Burnt Toast: When Food Fears Go Up in Smoke with Dr. Joe

Unbiased Science

@unbiasedscipod

Education, Science, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 644 Ratings

🗓️ 19 November 2025

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, Jess and Sarah welcome Dr. Joe Schwarcz, a renowned chemist and science communicator, to explore a range of current scientific topics. The scientists discuss a recent infant formula recall and the FDA's removal of black box warnings from estrogen products, providing context for these regulatory decisions. Dr. Schwarcz addresses the complexities of nutrition research, debunking common misconceptions about superfoods and food additives while emphasizing the importance of understanding food safety. Throughout the conversation, the experts examine the challenges of effective science communication in an era of widespread misinformation. The episode underscores the critical need for improved public science education and clearer communication strategies to help people navigate complex health and safety information in their daily lives. Video available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0kvnw6eE_2I (00:00) Intro and Public Health Update (03:41) What Is A News Item That Caught Your Attention And Why? (Removing Black Box Warning From Estrogen Products) (07:45) The Problem With The Blanket Approach To Ultraprocessed Foods (11:47) Better Not Burn Your Toast - Dr Joe's New Book (15:29) The Importance (And Challenge) Of Science Communication (22:39) Risk Approach Vs. Hazard Approach (26:51) Are SuperFoods Real? (30:45) What Is Giving Hope In Science And Public Health? https://ecwpress.com/products/better-not-burn-your-toast Better Not Burn Your Toast: The Science of Food and Health on Amazon ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interested in advertising with us? Please reach out to advertising@airwavemedia.com, with “Unbiased Science” in the subject line. PLEASE NOTE: The discussion and information provided in this podcast are for general educational, scientific, and informational purposes only and are not intended as, and should not be treated as, medical or other professional advice for any particular individual or individuals. Every person and medical issue is different, and diagnosis and treatment requires consideration of specific facts often unique to the individual. As such, the information contained in this podcast should not be used as a substitute for consultation with and/or treatment by a doctor or other medical professional. If you are experiencing any medical issue or have any medical concern, you should consult with a doctor or other medical professional. Further, due to the inherent limitations of a podcast such as this as well as ongoing scientific developments, we do not guarantee the completeness or accuracy of the information or analysis provided in this podcast, although, of course we always endeavor to provide comprehensive information and analysis. In no event may Unbiased Science or any of the participants in this podcast be held liable to the listener or anyone else for any decision allegedly made or action allegedly taken or not taken allegedly in reliance on the discussion or information in this podcast or for any damages allegedly resulting from such reliance. The information provided herein do not represent the views of our employers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You're listening to an Airwave Media podcast.
0:04.2	I'm Matt Kaplan, the host of Safeguarding Sound Science, Evolution Edition.
0:09.7	Evolution is the unifying principle of biology, yet it still breeds controversy a century
0:15.3	and a half after Charles Darwin.
0:17.7	Join us as we meet the passionate researchers and communicators who are expanding our knowledge
0:23.0	and fighting to keep good science in our schools and politics. Subscribe to Safeguarding Sound
0:29.3	Science on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you like to listen.
0:56.3	Welcome to Unbiased Science, where we bring scientific method of the madness.
1:02.2	Where your hosts, Dr. Jess Steyer and Dr. Sarah Scheinman.
1:15.4	And this week we are joined again by the amazing Dr. Joe Schwartz, who is going to talk to us a little bit about chemistry and food myths and misinformation in general and all the things that we're reading in headlines that
1:20.4	are scaring the poop out of us to tell us whether or not we should actually be scared.
1:25.5	So welcome, Dr. Joe, and thanks for joining us. Well, thanks very much.
1:30.1	Always fun and pleasure. So real quick, before we get started, an update, we are recording this on
1:37.7	November 12th. And the thing that people are buzzing about in public health right now is a major recall of
1:43.7	infant formula. There has been,
1:47.0	there have been 15 infants across 12 states that have developed botulism linked to by heart
1:55.0	infant formula. All were hospitalized. Thankfully, no deaths have occurred. Originally, a couple of specific lots were
2:02.8	recalled, but the company made the decision to recall all of their formula nationwide. Just a quick
2:11.6	note that infant botulism is fundamentally different from classic foodborne botulism in older children and adults.
2:19.2	This is something that we absolutely should take very seriously. It could take up to four
2:24.0	weeks for symptoms to show. So if your child is showing any of the symptoms we've written about
2:32.2	this at large on our page, and this is all over the news.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from @unbiasedscipod, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of @unbiasedscipod and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.