May 18, 2025

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First Opinion editor

When I saw the news that the partner of Elizabeth Holmes — she of the black turtleneck, subject of podcasts and books and a Hulu miniseries, perhaps the most famous convicted fraudster in biotech, cellblock buddy of a Real Housewife of Salt Lake City — a was launching a diagnostics company that sounds an awful lot like Theranos, I literally gasped. That couldn't be right, could it?

But Tyler Shultz wasn't surprised.

In First Opinion this week, the Theranos whistleblower writes, "Anyone who thought this story was over doesn't know Elizabeth and her ability to craft a narrative." In his sharp (and quite funny) essay, Shultz shares his insider's view of Holmes and speculates about the goal here. As he writes, "While Elizabeth has no legal affiliation with the company, her fingerprints and pricks are all over it."

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On Wednesday, I'm heading on vacation. If you are planning to submit a potential First Opinion piece soon and it's not extremely time-sensitive, I suggest waiting until I'm back after May 29. Also, while I won't have much time to relax (the 14-month-old is coming along — spare a thought for us, and for the other passengers), I welcome recommendations for light reads and good movies or TV shows for the plane.

Recommendation of the week: It seems like there can't possibly be left to say about HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but Malcolm Gladwell managed it on his podcast "Revisionist History." The episode is called "The RFK Jr. Problem."

Wikimedia Commons

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Surgeon general nominee Casey Means, at left, and journalist Megyn Kelly, attending the confirmation hearing for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health secretary in January.

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STAT First Opinion essay: Tyler Shultz says he always knew Elizabeth Holmes would have a second act, "shocked it's starting while she's still behind bars."