The podcast starts (as it often does) with a discussion of music, and today it’s jazz and rap. From there it moves to podcasts, then back to music, specifically the Violent Femmes concert Ben attended with his family. The transition to Food Science talk begins with a discussion of improvisation during public presentations, and the Merlin Mann © style of presentation.

The conversation switches to salt rising bread made via the action of lactic acid bacteria and Clostridium perfringens and peer-reviewed research on the same. From there the discussion moves to Apple Watch, Pandora, Spotify, Focus at Will (a streaming service purported to aid concentration), Ben’s new MacBook, and a rapper that recorded an entire album in an Apple store.

Finally, the conversation returns to food safety and the Stella & Chewy pet food Listeria monocytogenes recall in particular, and the microbial risks posed by pet food in general as evidenced by the peer-reviewed literature. The pet food topic prompts a discussion of the One Health Approach, and the importance of collaboration to solve food safety issues for humans and animals.

The show ends with a pop culture recommendation of The Hobbit for Haitian graduate students or anyone else interested in second breakfast.