HTDE: How To Make Lasagna Without An Oven, with Peter Sagal

Summary

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! – "HTDE: How To Make Lasagna Without An Oven, with Peter Sagal"

Date: September 17, 2025
Host: Peter Sagal (NPR)
Guests/Contributors: Ian, Mike, Colby, Dr. Michael Lerner, Amanda, JP

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Episode Overview

This episode is a playful and informative crossover between "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" and "How To Do Everything," where the hosts tackle two unusual challenges: making lasagna in a dishwasher (with Peter Sagal as the taste tester) and helping a listener who physically cannot burp. The show blends quirky problem-solving, offbeat humor, and expert advice, culminating in a memorable taste test and a surprisingly scientific explanation of "No Burp Syndrome."

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Can You Really Make Lasagna in a Dishwasher? (00:58 – 11:29)

• The Plan:
  Hosts Ian and Mike embark on the adventure of cooking a lasagna—in a dishwasher.

  • They phone local appliance stores to fact-check whether this is even theoretically possible.
  • Colby, an appliance expert, confirms: “Anything that hits sanitary level of like, I think, 162 degrees or something” could cook food (02:33).

• Dishwasher Lasagna Process:

  • Ingredients are wrapped in three layers of aluminum foil and placed flat in the dishwasher.
  • The “sanitize” cycle is used to guarantee the highest heat.
  • Advice: Do not use detergent (03:00).
  • Colby suggests, “Just wouldn’t tell anybody” about using the dishwasher for food preparation, regarding potential warranty issues (03:29).

• Kitchen Prep:

  • The hosts riff on the surrealism of audio-only cooking lessons, the protective properties of aluminum foil, and the importance of robust seasoning:
    • "I think anything to mask the centuries of Tide pods that have gone through the dishwasher." (05:39)

• The Big Reveal:

  • After two and a half hours, the lasagna is unwrapped and delivered to Peter Sagal for judgment.
  • Peter’s Assessment:
    • Observing the lasagna: “I see before me what I would have to say looks like maybe a one or two layer lasagna.” (08:07)
    • Describing the taste: “It doesn’t taste good, but kind of a humid feel to it. You know, it’s a little soggy.” (09:11)
    • “If I were served this, perhaps in a restaurant, I might push it slowly away and then do the thing where you cut it and so it looks like you’ve eaten it. So I don’t want to offend the server.” (09:31)

• The Reveal:

  • Peter discovers the lasagna was cooked in a dishwasher. His primary concern: “Was it just sitting there?... so that’s why it feels wet.” (10:13)
  • The team jokes about potential new Italian names for the dish:
    • “Lasagne dalla La Vastoville” (10:45)
    • “If somebody came out and said with that accent... you’d be like, aren’t we lucky, honey?” (10:50)

• Final Judgment:

  • "It’s not good... It’s not inedible. If I was very, very hungry and I didn’t want to offend the person who gave it to me." (11:17)

Memorable Quotes:

• “We're using the food to create garbage, which we’re gonna feed to Peter.” – Ian (05:31)
• “It’s a little bit cooking, it’s a little bit dishwashing. It’s a little bit origami. It’s a little bit ending a friendship.” – Ian (06:25)
• “It doesn’t taste good, but kind of a humid feel to it. You know, it’s a little soggy.” – Peter Sagal (09:11)

Timestamps:

• 00:58 – Start of lasagna segment
• 02:33 – Appliance store call on dishwasher cooking
• 04:21 – Assembling lasagna
• 08:04 – Peter Sagal tastes the lasagna
• 09:31 – Peter’s restaurant analogy
• 10:05 – The reveal

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2. Listener Help Desk: Out-of-Office Stand-ins & Wine Bottling (14:26 – 17:00)

• Ian and Mike offer to be "out-of-office" email contacts for listeners.
• Amanda's email, sent to the wrong address, leads to a lighthearted call about wine bottling:
  • “So when I spoke with her, she gave me a different one.” (16:16)
  • “From my understanding, you guys are off the hook.” – Amanda (16:28)

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3. How (Not) To Burp: A Listener’s Real-Life Problem (17:54 – 26:45)

• Listener JP’s Dilemma:

  • JP has “never burped in their life” and feels left out, describing chest gurgling in place of burps (18:34).
  • Mike apologizes for “showing off” after burping involuntarily (19:11).

• Audio Experiment:

  • JP records and sends a "gurgle" noise to the hosts, who have fun slowing it down and adding beats underneath (20:28–21:27).

• Expert Segment: Dr. Michael Lerner, Yale Medicine

  • Dr. Lerner explains “No-Burp Syndrome,” formally retrograde cricopharyngeus dysfunction (22:24).
    • “So basically, [the muscle] is supposed to relax, to vent air... when it doesn’t, that trapped air can lead to... really uncomfortable bloating.” (22:59)
  • Remedy: Botox injection into the affected muscle (23:19).
    • “In 80 to 90% of people... after the Botox goes away, they’re able to relearn how to burp.” (23:29)
    • Patients often describe their “burp day”—the day they burp for the first time after the treatment (24:24).

Timestamps:

• 17:54 – JP explains inability to burp
• 21:27 – Dr. Lerner joins
• 22:24 – Syndrome and explanation
• 23:19 – Medical remedy

Memorable Quotes:

• “It turns out that it is a thing, and only in 2019... a condition was described in which people couldn’t burp.” – Dr. Lerner (21:48)
• "Botox into that muscle, and 80 to 90% of people afterwards could burp..." – Dr. Lerner (23:19)
• “It’s like going to be on their birthday, so it’ll be like their ‘burp day’.” – Dr. Lerner (24:24)

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4. Lighthearted Wrap-up and Future Culinary Innovations (26:08 – End)

• The hosts speculate about other dishwasher-cooked dishes, like ribs or soup (26:11–26:49).
• Mike proposes "Tide seasoning pods" as a business idea (27:05).
• Episode credits and invitations for listener questions.

Memorable Quotes:

• “I think these Tide seasoning pods, this could be our path to financial independence.” – Ian (27:14)
• “It’s a new meal prep kit from Tide.” – Mike (27:14)

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Notable Quotes & Moments by Timestamp

| Quote | Speaker | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------|------------| | "Anything that hits sanitary level of like, I think, 162 degrees..." | Colby | 02:33 | | "I just wouldn't tell anybody." (on using the dishwasher to cook) | Colby | 03:29 | | "We’re using the food to create garbage, which we’re gonna feed to Peter." | Ian | 05:31 | | "It’s a little bit cooking, it’s a little bit dishwashing. It’s a little bit origami. It’s a little bit ending a friendship." | Ian | 06:25 | | "It doesn’t taste good, but kind of a humid feel to it. You know, it’s a little soggy." | Peter Sagal | 09:11 | | “If I were served this...I might push it slowly away and then do the thing where you cut it and so it looks like you’ve eaten it.” | Peter Sagal | 09:31 | | “Lasagne dalla La Vastoville.” | Ian | 10:45 | | “Botox into that muscle, and 80 to 90%...could burp.” | Dr. Lerner | 23:19 | | "It's like going to be on their birthday, so it'll be like their 'burp day'." | Dr. Lerner | 24:24 | | "I think these Tide seasoning pods, this could be our path to financial independence." | Ian | 27:14 |

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Summary Table of Segments

| Segment | Start Time | End Time | Main Topic | |--------------------------------------------|------------|------------|--------------------------------------------| | Dishwasher Lasagna Calls & Cooking | 00:58 | 11:29 | Attempting to cook (and taste) lasagna in dishwasher | | Out-of-Office Email Follies | 14:26 | 17:00 | Listeners use hosts as automated out-of-office contacts; wine-bottling call | | JP's No-Burp Mystery | 17:54 | 21:27 | Listener submits lack-of-burping issue for investigation | | Dr. Michael Lerner: Medical Explanation | 21:27 | 25:45 | Explanation of No-Burp Syndrome & medical solution | | Wrap-Up & Dishwasher Recipe Brainstorm | 26:08 | 27:23 | Other dishwasher meals, fake business ideas |

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Episode Mood & Tone

• Dry, irreverent, and nerdily whimsical—hosts maintain a light, self-deprecating banter.
• Willingly lean into absurdity ("origami," "ending a friendship," "burp day"), but balance with genuine curiosity and real research.
• Guests and experts riff with the hosts, keeping the tone accessible and fun.

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For Listeners Who Missed This Episode

You’ll hear a hilarious test of culinary limits (lasagna in the dishwasher), an unexpectedly heartfelt medical mystery (a listener who’s never burped), and goofy help desk hijinks. With both questionable recipes and genuine expertise, the episode is equal parts “don’t try this at home” and “you’re not alone with weird problems.” Peter Sagal’s willingness to put his taste buds on the line, plus Dr. Lerner’s modern medical insight, make for an offbeat but surprisingly informative ride.

Transcript

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Support for this podcast and the following message come from Allianz Travel Insurance. You're so excited to finally make it to Ireland, but the stomach bug you caught in Dublin wasn't exactly on your bucket list. Benefits like emergency medical coverage can have your back. Learn [e-mail] hey, guys, it's Peter.

[Peter Sagal]

And once again, you are finding in your. Wait, Wait feed a new episode of our sister podcast, how to Do Everything. Now, you might be saying, I don't want this. I want Peter. I've got such good news for you, because in today's episode, I am in it, being humiliated as of old by being asked to eat something, let's just say questionable. So enjoy this week's how to Do Everything and make sure if you like it, go on over to their own feed and subscribe.

[Amanda]

Sorry. May help you.

[Mike]

Hey, can I ask, is there somebody there who can help me with a cooking question about lasagna?

[Amanda]

I can help you.

[Mike]

Okay. We're making lasagna. We want to get all the ingredients right. Here's the trick. We're making it in the dishwasher.

[Colby / Various Callers]

What? So, Loris, may I help you?

[Mike]

Hi, I have a question. It's a food cooking question. Is there somebody who could help me with lasagna? With a lasagna recipe? Question?

[Colby / Various Callers]

Well, we don't do lasagna, but.

[Mike]

Oh, okay.

[Colby / Various Callers]

We have pasta, like most achioli, rigatoni, spaghetti.

[Ian]

Have you we're gonna make this lasagna in the dishwasher?

[Colby / Various Callers]

No.

[Ian]

Do you have any advice?

[Colby / Various Callers]

No. No. I don't know nothing about no dishwasher. Nothing. No. Grand Appliance & TV in Chicago, Illinois. Please listen carefully. Grand Appliance. This is Colby. How can I help you?

[Mike]

Hey, we're trying to. We're looking for a dishwasher. We want to see which. The best dishwasher that we can use to cook a lasagna.

[Colby / Various Callers]

The best dishwasher to cook a lasagna?

[Mike]

Yeah. Have you ever heard of this?

[Colby / Various Callers]

You cover it and put it in the dishwasher and hit go.

[Mike]

Exactly right. You take the noodles, you put all the things down, and you wrap it in three pieces of foil and then you put it in the dishwasher. You want to put it flat and apparently you have to run it for a full cycle. At the end of that, you have edible lasagna.

[Colby / Various Callers]

I believe it. Anything that hits sanitary level of like, I think, 162 degrees or something.

[Ian]

So use the sanitized, hit the sanitize. If it has that because that's a.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Specific degree to be recognized as sanitization or whatever. Yeah.

[Mike]

Can I ask you another question? One recipe I read said you have to put detergent in it so that it will run for the full cycle. Is that true?

[Colby / Various Callers]

No. No. Definitely don't do that if you're going to eat it.

[Mike]

That's what I thought.

[Ian]

Would you eat lasagna out of a dishwasher?

[Colby / Various Callers]

I'm from southern Illinois, so I probably. I've eaten much worse. Yeah, I'd do it. I also heard you ever use cottage cheese in your lasagna? No. Check that out. It's really.

[Mike]

All right.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Next level.

[Mike]

Okay.

[Colby / Various Callers]

But yeah.

[Ian]

Would it void the warranty of the dishwasher, do you think, to make lasagna in it?

[Colby / Various Callers]

No. I mean, I don't see how it would. I just wouldn't tell anybody. Yeah. All right.

[Ian]

This is how to do everything. I'm Ian.

[Mike]

And I'm Mike. Coming up, how to burp. But first, dishwasher, lasagna.

[Ian]

On our other show, the other show we work on. Wait, wait, don't tell me. We recently did a story about how some people say the best way, the best place to cook a steak is in your dishwasher.

[Mike]

So this got us curious. What else can you cook in your dishwasher? We looked around and we found a recipe for lasagna.

[Ian]

Going to make some, and then we're going to feed it to our official taste tester, Peter Sagal. You'll know we're in the office kitchen when we start speaking in hushed tones.

[Mike]

So the recipe says we need three sheets of foil. Okay. So that's three sheets. We're going to then put the lasagna.

[Ian]

So I guess we want three sheets to protect it from the dishwasher. Ness of all of this.

[Mike]

So. So yeah, we want to avoid contact with any of that stuff that I just assume swirls around in the dishwasher once you run it.

[Ian]

I usually wash my dishes in the sink. So I would be cooking the lasagna in the sink, just running hot water.

[Mike]

Over it for three and a half hours, two and a half hours.

[Peter Sagal]

Whatever.

[Ian]

It takes a long time. That was really good sound.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Thanks.

[Ian]

I always feel like audio is the best medium for cooking demonstrations.

[Mike]

Sound based, I think. Was it you who said sound is the most visual medium?

[Ian]

I. What I said was, as Mike said, sound is the most visual medium.

[Mike]

And I was quoting you, I think.

[Ian]

Go all the way to the edge.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Right.

[Mike]

So I'm just gonna spread this out over the noodles.

[Ian]

It's interesting Right. Because usually you try to get the food off your plates before it goes in the dishwasher. But now we're. We want as much food as possible in the dishwasher so that the most food comes out.

[Mike]

Yeah. Instead of scraping our food into the garbage before we put it in the dishwasher, we're scraping our food out.

[Ian]

We're using the food to create garbage, which we're gonna feed to Peter.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Yep.

[Mike]

So I brought these herbs. I'm just gonna put some on here.

[Ian]

Sure, why not? I think anything to mask the centuries of tide pots that have gone through the dishwasher. I think we want a lot of garlic.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Okay.

[Mike]

I'm gonna sprinkle on. This is just some dried basil. Now you can do whatever kind of Italian spices you want. I like these three.

[Ian]

So this seemed. This is flavor blasted lasagna. So we're. Right now we're folding it all up around the lasagna to make sure we get a good seal. Oh, you're gonna kind of roll it up.

[Mike]

Do you want to get. You want to get all the outside?

[Ian]

Yeah.

[Mike]

All right, so then I'm gonna roll this. This feels good to me. This feels like we've accounted for any potential water access points. We may not be right. We may discover that there were some that we forgot.

[Ian]

It's like. It's a little bit cooking, it's a little bit dishwashing. It's a little bit origami.

[Mike]

Origami. Yeah, that's right.

[Ian]

It's a little bit ending a friendship, closing it up.

[Mike]

Gonna leave the detergent capsule empty. No detergent.

[Ian]

Okay. So we're gonna put it on sanitize. That gets us our highest heat. Okay. There's a button that says extra shine. Do we want.

[Mike]

Yeah, why not?

[Ian]

Okay, wait.

[Mike]

There is a button here that says al dente. Okay, we're gonna fast forward here.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Yeah.

[Ian]

We're not gonna sit here for two and a half hours while the lasagna washes.

[Mike]

Yeah. But if you want to get a feel for what we're doing, just go ahead and stare at your dishwasher for the next two and a half hours.

[Ian]

If you don't have a dishwasher, you can also sear your refrigerator. Any appliance, just make sure a microwave not to break eye contact with the appliance for two and a half hours, the full cycle.

[Mike]

All right, here we go.

[Ian]

We're going to open the dishwasher.

[Mike]

I can still. The door is still hot.

[Ian]

Oh, boy. The aluminum foil has changed color.

[Mike]

It really has. Right.

[Ian]

Dulled it got stiff. Did it get heavier?

[Mike]

Okay.

[Ian]

I think it got heavier.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Okay.

[Ian]

We put the lasagna on a plate. We are running it into the studio where Peter Sagal is waiting, and he has no idea what we're about to feed him.

[Mike]

It looks like a normal, not very good lasagna. All right, Peter, you're here.

[Peter Sagal]

I am.

[Ian]

So what do you see before you?

[Peter Sagal]

I see before me what I would have to say looks like maybe a one or two layer lasagna. That is what I would describe it as.

[Mike]

Yeah, that's what it is. Yeah, it's lasagna.

[Peter Sagal]

I'm rotating it slowly.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Peter Sagal]

Yes. I'm seeing now as we rotate, I see the lasagna noodle. I see the.

[Ian]

Does anything seem unusual about it?

[Peter Sagal]

Does any. Well, all right, I'm gonna give you an honest answer. As I'm rotating in the manner of like, a diamond and like a commercial, it's like slowly spinning nothing, per se.

[Mike]

Okay, go ahead and cut into it.

[Peter Sagal]

Right.

[Mike]

Cut yourself a piece before I do this.

[Peter Sagal]

And I'm gonna do it no matter how you answer this, but I just want to be prepared. Will anything scream in the lasagna? In the lasagna, you.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Yes.

[Peter Sagal]

So I'm just like, there's no living creature in here.

[Mike]

Everything should be okay. Everything should be okay.

[Peter Sagal]

Okay. I just want. I just want to say now, when Ian asked me to come in today and do this, he said, come hungry.

[Mike]

All right.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Oh, God. All right.

[Peter Sagal]

I am chewing it, as the audience may hear, and it doesn't taste good, but kind of a humid feel to it. You know, it's a little soggy.

[Mike]

Maybe the actual kind of a little locker roomy.

[Ian]

A humid lasagna locker room.

[Mike]

That makes sense.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Do you.

[Peter Sagal]

I mean, let me put it this way. If I were served this, perhaps in a restaurant, I might push it slowly away and then do the thing where you cut it and so it looks like you've eaten it. So I don't want to offend the server.

[Mike]

You wouldn't send it back?

[Peter Sagal]

That entirely depends on what you tell me to send it back.

[Mike]

Nothing. There is.

[Peter Sagal]

I mean, there could be. Depending on what you say. There could be. I could send back. I could stomp out. I could sue them. Depending on what.

[Mike]

Well, it won't take effect for another five minutes. God. All right, well, Peter, let me tell you, we made it not in an oven, but in the dishwasher.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Ah. Ah.

[Peter Sagal]

Let me ask you in.

[Colby / Various Callers]

I'm.

[Peter Sagal]

What did. What did. Was it just. Was it just sitting there? Like, so that's why it feels wet.

[Mike]

Oh, it was wrapped. It was wrapped in multiple layers of aluminum foil and then like folded over and sealed. I want to have a bite. Do you want to have a bite?

[Ian]

I will have a bite.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Yeah.

[Ian]

Let me just bring up Google Translate because I think it's worth knowing what this dish would be called in Italian.

[Peter Sagal]

La lasagne di something. What's the dishwasher?

[Ian]

Oh, it actually see the Italian name lasagne dalla La Vastoville.

[Peter Sagal]

You'd eat that. You'd say if somebody came out and said with that accent, if that guy came down, said on our special today, you'd be like, aren't we lucky, honey?

[Mike]

That's right.

[Peter Sagal]

We have come in when the special today is the president lasagna de la Vasto Villa. Yeah.

[Mike]

So now what part of the cow is the lala Vastovilla? Peter, five star rating. What do you give this.

[Peter Sagal]

With all apologies to both you, the dishwasher and the Google Translate AI voice. It's not good.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Yeah.

[Peter Sagal]

You know, it's not inedible. If I was very, very hungry and I didn't want to offend the person who gave it to me.

[Mike]

Okay, prove it.

[Peter Sagal]

Neither of those conditions apply.

[Mike]

We want to remind you, if you have a question or something you need help with, send it to us. Send us your questions at how to npr.org you can also, if you have.

[Ian]

An idea for something we can feed to Peter unwittingly, you can also send that to howtopr.org don't send the food itself. No as an attachment, but maybe just suggest the food in words and we will make it in a dishwasher.

[Mike]

Whatever it is, send it to [e-mail].

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Support for this podcast and the following message come from Strawberry Me. If you could go back and talk to your younger self, would you tell yourself that you have a job that truly makes you happy? Many people are stuck in jobs they've outgrown or never really wanted. A career coach from Strawberry Me can help you move on to something you actually love. Benefit from having a dedicated coach in your corner and claim a special offer at Strawberry Me. This message comes from BetterHelp President Fernando Madera describes how BetterHelp online therapy has helped him.

[Peter Sagal]

For me, sometimes I just need to to go and talk to somebody that is not going to judge me.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Right.

[Peter Sagal]

He's going to be there and going to listen to me. And I can't start just saying, look, I'm not feeling right today and it feels natural.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

I love it to get matched with a therapist. Visit betterhelp.com NPR for 10% off your first month. This message comes from Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations. This message comes from Warby Parker. What makes a great pair of glasses at Warby Parker? It's all the invisible extras without the extra cost, like free adjustments for life. Find your [e-mail] or visit one of their hundreds of stores around the country. This message comes from Mint Mobile. If you're tired of spending hundreds on big wireless bills, bogus fees and free perks, Mint Mobile might be right for you with plans starting from 15 bucks a month. Shop plans [e-mail] Switch upfront payment of 45 dollars for 3 month 5 gigabyte plan required. New customer offer for first 3 months only. Then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details.

[Ian]

Hey, if you'll remember an episode ago, we offered to be your out of office email contact. Bearing in mind we don't know how to do anything, but you can put this out of office message which we'll put once again in our show notes for you. Put that in your email and if anybody reaches out to us, we'll try and help them.

[Mike]

And we've actually been getting some of these out of office emails. One of them came from Amanda. The subject of the email was request for final case counts from August 29, 2025. So let's do it. Let's call her up and see if we can help her out.

[Ian]

I don't think we're gonna be able to.

[Mike]

I don't even. Yeah, we don't. We will not have those case counts.

[Amanda]

The Bottlemeister. This is Amanda.

[Mike]

Hey Amanda, it's Mike and Ian calling. We got your email from an out of office forward you were looking for. The final case counts from August 29th. Does that ring a bell?

[Amanda]

Um, and where are you calling from?

[Mike]

I'm afraid I have no idea.

[Ian]

I can. I can read you the email if you want, if that helps.

[Amanda]

Yes, I guess it would help me. Thank you.

[Ian]

Okay, so what you wrote was hello, I'm currently working on the invoice for bottling that was done on 8, 29, 2025. It looks like we still do not have your case counts. Please send me your final case count. So I may adjust your invoice correctly. Thank you, Amanda. The.

[Amanda]

Oh, I think it was from.

[Mike]

Is that a good. Do you work with them a lot?

[Amanda]

We do. And then they did. I did contact someone else and they gave me the correct email.

[Ian]

Okay.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Yeah.

[Ian]

Because we hopefully it said in the out of office message that Mike and I don't. Don't actually know anything. We just were offering to help.

[Amanda]

Yes, I remember now. Yes. So when I spoke with her, she gave me a different one.

[Mike]

Interesting. Okay, so they got back in the office then and then they relieved us of our duties.

[Amanda]

Yes. From my understanding, you guys are off the hook.

[Mike]

Okay. Can I ask, what kind of business do you do? What are you bottling?

[Amanda]

It's wine.

[Mike]

Oh, so they made wine and then you put it in bottles for them?

[Amanda]

We sure do.

[Mike]

What kind of wine was. Was it any good?

[Amanda]

That I do not know.

[Mike]

Well, thanks Amanda.

[Amanda]

Thank you and I appreciate the follow through.

[Ian]

So it's working? We are not working, but the system is working.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Yep.

[Ian]

We also got one from Amanda McLaughlin. So she's responding to an out of office for Lauren. How do I shop for a used car in 2025?

[Mike]

That's a good question.

[Ian]

I will say my car that I currently have is at this moment at the mechanic and they discovered that rodents had been eating the engine.

[Mike]

Are you serious?

[Ian]

So, Amanda, I'd be happy to sell you my used car. Just send us your best offer for a 2021 Subaru Crosstrek with an engine compartment filled with rats. And just send your best offer to howtopr.org and again, everybody out there put us as your out of office email contact and we will do our best to help.

[Mike]

We'll do our best.

[Ian]

Hey jp, what can we help you with?

[Colby / Various Callers]

So my question centers around the fact that I oddly enough can't burp. So I've wondered for years now if it's how to burp, like if it's something that could be taught or if it's just something for me that I'm not able to do or what the. What's going on there?

[Ian]

Have you ever burped?

[Colby / Various Callers]

So what happens when I have like post food or a soda or something like that I might have like what I describe as like gurgling noises that I feel like fill in the gap for what would be a burp?

[Mike]

Yeah, I think I've heard that before.

[Ian]

Could we ask you to demonstrate the gurgling noise as best you can?

[Colby / Various Callers]

I wish I could. Like it's not a sound I can really recreate because it comes from, like, my chest.

[Mike]

So it sounds maybe like this is. It's not that you never learned how to burp, it's just that you physically can't do it.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Yeah, exactly.

[Ian]

And is this.

[Mike]

Is it.

[Ian]

Is it emotional? Do you feel left out of the burping world?

[Colby / Various Callers]

Oh, yeah, for sure. Because I feel like I get indigestion. I have the feeling of what I would think would be, like, the necessity to burp, but it just doesn't.

[Mike]

I just want to say that about 20 seconds ago, I just burped. I really did. And I wonder if it was like a sympathetic burp.

[Ian]

Oh, right. Like a yawn.

[Mike]

Have you burped at all?

[Ian]

I. Frank, I think it would be rude, personally. I think it would be rude to do it at all in this professional setting, but also in front of jp who is longing, I know, to do what you just did willy nilly, as if nothing.

[Mike]

And then I just want to apologize to both of you for doing something that is rude. But then specifically to JP for kind of showing off.

[Colby / Various Callers]

I appreciate the empathy.

[Ian]

So we're going to do our best to get to the bottom of this, hopefully solve this problem for you. Can I ask you a favor?

[Colby / Various Callers]

Sure.

[Ian]

Next time you feel this sound, this froggy sound coming on, could you call our. Do we have a voicemail, Hina?

[Colby / Various Callers]

Yeah, we have a voicemail.

[Ian]

And just do the sound into the phone.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Totally.

[Mike]

Okay, well, we're going to see what we can do here, JP and our goal is to get you burping as quickly as possible.

[Colby / Various Callers]

I appreciate that.

[Mike]

Okay, so JP did send us a voice memo. Let's listen to it.

[Ian]

I don't. There's no journalistic reason to do this, but I would. I would like to listen to that again. Let's play it one more time.

[Mike]

And that's pretty good.

[Ian]

Let's slow it down. Also.

[Mike]

Hina, can you put a little beat under that?

[Ian]

All right, we have somebody on the line who hopefully can help JP. Dr. Michael Lerner is an ear, nose, and throat doctor with Yale Medicine. So, Michael, what do you have for us?

[Colby / Various Callers]

So I'll start by saying that what I'm about to say is not a substitute for, you know, medical advice for JP specifically.

[Ian]

Sure.

[Colby / Various Callers]

But as far as if someone came to me and said that they can't burp or were unable to ever burp, you're not alone. You know that that kind of description wasn't traditionally considered, like, a symptom. If you go to the doctor and say, I can't burp, you know, in the past, folks would have said, okay, that's not a thing. But it turns out that it is a thing, and only in 2019. So not too long ago, a condition was described in which people couldn't burp.

[Ian]

And does this have a name, this condition?

[Colby / Various Callers]

So it's called colloquially or by patients? No, Burp syndrome. So the name really is easy to understand. The medical terminology obviously can get a little jargony, but it's called retrograde cricopharyngeus dysfunction. The trichopharyngeal muscle is really the valve or the sphincter on top of our esophagus, or esophagi. So basically, it's supposed to relax, to vent air that's building up in our stomachs or digestive tract. So when it doesn't do that, that recirculating air can make some unusual, sometimes socially awkward noises as it's trying to get out. And then that trapped air can lead to really uncomfortable bloating, actually, in the end. So the swelling in the belly.

[Mike]

Oh, wow. So is there anything you can do about it?

[Colby / Various Callers]

Yeah, there is, and it's become a major focus of what I do and something I'm really happy to treat because the treatment described in 2019 was Botox into that muscle. And so apparently in this 2019 study by a Dr. Bastian in the Chicago area, actually injecting Botox into that muscle, the cricopharyngeus muscle, and 80 to 90% of people afterwards could burp, and 80 to 90% of People after the Botox goes away, they've actually. They're able to learn or relearn how to burp in the first place. And so they get this durable resolution for reasons we don't yet fully understand.

[Ian]

I'm curious about. I mean, if you've gone your whole life and you've never experienced a burp, doing it for the first time, how do people describe that experience? And do they have to sort of learn how to do it?

[Colby / Various Callers]

Yeah, yeah. So, you know, we've had somewhere. Botox's onset of action is three days. And so I've seen some where we timed it. It's like going to be on their birthday, so it'll be like their birthday.

[Mike]

Wow.

[Colby / Various Callers]

I have. Most patients tend to be, you know, female in their 20s and 30s, and so it's not uncommon. They'll tell me, like, I'm burping like a frat guy. Like, it can be a lot beginning, but it all settles out over time as the Botox wears off.

[Mike]

Did You. Did you just say, though, their burp day?

[Colby / Various Callers]

Yeah, that's.

[Mike]

That's the first time they burp.

[Colby / Various Callers]

You do these. I do these treatments, and a lot of folks ask me, like, should I go back to work right away? Am I going to be, you know, burping in front of people involuntarily? And. And the truth is, you know, for folks who've never burped before and they have the Botox on board, they'll go to yawn, and guess what? A burp is going to come out. Or, you know, they might, you know, like, they didn't know that was going to happen. Right. And when we. When we yawn, what's happening is we don't, you know, we don't think about it in medical or anatomical terms, but our voice box is going down. It's dropping low. The idea is that we're, you know, unlocking this block with the Botox, but now, as the floodgates are open, the other muscles have to kick in and figure out where to put the gas and the brakes on.

[Mike]

Have you. Have you heard from anybody who's gone through this and has gotten, I mean, not necessarily in trouble, but has found themselves in a situation where they have burped and then it has caused them awkwardness or they, like, they regret it?

[Colby / Various Callers]

No, no. But I'll admit that I was reading a column in one of the local papers about work etiquette, and there was mention someone was writing in about my cubicle mate was burping all day long, and I don't know if I should talk to them about it. And I was thinking, I hope that is my patient. That's fantastic.

[Mike]

Well, that does it for this week's show. What'd you learn, Ian?

[Ian]

I learned there are any number of foods you can cook in the dishwasher. Yeah, we did lasagna, but we also. We found a recipe for ribs.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Ian]

We were very close to trying the ribs instead of the lasagna based on.

[Mike]

This experience with the lasagna, what would you make? Like, if you were in charge of making dinner for your family, like tonight, what would you make?

[Ian]

I think a soup would be interesting. Put all the ingredients in the top rack.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Yeah.

[Ian]

Put a bowl on the bottom rack. Let all the hot water do all the things that boiling water does in soup.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Ian]

And then it would all just settle in the bowl and just pop it right out.

[Mike]

If that were a thing that you could do, it would make sense for Tide then to make tide seasoning pods, where you just, instead of soap. It's just herbs and spices so that when it's washing, it's just swirling those things around your raw ingredients.

[Ian]

Very smart. I mean, is it cooking right? If it's all prepackaged, but yeah. Well, I think these Tide seasoning pods, this could be our path to financial independence.

[Mike]

It's a new meal prep kit from Tide.

[Ian]

How to Do Everything is produced by Hina Srivastava with technical direction from Lorna White.

[Mike]

If you have any questions or anything you want us to do for you, send us an email at Howto pr.

[Ian]

I'm Ian.

[Mike]

And I'm Mike.

[Colby / Various Callers]

Thanks.

[Peter Sagal]

Thanks.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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