To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. What happens to Cassandras when their warnings become reality? If you are epidemiologist Larry Brilliant, you work to mitigate a situation that would not have been so terrible if people had listened to you in the first place. Pre-Covid Brilliant, along with many of his peers, had been ringing the alarm on pandemics in op-eds, a much-viewed TED talk, and a tragically prophetic horror movie he advised on called Contagion. In the last year, Brilliantâbest known for his work in helping to eradicate smallpoxâhas been active in helping people understand Covid-19, as founder and CEO of Pandefense Advisory.