Anahad O’Connor

San Francisco

Columnist

Education: Yale University

Anahad O'Connor is a health columnist who writes about food and nutrition for The Washington Post's Well+Being desk. Anahad joined The Post in 2022. Before that he was a staff reporter for the New York Times, where he spent two decades covering health and science. Anahad also spent time on the Times's metro, politics and breaking news desks. Anahad began his journalism career at the New York Times after graduating from Yale University, where he earned his degree in psychology, with a focus on neuroscience. Anahad started a popular weekly science column and regularly writes about the food in
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Latest from Anahad O’Connor

The Supreme Court’s potential conflict-of-interest problem

The potential conflicts of interest keep stacking up for the Supreme Court. Today we break down the recent reports about issues such as luxury vacations gifted to Clarence Thomas and the occupation of John Roberts’s wife.

May 11, 2023

The sexual abuse verdict against Trump

A civil jury in New York has found that former president Donald Trump sexually assaulted and defamed the writer E. Jean Carroll. Today on “Post Reports,” we talk about the evidence, the possible political consequences and why this trial happened.

May 10, 2023

The end of the covid emergency

The covid public health emergency is ending this week after more than three years. Today on “Post Reports,” health reporter Dan Diamond breaks down what this means for our day-to-day lives and our future pandemic preparedness.

May 9, 2023

Why are we forgetting the pandemic already?

While the coronavirus emergency declaration officially ends this week, neuroscientist-turned-science-journalist Richard Sima has been pondering this question: Why are so many of us starting to forget much of the pandemic?

May 8, 2023

TV and film writers hit the picket line

Television and movie writers kicked off a strike this week after negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and Hollywood producers went sideways. Today we dig into why writers such as Josh Gondelman are hitting the picket lines.

May 4, 2023

Popular keto and paleo diets aren’t helping your heart, report says

An analysis of diets by the American Heart Association gave low marks to some of the most popular ones for straying from heart-healthy eating guidelines.

April 27, 2023

Prebiotic sodas claim to boost your health. Experts are skeptical.

Can you boost your gut, brain and immune health by drinking soda? That’s what some beverage companies want you to believe.

April 4, 2023

Probiotic supplements may do the opposite of boosting your gut health

Probiotics, which are live organisms taken as pills or powders, can disrupt the balance of bacteria in the intestinal tract of healthy people.

March 28, 2023

Coffee lovers gain 1,000 steps a day, but get less sleep, study shows

The health effects of coffee are complex, with benefits and drawbacks for sleep and exercise.

March 22, 2023

Cereal before bed? Food makers push ‘sleep’ snacks at night.

Marketing late-night meals as sleep enhancers is a food-industry tactic to create a so-called fourth meal that follows dinner.

March 14, 2023