Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Heidi

August 20, 2026

Getting to know the new FDA pick ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

August 20, 2026

Greetings Meteor readers,

This week, my heart and thoughts are with Mychal Threets, aka Mychal the Librarian, who recently shared that he was admitting himself to a hospital for the sake of his mental health. Threets, who spreads the message that everyone is welcome at the library, has been a bright light for millions, and I hope someone is telling him that we’re all in his corner.

THE BEST GUY WITH THE BEST SMILE. (VIA GETTY IMAGES)

In today’s newsletter, we get to know Heidi Overton, the current nominee for commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Plus three women poised to make history, and a very important Rihanna update.

From the Newark Public Library,

Shannon Melero

WHAT’S GOING ON

The latex gloves are off: As you may have heard, Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Heidi Overton to be the new head of the FDA following Dr. Marty Makary’s tense departure from the position. Could this be some kind of improvement? LOL, no. The people Trump has tapped for powerful positions in his second administration are uniformly troublesome. But exactly how troublesome is Overton? Well, in 2023, she wrote a brief for the America First Policy Institute where she referred to the use of abortion pills as “effectively starving the child” to death. By “child,” this medical professional meant “fetus.” And that’s just scratching the surface.

Overton may have an “MD” behind her name, but her clinical career was short; while she was still a resident, she shifted quickly into health policy, and joined the White House in 2019. She’s supported changing the childhood vaccine schedule and was an advisor on Trump’s recent executive order calling for fewer immunizations for children. At the announcement of that EO, Trump repeated his demonstrably false claims about vaccines contributing to rising autism rates, and Overton was right by his side for the signing. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who had criticized RFK, Jr.’s anti-vaccine views before casting the deciding vote in the Senate to confirm him, wrote on X, “Dr. Overton’s active role in last week’s nonsensical vaccine executive order calls into question her commitment to standing up for sound science and protecting children’s health.”

THE FIVE HORSEMEN OF THE MAGAPOCALYPSE? MAGAVENGERS ASSEMBLE? IT’S TOO MANY JOKES I CAN’T DO IT! (VIA GETTY IMAGES)

But all of that—Overton’s anti-abortion views, her vaccine denialism—is just par for the Trump course. What’s notable about her is just how politically vocal she has been throughout her career. As the chief policy officer of the conservative group America First Policy Institute, Overton penned a number of misleading articles about abortion pills, claiming they are a danger to women. (Reminder: They’re safe and effective!) In 2024, she wrote an op-ed for Newsweek urging readers to vote against Kamala Harris because of Harris’s support for gender-affirming care and abortion rights.

This blatant politicization puts her at odds with past FDA leaders, who have made an effort to at least appear to separate their work from the agenda du jour. Marty Makary was not exactly a beacon of goodness—he also pandered to the anti-vaxx movement, endorsed peptides, and blocked a melanoma treatment—but he was ultimately pushed out of his position because he was unwilling to bend to the president’s every whim. The sign of a good FDA leader is arguably that you don’t remember their names, even if you live with the benefits; you may not recall Dr. David Kessler, for instance, but you do know the nutrition labels he gave us.

And there’s another thing particularly stuck in my craw about Overton. In her AFPI bio, she includes a Bible verse: “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people.” There are many ways to interpret that verse, but were I to put myself in the mind of a conservative white woman—a frightening place, indeed—I see a woman who does not want to serve actual people because their needs may be at odds with her idea of the Lord’s work. Never mind that Jesus clarified that we must serve the people in order to be good servants of the Lord. (That which you do for the least of me? Ever heard of it??)

The FDA has its hands in lots of pots, including ongoing efforts to curtail the use of mifepristone—so this confirmation is a consequential decision. Experts say that Overton faces an “uphill battle” in the Senate, but given the way things have been going, we’re probably not talking about an Everest-size climb. Still, it is a hill nonetheless, and we can do our best to make it a little better by calling every Senator on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Oh wow, who left this list of all the members here?

AND:

Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola and Minnesota’s lieutenant governor Peggy Flanagan, who both won their state primaries, are on the verge of making history, along with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland. If these women win their elections, they could be the first Native women to be elected to the U.S. Senate and a governorship, respectively. Their wins would be part of a long line of successes laid out by Native women across the country, who have been running for office, and in many cases, winning over the last few years.
WNBA star, icon, and player advocate Nneka Ogwumike has announced her retirement from professional basketball. After playing a key leadership role in growing the league, she will end her career after the 2026 season comes to a close.

THIS IS WHAT AN 11-TIME ALL-STAR LOOKS LIKE. SOAK IT IN. (VIA GETTY IMAGES)

Your phlebotomist could soon be a robot.
Researchers in London have found that as a result of the city’s “ultra low emission zone,” which cuts emissions from cars in designated areas, children’s lungs have actually gotten bigger, a finding one researcher calls “jawdropping.” So we start doing this everywhere when?
It turns out that the use of GLP-1s is changing how manufacturers make clothes. And not for the better.
Rihanna is, once again, coming for my paycheck.
Never say never, eh lads?

MOOD BOOSTER

Every Thursday, one of our editors shares a small thing that’s getting them through. If you’ve got something brightening your week, we want to know—reply to this email and share!

If I had to share my red flag as a human being, it would probably be my allegiance to Disney princesses (the OFFICIAL ones, none of this TV show princess nonsense…special exception for the “Descendants” trilogy). Alan Menken is God’s favorite child and is responsible for so many princess bangers; his work brings tears to my eyes, and I still enjoy blasting “Part of Your World” in the car when I’m alone. So this week, when Disney dropped the video for its Ultimate Concert Celebration special featuring the original voices of the most beloved princesses—Jodi Benson, Lea Salonga, Susan Egan—friends, to say I was sat would be an understatement. These women voiced the soundtrack to my youth, and it was nice to be reminded of sweeter times.

—Shannon