Theodore and Helena discuss a kind of chaos that is almost becoming normal: painful layoffs and firings at a federal agency, which are then mostly undone not long after. This time it was the CDC, with the nation’s “disease detectives” going out the door and then back in before it even closed (among other layoffs.)  The context here is the shutdown of the federal government, which means talking about what’s getting support – food assistance for women, infants, and children – and what’s not: a bailout for soybean farmers. Finally, there are good vibrations in California, as the Golden State passes a law to phase out ultraprocessed foods in school lunches.