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Cyclospora Aura: Hot Hurl Summer & 250 Reasons to Love the USA

What happens when even the healthy food starts looking suspicious?

On this episode of Apocalypse…Now?, we’re talking about Cyclospora, cyclosporiasis, foodborne illness, contaminated produce, and the general indignity of living through a time when eating a salad can be terrifying.

And because an episode about explosive diarrhea needs balance, we’re also continuing my ongoing 250 Reasons to Love the USA experiment with some of the most incredible landscapes, ecosystems, and natural wonders in America.

Basically: your salad may betray you, but at least the Grand Canyon is still breathtaking.

Cyclospora Enters Her Hot Hurl Summer

I’ve been hearing people ask questions about Cyclospora and cyclosporiasis as foodborne illness outbreaks continue making headlines. What is Cyclospora? Where does it come from? What foods are associated with it? What happens if you get infected?

Naturally, instead of discussing this like a normal person, I invited Cyclospora onto the podcast for an exclusive interview.

She was a nightmare.

Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite associated with cyclosporiasis, an intestinal illness that can cause prolonged watery diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms. Contaminated fresh produce has been associated with outbreaks, particularly foods that are eaten raw.

In the episode, Cyclospora explains—with considerably more enthusiasm than necessary—how contaminated water and food can help her make her way into the human digestive system and why certain kinds of produce can be particularly difficult to clean.

We also get into the broader anxiety surrounding the American food supply, food safety, and what happens when an outbreak makes people start questioning foods they’re normally told they should be eating.

And yes, there is an extended discussion about explosive diarrhea.

This is Apocalypse…Now?. You knew what you signed up for.

250 Reasons to Love the USA: From Sea to Shining Sea

After spending entirely too much time thinking about parasites, I needed something beautiful.

So we’re continuing 250 Reasons to Love the USA, my attempt to find 250 things that genuinely make America worth appreciating.

This time, we’re going outside.

From Sea to Shining Sea explores some of the extraordinary American landscapes, ecosystems, and natural wonders scattered across the country.

We start in Hawaii, where volcanic activity created islands that eventually became home to remarkable ecosystems found thousands of miles from the nearest continent.

Then we’re heading across the country.

There’s Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, the Rocky Mountains, Alaska’s Arctic tundra, the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts, California’s redwood forests, the disappearing tallgrass prairie, and the Florida Everglades.

We head underwater for the Pacific kelp forests, into the rainy Southern Appalachians, and across the mountains and valleys of the Great Basin.

And then things get geological.

There’s Yellowstone and its geysers, Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave, the otherworldly gypsum dunes of White Sands National Park, Oregon’s impossibly blue Crater Lake, and the giant hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park.

Turns out America is absolutely stunning when you stop looking at the news and look at the actual continent you live in.

Maybe We Should Go Outside

One of the reasons I started 250 Reasons to Love the USA was because conversations about America tend to turn into arguments about politics, economics, culture, and whatever fresh hell is dominating social media that day.

But America is also a physical place.

It’s mountains, deserts, wetlands, forests, caves, volcanoes, prairies and coastlines. Some of the most remarkable landscapes on Earth are in our backyard, and most of us will never see them all.

I certainly haven’t.

So now I’ve accidentally given myself an enormous American natural-wonders road trip checklist.

If you’ve visited any of the places mentioned in this episode, I want to hear about it. Tell me what it was actually like—and which American natural wonder belongs on my list next. Give me a call and leave me a voicemail at 920-474-6763.

Watch the Video Version on Patreon

Want to actually watch Cyclospora terrorize me instead of merely listening to it happen?

The video version of Apocalypse…Now? is available on Patreon (and it’s as bonkers as you can imagine), along with bonus episodes and other content you won’t hear on the regular podcast feed.

You can join the Patreon for free, so you don’t have to pay anything to watch and follow along.

If you want to directly support the show, you can also join one of the paid membership tiers. I’m currently working toward a $500-per-month Patreon goal so I can hire an editor, which would allow me to produce and release new episodes more frequently.

You can also send me a donation on Venmo @jopincusion if you would like to support the show.

Join the Apocalypse…Now? Patreon at Patreon.com/JoAnnaVT to watch the full video episode of Cyclospora Aura: Hot Hurl Summer & 250 Reasons to Love the USA.

And remember: wash your produce, appreciate your national parks, and avoid hanging out with cannibals.