A short podcast about everyday risks from germs

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.

865. Cleaning a Food Thermometer With Just Water

December 19, 2025 by Don Schaffner

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 👍🏼

Cleaning and Other Control and Validation Strategies To Prevent Allergen Cross-Contact in Food-Processing Operations - ScienceDirect
Evaluation of the potential for electronic thermometers to contribute to spread of healthcare-associated pathogens - ScienceDirect

ChatGPT image description: A person fills a water bottle at a grimy sink in a graffiti-covered Brooklyn music club bathroom. Rust, stains, and dim lighting emphasize the rundown setting while the bottle catches a small stream from the old faucet. The scene feels gritty, unsanitary, and characteristic of a dive-venue restroom.

864. Tap Water From a Sketchy Bathroom Sink

December 17, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from drinking tapwater from a bathroom sink where the bathroom smells like a bathroom.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

ChatGPT image description: A small blue-and-white pill hovers above an empty bathroom sink, caught mid-bounce. The smooth white basin and metal drain create a clean, simple backdrop, while the faucet and tiled wall add muted detail. The scene feels quiet and precise, focused on the moment before the pill falls again.

863. Taking a Pill Dropped in the Bathroom Sink

December 15, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from taking a pill dropped in the bathroom sink for less than five seconds.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

ChatGPT image description: A cheerful hippie in a tie-dye shirt and headband steps out of a used clothing store, carrying a huge bundle of secondhand clothes. He smiles behind round sunglasses as he walks past the brick storefront, overflowing garments in his arms suggesting a successful thrift haul.

862. Wearing "New" Clothes Without Washing

December 12, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of wearing "new" (to you) clothes without washing first.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

ChatGPT image description: A stern restaurant inspector checks a prime rib roasting overnight, holding a thermometer showing under 120°F. The chef sleeps beside the oven, oblivious. The scene contrasts the inspector’s alarm with the chef’s exhaustion, highlighting unsafe cooking conditions and a tense, dimly lit kitchen atmosphere. Don's comment: I think this guy looks a little bit like Pete Snyder. Also very weird thermometer.

861. Russel's 120 °F Prime Rib

December 10, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from Russel's 120 °F prime rib recipe, which is a follow up to episode 854, Chef John's Perfect Prime Rib.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

ChatGPT image description: A pregnant woman grimaces while attempting to drink from a large jug labeled “Unpasteurized Apple Cider Vinegar.” Her eyes are squeezed shut and her mouth puckers from the sour taste. She holds the container hesitantly, standing against a plain background in a mauve maternity shirt, clearly regretting the sip.

860. Unpasteurized Apple Cider Vinegar for Pregnant or Immunocompromised People

December 08, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar for pregnant or immunocompromised people.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

Image description: Image from the actual video

859. Medium Rare Duck Breast and HPAI

December 05, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of contracting high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) from medium rare duck breast.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

ChatGPT image description: A black crockpot sits unplugged on a countertop, its white power cord coiled beside it. Inside, several chicken breasts rest in chunky red salsa. The scene looks still and slightly concerning, suggesting the food has been left at room temperature all day without cooking. Don's comment: Interesting plug design. Might not have helped to plug this one in.

858. Crockpot Chicken at Room Temperature "All Day"

December 03, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of holding raw chicken at room temperature "all day" before cooking.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

Image description: the actual turkey noodle soup in question.

857. Water Bathed Canned Turkey Noodle Soup

December 01, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of turkey noodle soup that's been boiling water bath canning for 2 hours.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

ChatGPT image description: A bright comic-style can of baby formula features thick outlines and bold lettering. The label warns “CONTAINS Clostridium botulinum spores — DO NOT FEED TO BABIES (CARTOON!).” The vivid colors and playful typography make it obvious that it’s a humorous, fictional message rather than a real product. 🍼🎨

856. Feeding Sealed Byheart Baby Formula to a Baby

November 28, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of feeding recalled sealed Byheart baby formula to a baby.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

ChatGPT image description: A whole roast turkey sits on a platter garnished with parsley and cranberries. Its skin is golden and crisp. A round metal probe thermometer is inserted into the thickest part of the breast, showing a reading of 155°F, highlighting that it’s been pulled from the oven before final resting.
Don: I will always find ChatGPT's wacky attempts to draw thermometers to be funny.

855. Cooking Raw Turkey to 155 °F

November 26, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of cooking raw turkey to only 155 °F

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

Chef John declares that it's OK for him to touch his own meat.

854. Chef John's Perfect Prime Rib

November 24, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of making rare roast beef.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

ChatGPT image description: A stern Swiss Guard in a traditional striped uniform carefully cleans his teeth with the toothpick from a Swiss Army knife. Painted in a classical oil style, he focuses intently, unaware of how absurdly mundane the task looks beside his ceremonial halberd and dignified Renaissance attire.

853. Using a Swiss Army Knife Toothpick

November 21, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from using a swiss army knife toothpick.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

ChatGPT image description: A rustic Italian kitchen scene shows a weathered butcher’s hand carving a thin slice from a leg of prosciutto. Warm, golden light highlights the marbled meat against dark shadows. The heavy knife glides smoothly beneath the cured flesh, capturing the timeless craft of traditional charcuterie.

852. Prosciutto Di Parma at Room Temperature for Months

November 19, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating hand sliced Prosciutto ham stored at room temperature for months.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

ChatGPT image description: A bulging red carton of ruby red grapefruit juice sits upright, its surface stretched and glossy. Foam and fizzy liquid spill from the crooked white cap and pool at the base. Colorful fruit graphics contrast with the messy leakage, hinting at fermentation inside the swollen container.

851. Eric's Fizzy Grapefuit Juice

November 17, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of consuming in date but fizzy grapefruit juice from a mechanically stressed container.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

ChatGPT image description: An open dishwasher reveals a foil-wrapped portion of lasagna sitting awkwardly on the top rack. Its noodles and cheese appear soggy, as if washed instead of baked. Clean utensils sit neatly below, contrasting with the misplaced meal that looks confused about its life choices and current location.

850. Dishwasher Lasagna

November 14, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating dishwasher lasagna (aka lasagna alla lavastoviglie).

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

ChatGPT image description: A nervous person at their desk, clutching a tiny chewing-gum box like it contains the secrets of the universe, while Reddit menaces them from the laptop screen.
Don: this seems like the same worried guy we've seen before…

849. Eating a Hollywood Chewing-Gum Cardboard Box

November 12, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating a cardboard box from Hollywood chewing-gum.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

ChatGPT image description: A beautifully roasted turkey rests in a pan, stuffed with golden bread cubes and vegetables. A meat thermometer inserted directly into the stuffing reads 165°F, signaling safe doneness. The turkey’s crispy skin glistens, and the scene looks ready for a festive meal.
Don: And once again ChatGPT really does not understand thermometers or numbers on a scale. It doesn't really understand what a turkey might look like either.

848. Cooking Stuffing Inside the Turkey

November 10, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of cooking stuffing inside the turkey.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

ChatGPT image description: A serious hockey coach in a trench coat stands before a brick wall, opening the coat to reveal colorful mouthguards neatly attached inside. He grips a hockey stick, looking intense and slightly suspicious, echoing the classic “street vendor with stolen goods” pose but with sports gear instead of watches.

847. Using a "Found" Pocket Mouth Guard

November 07, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of using a mouthguard from the coaches mouthguard pocket.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

ChatGPT image description: A wooden bedside table holds a clear mouthguard and a small spray bottle labeled “Ethanol and Propanol Disinfectant.” Soft, warm bedroom lighting and a pillow in the background suggest a nighttime routine. The scene feels tidy, practical, and focused on dental care and hygiene before sleep.

846. Spraying Mouthguard With Ethanol and Propanol

November 05, 2025 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from spraying mouthguard with ethanol and propanol.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼