Welcome back. Episode 8 opens 2026 with a single focus: leadership, leadership, and more leadership. When the stakes are high, do leaders rise to the moment, or do they take the easier path that creates bigger problems later?
Darin reflects on recent meetings in Washington, D.C. with FDA and USDA officials around recall readiness, using real-world analogies to explore why preparation on paper is not the same as being ready when it counts. Gennette introduces a new recurring segment inspired by a sub-Reddit “Am I the A-Hole?” post, using it to unpack what happens when people who follow the rules become the problem in broken cultures.
At the heart of the episode is a gripping conversation sparked by Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, a play the hosts recently explored in a live table read. Its central question feels uncomfortably current: when harm occurs, who truly owns responsibility? The episode closes with a look ahead as Darin shares news about his upcoming TEDx Northeastern University talk and the question that continues to drive his work: “Why didn’t someone stop this?”
What is Confessions of a Food Safety A**Hole?
Confessions of a Food Safety A**Hole is a raw, honest, and surprisingly light listen about a serious subject: the failures that still threaten the safety of the food we eat. Hosted by Dr. Darin Detwiler—a man who turned personal tragedy into decades of public advocacy—and his wife Gennette Zimmer; this podcast pulls no punches. Together, they unpack the moments when speaking up wasn’t popular, but absolutely necessary. From the lens of experiencing every day food safety failures, Darin shares what it’s really like to challenge the system from the inside out.
Equal parts storytelling, reflection, and real talk, Confessions is for anyone who’s ever wondered why preventable tragedies still happen—and what it takes to stop them.
Because silence might be easier, but it’s never safer.