You probably won’t fool an actual smart person. But it’s worth a shot.
Listen to educational podcasts on your commute.
"Educational podcast" probably sounds pretty stuffy, but there are a lot of great (and fun! and short!) ones you could be listening to. Start with Planet Money and Stuff You Should Know.
Source: dlytle
Sign up for a few good email newsletters to score some extra factoids for casual conversation.
Email newsletters aren't all spammy nightmares. Purge the silly ones and sign up for a few simple, informative ones like The Skimm for news and Now I Know for random, cool facts.
Source: fireflymv
Whenever people are talking about the economy, just say, “It was all downhill after they repealed Glass-Steagall.”
After that, if you want to be able to enter a second level of conversation without running away, here's some background. If not, probably just run away.
Source: flickr.com
When someone asks you the last good book you read, just say “I can barely keep up with the New Yorker!”
If they ask you what your favorite recent New Yorker article was, don’t mention a cartoon.
Source: earlybirdcatchestheworm.wordpress.com
