Nicholas Florko

1 week ago | theatlantic.com | Nicholas Florko

The surgeon general, America’s doctor, is the public face of medicine in the United States. The job is more educational than it is technical. Vivek Murthy, who was appointed as surgeon general during both the Obama and Biden administrations, went on Sesame Street to stress the importance of vaccinations and put out a guidebook to hosting dinner parties as a cure for loneliness. In many ways, Casey Means is the perfect person for that job.

1 week ago | theatlantic.com | Nicholas Florko

When you think of food poisoning, perhaps what first comes to mind is undercooked chicken, spoiled milk, or oysters. Personally, I remember the time I devoured a sushi boat as a high-school senior and found myself calling for my mommy in the early hours of the morning. But don’t overlook your vegetable crisper. In terms of foodborne illness, leafy greens stand alone. In 2022, they were identified as the cause of five separate multistate foodborne-illness outbreaks, more than any other food.

2 weeks ago | theatlantic.com | Nicholas Florko

The EBCreate “Miami Mint”–flavored vape is truly a wonder. The device is not particularly technologically advanced; the electronic components inside consist of little more than a battery and a heating coil that turns liquid into mist. The vape smells like a mojito that’s gone a bit sour. But for $25 at my local vape shop, I got this tiny trinket that, by one estimate, contains the amount of nicotine found in 25 packs of cigarettes. Along with nearly every other flavored vape, it’s also illegal.

3 weeks ago | theatlantic.com | Nicholas Florko

Unless you make a habit of closely reading nutrition labels—or watching Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s YouTube channel—you might not realize just how much tartrazine you’re ingesting. Kennedy, the U.S. health secretary, is fixated with the chemical, otherwise known as Yellow 5. Many Americans are unknowingly eating this and other “poisons,” he warned in a YouTube video posted last fall.

1 month ago | theatlantic.com | Nicholas Florko

Sarah Palin knew her audience. In 2013, during a speech at CPAC, the annual Republican confab, the former Alaska governor reached down into her lectern and pulled out a cup of soda the size of her head. She took a long swig, and then another, as the audience broke into raucous applause. Palin put the drink down and delivered the punch line: “Our Big Gulp's safe,” she said.