wet. Everybody goes. Oh wow. Hello. Okay. Naima fucking Raza. It's Naima fucking Raza. Ooh. Okay, there are too much too much turning on is happening on this podcast. Well, we did meet at Gloria Steinem's house. Which is pretty iconic. Who am I looking for? So iconic. And I completely had like a senior moment because I did not remember that we had met there because I met Serena Kerrigan there. Right. Right. And it was a little different than Serena fucking Kerrigan. Well, when you're in the presence
of
Gloria Sinem,
you can't really, you know you gotta She's the star. She's the I sh I had to sim her down.
Gloria Steinem is also coming on Smart Girl Dumb Questions Podcast. She's amazing. All right, I have to jump in here because as you may know, the feminist icon, Gloria Steinem, actually passed away on September 2nd at the age of 92. I was meant to interview her on September 15th, which is the day that you're hearing this episode, or at least the day that it's come out. I'm very sad that I won't be able to interview her, but I'm much more sad that the world has lost such a trailblazer. But the memory of Gloria Steinem, Or Gloria Fing Steinem lives on in all of us. Now back to the episode and the day Serena Kerrigan and I met in Gloria's apartment. And by the way, we're gonna start bleeping all the swear words now.
So if you are covering your child's ears, you can release it right now. You
said something about how your favorite interview was Two Loved. You said that they prefer FaceTiming because that means they're paying attention versus in real life. I asked them like how is FaceTime different to real
life? And they said.
It just makes you feel more like with them when you're on FaceTime. Even more than real life? Yeah, because you're like doing stuff together, like maybe playing Roblox together.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How does Serena Kerrigan define confidence and use the mirror to become an icon?
0:00–8:22
2
What role did egg‑freezing play in Serena’s confidence journey and mindset?
8:22–15:36
3
How did Serena turn a pandemic‑era Instagram live show into a TV deal, card game, and merch line?
15:36–23:20
4
What lessons did Serena learn from creating the ‘Let’s F*cking Date’ card game and TV series?
23:20–29:38
5
How does Serena navigate age, wealth, and alcohol gaps in her relationship with Felix?
29:38–38:17
6
What rapid‑fire advice does Serena give to aspiring influencers and reluctant icons?
38:17–44:01
7
What parenting tips does Serena have for Gen Z kids who want to become influencers?
44:01–51:10
8
How does Serena describe modern feminism and the balance between ‘let them pay’ and ‘let them be’?
51:10–59:08
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Smart Girl Dumb Questions
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