On First Opinion this week, epidemiologist Katrine Wallace offered an important counterpoint to the feverish reporting on cyclospora. Look at the big picture, she wrote about how people were coping with lack of information on the outbreak by sharing “vinegar rinses and peeling rituals. … An information vacuum does not stay empty. People are not irrational when they fill it; they are trying to protect their families with the only tools within reach.” (Please also note the excellent art on the piece.)
Since her op-ed was published, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration have linked the outbreak to an iceberg lettuce supplier.
Recommendation of the week: “After the Flood,” a five-part podcast from “Frontline” and the Texas Newsroom, offers a compelling and heartbreaking look at the floods that devastated Texas Hill Country in July 2025. It talks about the tragedy at Camp Mystic, of course — but also shares other stories that went largely overlooked.
