So in terms of vanillin itself, what do we know about it as a chemical?

Well, we know quite a lot about it.

I mean, it's obviously a very common chemical.

We find it in a lot of food.

It's a common food flavoring.

It's used in, I think, some cosmetics and stuff because people like the smell.

It's a relatively simple molecule.

And so then, so what do you think people should take away from this? Because as you say, vanillin is in a lot of products, from perfumes to foodstuffs, and people who are using it as a flavouring in vapes might be listening to this and go, okay, well, this is clearly something that could be quite toxic to me.

So in terms of vanillin itself, like what do we know about it as a chemical?

Well, we know quite a lot about it.

I mean, it's obviously a very common chemical.

We find it in a lot of food f- uh, it's a common food flavoring.

It's used in, I think, some cosmetics and stuff because people like the smell.

Uh, it's a relatively simple molecule.

Um, and it's actually got pretty low toxicity usually, um, which is why we find it so common, uh, in lots of different things.

so what do you think people should take away from this? Because [chuckles] as you say, vanill- vanillin is in a lot of products, from perfumes to foodstuffs, and people who are, who are using it, uh, as a flavoring in vapes might be listening to this and go, "Okay, well, this is, this is clearly something that could be quite toxic to me."

[laughs]

Yes, until I, I guess I was about 12 or 13 years old, I didn't realize that.

But every time that I h- hear any music at all, I know where I follow it along, and I know where it is on, [coughs] on any instrument.

W- And especially, um, having a perf- born with a perfect pitch, I can always, uh, know where the [laughs] where it is on the piano.

Well, I guess you have to learn to do one thing, uh, good in your life.

[laughs] Uh, out of all the, uh, amazing people you've played with in your life, who excited you the most?

Oh, I guess without a doubt, uh, uh, getting the opportunity to, to play with my mentor, uh, Oscar Peterson.

Over the years, I've had some wonderful, wonderful, uh, experience, musical experiences.

Oh, beautiful.

And so I got in the habit of mixing up different things for Charlie, and I was so shocked when Mr. George Jurtz opened the club and called it Biddles.

And, uh, so I got my opportunity from them.

[piano music] And then the following year, which the second year of the festival, and I got to play at a first jazz festival.

What's the secret to being 90 and still being able to play like that?

I don't think there's any secret.

It's a matter of, uh, loving the piano for sure.

The piano is just a, a part of me, and it gives me such, such a warm feeling.

Is that true?

Yes and no.

So, yes, there's a lot of misinformation on social media and even some of the mainstream media trying to panic everybody into that we're all going to die being full of plastic and we're all full of forever chemicals in the world.

And it's absolutely disproportional to the actual risk that What you have to remember is modern analytical science is absolutely amazing, and we can detect things at incredibly small concentrations, incredibly low concentrations, sorry, I should say.

So with PFAS or forever chemicals, I really don't like that term, but we're often talking about nanogram per liter concentrations, and a nanogram per liter is a part per trillion.

And for context, a trillion second is almost 32,000 years.

So it's an incredibly small amount.

Why are they doing that?

Do you remember when you first heard about this paper that said there's enough plastic in the human brain to add up to a plastic spoon?

Yes.

I remember reading it.

Um, I thought it was, uh, pretty unlikely.

Um, to be, to be blunt.

I thought, um...

I was a bit suspicious when I saw the headline.

(instrumental music) And when I asked Oliver for his takeaway, he agreed.