A short podcast about everyday risks from germs
A screened porch in winter doubles as an improvised refrigerator. Snow-covered trees are visible outside while tables, shelves, and coolers inside hold milk, drinks, produce, jars, and prepared foods. String lights add warmth, contrasting the cold December air of upstate New York.
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from using a screen porch as a refrigerator in December in upstate New York.
Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼
ChatGPT image description: A clear plastic wine-style bottle filled with pale yellow eggnog stands against a white background. Its label reads “White Wine,” crudely crossed out with black marker, with “eggnog” handwritten underneath in red, giving the bottle a humorous, improvised appearance.
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eggnog commercially sold in a plastic wine bottle.
Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - risky ☣️
ChatGPT image description: An epidemiologist wearing protective clothing peers into an open home refrigerator with an icemaker in the door, closely inspecting surfaces for contamination. Holding a magnifying glass and a petri dish with visible bacterial colonies, they carefully examine the fridge’s interior and stored food.
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from a home automatic ice maker ice.
Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼
ChatGPT image description: Two identical versions of the same gray-haired, bespectacled man face each other, pointing accusingly. Between them sits a sealed brick of old coffee. Their exaggerated expressions echo the Spider-Man pointing meme, humorously suggesting confusion or self-comparison over the aging coffee.
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of consuming 40 year old dry aged coffee.
Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼
ChatGPT image description: A dusty, upright wine bottle with a faded, stained label marked “1979” stands on a wooden surface. The wine inside appears pale and brownish, suggesting oxidation from age and light exposure. The cork and glass look worn, giving the bottle a tired, washed-out appearance.
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of consuming 44 year old wine stored upright.
Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼
ChatGPT image description: A mason jar of homemade eggnog sits on a wooden surface, its contents visibly separated after two years in the refrigerator. Pale liquid floats above a dense brown sediment. Condensation dots the glass, and a handwritten label reads “Eggnog (2 years old),” giving the scene an unsettling, festive decay.
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of drinking homemade egg nog over 2 years old-
Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼
ChatGPT image description: A coffee barista in a café places a white plastic scoop into a countertop sanitizing box. The open box emits a purple-blue light, illuminating the scoop’s surface. Stainless steel counters and blurred coffee equipment in the background suggest a clean, professional coffee bar setting.
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of not UV sterilizing coffee scoop after use.
Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼
Image description: Actual picture of Fonte Mourisca (Moorish Fountain), note the small sign which says "água não controlada".
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from drinking water from an "uncontrolled" Sintra Portugal water fountain.
Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️
ChatGPT image description: An illustrated instructional diagram titled “How to Use a French Press” shows a circular process: add ground coffee, add hot water, press and brew, then rinse and clean. Arrows emphasize repetition, humorously suggesting the cycle of brewing coffee and cleaning the French press over and over.
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from continuously reusing an unwashed french press for coffee and tea.
Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼
Image description: Actual banana from Justin's post.
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from leaving a half a cut banana at room temperature for 24 hours.
Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️
Image description: Actual potatoes from the Facebook reel.
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from pressure canning cooked potatoes without added water.
Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️
ChatGPT image description: A single piece of sushi sits alone on a conveyor belt under a clear plastic dome. The fish looks dull and dried, the rice hardened. Around it, stacks of empty plates and blurred restaurant fixtures emphasize how long the sushi has been circling, forgotten.
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating leftover conveyer belt sushi.
Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼
ChatGPT image description: A close-up shows someone cutting into a seasoned chicken breast on a white plate. The golden-brown exterior contrasts with a visibly pink, undercooked interior. A fork and knife frame the slice, with juices pooling slightly, emphasizing the unsafe “medium-rare” appearance.
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating medium rare (not ground) chicken.
Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼
ChatGPT image description: A nervous man stares at a split sausage roll, revealing pink, undercooked ground pork inside. His eyes are wide and brows furrowed in concern as he holds the pastry close to his face, clearly alarmed by what he has just bitten into.
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating 1 or 2 bites of undercooked ground pork.
Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼
Image description: Actual image from the TV show.
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from making a smoothie using a cordless drill.
Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼
Image description: Actual clay from the Instagram video. Does that even look like mold?
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from moldy clay.
Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼
ChatGPT image description: A square close-up shows an opened metal can of caramel sauce left on a kitchen countertop. Thick amber caramel overflows the rim, dripping down the sides and pooling on the surface below. A spoon coated in caramel rests nearby, emphasizing the sticky, glossy texture.
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from leaving homemade caramel sauce out over night.
Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼
ChatGPT image description: A worried epidemiologist in a white lab coat examines filthy, crusted buffet tongs beside a plate of food. Set in a restaurant buffet with warm lighting, his furrowed brow and uneasy expression highlight concern over contamination and poor sanitation.
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from using tongs to pick up food.
Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼
ChatGPT image description: A whole raw chicken sits submerged in a blue cooler filled with water, while an aquarium pump shoots a spray upward. Several bright orange goldfish swim around the chicken. The scene is surreal, mixing food storage with aquarium elements in an oddly calm, brightly lit setup.
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of using an aquarium pump to circulate the water to aid in thawing a chicken in a cooler of water.
Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼
ChatGPT image description: A slim-probe digital food thermometer is held under a running faucet, its metal tip directly in the water stream. The display reads 84°F. Water splashes around the stainless-steel sink, creating droplets and motion. The close-up composition emphasizes cleaning the temperature probe after use.
Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of cleaning a food thermometer with just water.
Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼