Don Schaffner and Ben Chapman

Risky or Not?

Science EN ↓ 951 episodes

Risky or Not is a short podcast from Professor Ben Chapman from North Carolina State University, and Dr. Don Schaffner from Rutgers University. Dr. Don and Professor Chapman promise to do their best not to waffle, dither, dissemble or equivocate, and to give straight up answers about whether something is risky or not.

Author

Don Schaffner and Ben Chapman

Category

Science

Podcast website

riskyornot.co

Latest episode

Jul 10, 2026

Where to listen?

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Episodes

902. Overalls in Mrs. Murphy's Chowder 16.03.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from the Overalls in Mrs. Murphy's Chowder. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Saint Patrick's Day - Wikipedia Shamrock Shake (Small): Calories and Ingredients | McDonald's Who Threw the Overalls in Mrs. Murphy's Chowder - Wikipedia David Bowie, Bing Crosby and the story of the strangest Christmas duet ever | CBC Music Read Bing C...

901. Coffee Made in a Coffee Maker Used to "Wash" Underwear 13.03.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of drinking coffee from a coffee pot used to wash underware. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 health influencer's video / X Urban Dictionary: mann's assumption AeroPress Go Travel Coffee Press | Camping Coffee Maker Neat Traveler Case Complete Travel Kit for Spirits – Aged&Ore How hot is the water in the brewer? | Knowledge Arti...

900. Dried Garlic in Cold Process Soap 11.03.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of making garlic soap. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼  Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Whisky - Wikipedia Irish coffee - Wikipedia Chumbawamba - Tubthumping - YouTube Wild Waters Soapery Garlic Soap | Don't Eat It! Soap and Skin Care Garlic-in-oil associated botulism: episode leads to product modification. | AJPH | Vol. 80 Issue 11 Garlic-in-oil associated b...

899. Wine From Grapes Grazed by Goats 09.03.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from drinking wine from grapes grazed by goats. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Goats Do Roam Red - Fairview Marketplace What is Côtes du Rhône? | Wine Enthusiast Magazine Mississippi Pot Roast {The BEST Pot Roast EVER} - Belle of the Kitchen Cryptosporidium, an important enteric pathogen in goats – A review - ScienceDirect A S...

898. Flipping Veggie Wings With Unwashed Hands 06.03.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from flipping veggie wings with unwashed hands. Fedica text: Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Vegan Buffalo Nuggets | MorningStar Farms® Kourosh Dini | Mind, Music, and Productivity

897. Cooked Brown Rice Infested With Pantry Moths 04.03.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating eating cooked brown rice infested with pantry moths. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Indianmeal moth - Wikipedia Tyndallization - Wikipedia The Best Way to Cook to Brown Rice Is the Pasta Method | The Kitchn Influence of diets and developmental stages on microbiota associated with the Indian Meal Moth Plodia interpu...

896. Not Washing a Cats Water Bowl for a Week 02.03.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from not washing a pets water bowl for a week. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 How Often Should You Wash Dog Bowls for Food and Water? Clean the Germiest Home Items | NSF Pet feeding habits and the microbiological contamination of dog food bowls: effect of feed type, cleaning method and bowl material - PubMed Survey evaluation...

895. Caramel Apple That's Been Shipped Priority Mail 27.02.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating a candied or caramel apple that's been shipped priority mail. Dr. Don - risky ☣️ Professor Ben - risky ☣️ Growth of Listeria monocytogenes within a Caramel-Coated Apple Microenvironment | mBio Fate of Listeria monocytogenes in Fresh Apples and Caramel Apples - ScienceDirect Multistate Outbreak of Listeriosis Linked to Commercially Produced...

894. Pizza Sold by a Person That Broke Into the Restaurant 25.02.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from Eating pizza sold by a person that broke into a pizza restaurant. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Burglary - Wikipedia Man breaks into Little Caesars and sells pizzas, NC cops say | Raleigh News & Observer Microbiological Quality and Safety of Pizza Held Out of Temperature Control in University Dining Halls - ScienceDirect...

893. Eating an Opened Two-Year-Old 5-Pound Gummy Bear 23.02.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating an opened two-year-old 5-pound gummy bear Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 GGB Candies - Giant Gummy Bears - The Original Manufacturer Osmosis Experiment With Gummy Bears Longer Contact Times Increase Cross-Contamination of Enterobacter aerogenes from Surfaces to Food - PubMed

892. Food From a Distribution Center With a Class II Recall 20.02.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from food from a distribution center with a class II recall Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Gold Star Distribution Inc., Issues Recall of Certain FDA-Regulated Products in Three States Including Drugs, Devices, Cosmetics, Human Foods, and Pet Foods | FDA Recalled Food List Recalls Background and Definitions | FDA

891. Using Fresh Garlic in Sous Vide Cooking 18.02.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of using fresh garlic in sous vide cooking. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 FDA Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Controls Guidance Chapter 13 Conservative prediction of time to Clostridium botulinum toxin formation for use with time-temperature indicators to ensure the safety of foods - PubMed Parameters Determining Inocul...

890. Hairy Bikers Poached Eggs in Dirty Water 16.02.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of using the Hairy Bikers egg poaching method. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Hairy Fishnuts : r/BloomCounty Hairy Bikers - Wikipedia

889. Re-Using Chocolate From a Chocolate Fondue Fountain 13.02.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from re-using chocolate from a chocolate fondue fountain. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼  Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 The (Great) Unwashed Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster Dash Sauce Fountain : Target Chocolate Fountain Operating Manual Up to eleven - Wikipedia 69. Licking a Chocolate Statue — Risky or Not?

888. Using Smell to Determine When a Food Is Safely Cooked 11.02.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of using smell to determine when a food is safely cooked. Dr. Don - risky ☣️ Professor Ben - risky ☣️ Super Disco Breakin' (Remastered 2009) - YouTube Global study of variability in olfactory sensitivity - PubMed I can smell the moment food is done cooking : r/Cooking High Fidelity (film) - Wikipedia

887. Four Year Expired Beef Jerky From a Safe at the Bottom of the Ocean 09.02.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating four year expired beef jerky from a safe at the bottom of the ocean. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 Mystery over safe with beef jerky inside recovered from Shark Bay's ocean floor - ABC News

886. Attending a Pickle Party 06.02.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from attending a pickle party. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - risky ☣️ We can pickle that (Portlandia) - YouTube Fermenting - National Center for Home Food Preservation Pickled Eggs - National Center for Home Food Preservation The Food Section ABC - The Food Section

885. Snowcream 04.02.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from snowcream. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 snow - Risky or Not? Instagram reel Ode to Sugar on Snow | Maple Syrup on Snow Recipe - New England Is it actually safe to eat ice cream made from snow? People Are Wondering If Snow Is Edible — I Asked An Expert Locations - Rita's Ice

884. Using a Screen Porch as a Refrigerator in December in Upstate New York 02.02.2026

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 👍🏼 Listeriosis Outbreaks Associated with Soft Cheeses, United States, 1998–2014 - PMC Is it Safe to Store Food on the Porch or in the Garage During the Winter? Social Media Analytics and Publishing - Fedica Log In - Libsyn

883. Eggnog in a Plastic Wine Bottle 30.01.2026

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 ☣️ 10 of the Best Finger Lakes Wineries You Must Visit

882. Ice From the Automatic Ice Maker in a Home Freezer 28.01.2026

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from a home automatic ice maker ice. Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼 Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼 How clean is your ice machine? Revealing microbial amplification and presence of opportunistic pathogens in hospital ice-water machines - ScienceDirect Microbiological quality of packaged ice from various sources in Georgia - PubMed Outbreaks in Health Care Se...

881. 40 Year Old Dry Aged Coffee 26.01.2026

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 👍🏼 Yosemitebear Mountain Double Rainbow 1-8-10 - YouTube Double Rainbow (viral video) - Wikipedia Risky or Not? 310. Really Old Green Coffee Beans — Risky or Not? Instagram What Is Aged Coffee? [TOMT] [Conspiracy Tool] What's it called when you use red strin...

880. Improperly Stored 44 Year Old Wine 23.01.2026

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 👍🏼 Compounds causing cork taint and the factors affecting their transfer from natural cork closures to wine – a review - SEFTON - 2005 - Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research - Wiley Online Library Should I be concerned about wine bottles stored...

879. Homemade Egg Nog Over 2 Years Old 21.01.2026

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 👍🏼 Eggnog - Wikipedia 238. Raw Egg Eggnog Refrigerated for 6 Months — Risky or Not? TAINTED EGGNOG FATAL TO 4 RESIDENTS OF A COUNTY NURSING HOME IN JERSEY - The New York Times Survival of pathogenic microorganisms in an egg-nog-like product containing 7...

878. Not UV Sterilizing Coffee Scoop After Use 19.01.2026

 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 👍🏼 5 Best UV Phone Sanitizers Cleaning your iPhone - Apple Support Do Not Use Ultraviolet (UV) Wands That Give Off Unsafe Levels of Radiation: FDA Safety Communication | FDA Nightsleeper - Wikipedia

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