Video games may improve our cognition. But how we play them matters when it comes to the benefits they provide. Experts caution against overdoing it. Here’s what they say about cognitive engagement:

The Post (me and @kcrowebasspro.bsky.social) analyzed the social media posts and appearances of prominent politicians across the country. We found that no one is talking about climate change anymore. In 2025, mentions are 60% lower than in 2024. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

NEW: I spoke with Norman Rosenthal, the psychiatrist who first described and named SAD (seasonal affective disorder), about what he does to address his own SAD—and what the rest of us can do to brighten our winter days. 🔆 www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202...

“The reductions take effect Friday. Details about which markets would be affected will be announced Thursday, administration officials said.” www.washingtonpost.com/transportati... @loriara.bsky.social

DHS says our new piece is "dishonest, slanted, and fundamentally inaccurate" but won't say why. Here's the story where we show with evidence that DHS spliced together clips spanning years and multiple locations to create its own reality. Gift link wapo.st/4nuDGwf

Scoop: The Trump admin's videos boasting triumphs on immigration have used misleading footage from months ago or thousands of miles away When we showed them the errors, DHS said they make a lot of videos and the White House said it'll keep making "banger memes" wapo.st/4nuDGwf

It’s like if a broken escalator became a slide instead of stairs

Stop and read this deep dive on TikTok and how it's consuming much more than hours of our time. One user: "It was harder for me to create my own opinions, it was harder for me to express my own thoughts in the day, and I think that took a toll with me." www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/int...

🤳EXCLUSIVE: We analyzed real data from over 800 U.S. TikTok users to reveal how the app transforms casual users into power users. Extremely proud of this one, over a year in the making w/ @richardsima.bsky.social Leslie Shapiro @asteckelberg.bsky.social @ence.bsky.social wapo.st/4obueib

Children and teens who had a Covid reinfection had a doubling of #LongCovid risk (PASC) and a significant increase in many other adverse outcomes (Figure) www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Excited to share that I'm doing a live chat tomorrow (September 30) at 11am Eastern to talk about brain health, dementia and whatever else may be on your mind! You can also send in your Qs ahead of time - hope you can join :) www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202...

More on this here—World #AlzheimersDay www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202...

Statement from Post Guild Leadership: The Washington Post Guild condemns the unjust firing of columnist Karen Attiah

EXCLUSIVE: The new CDC director is being ousted weeks into the job. @lenasun.bsky.social @ddiamond.bsky.social report www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

A federal-state partnership that monitors for foodborne illnesses quietly scaled back its operations nearly two months ago. As of July 1, the critical surveillance program is monitoring for only two pathogens instead of the usual eight, a spokesperson for the CDC says.

Good to see @bsky.app has emerged as the social media platform of choice for science stuff arstechnica.com/science/2025...

Rock Looked Way Cooler Wet

Got to see these little guys making their way into the ocean this morning! 🐢 #seaturtles #conservation #beach #nature #miamibeach

Everybody’s gangster until they see a lesbian couple on the big screen

The part where he doesn’t put the stick down to take a wee on the tree is simply legendary. I cackled.

Maybe I would be more tempted to use LLMs if I didn't really like writing and thinking, but, well,

I spent the 2010's arguing with my white colleagues that we were facing a crisis in newsroom diversity. The smart, dedicated, talented cis white journalists I thought of as my friends didn't want to hear it. Most of them ignored me. At least one of them told me to go to hell.

This new WaPo piece by @richardsima.bsky.social addresses a rarely studied topic in procrastination research: if/why people put off ENJOYABLE activities. It features a PNAS Nexus article by Hagen & O'Brien. I was honored to be asked to comment on their interesting findings. Check it out!

New: My deep dive into the business of AI slop. wapo.st/4mFECxC

Tae Heung Kim, 40: - Lived in US since he was 5 - Has green card - Getting PhD at Texas A&M - Researching vaccine for Lyme disease - Has 1 minor pot charge from 2011, since sealed Also: Detained incommunicado by DHS after returning from wedding in Korea www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

it’s even more demoralizing when the history you’re repeating is history you were around for the first time

As part of my @thesicktimes.bsky.social piece, we made this timeline summarizing the dizzying changes RFK, Jr. and his colleagues have been making over the past month. With the vax advisory committee meeting in just a few days, it feels like the chaos is the point. thesicktimes.org/2025/06/19/t...

Really excellent news. For journalists, access to peer review reports can clarify expert opinion, help us highlight excellent research, and—crucially—lead to accountability. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Huge news, and a confirmation of what NSF staff have suspected/feared for a while.

We just got an email that Hopkins is freezing salaries, hiring, and some construction projects. In addition to the 800 million USAID we lost, we’ve had another 50 million in grants canceled so far. And a 2/3 year over year decline in funded grants despite an increase in submissions

"To understand who is in control, observe who you are not allowed to criticize." -Voltaire

Some of the CDC's main channels for communicating urgent health information to the public have gone silent.

#LongCOVID patients are desperate for treatments. These trials may help. Some trials are focusing on drugs that target the immune system, which is affected by different pathways to long covid, by @richardsima.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202... via @washingtonpost.com #COVID19

Five years since the pandemic began, millions of people are still grappling with long covid. Some trials are focusing on drugs that target the immune system, which is affected by different pathways to long covid.

The FDA has unveiled plans to narrow its approval for updated coronavirus vaccines to older adults and people with at least one health condition that puts them at high risk for severe disease, marking a significant shift in the agency’s approach to green-lighting the shots.

Washington Post: 'Long covid patients are desperate for treatments. These trials may help.' 'Some trials are focusing on drugs that target the immune system, which is affected by different pathways to long covid.' www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202...

A Chicago Pope implies the existence of an MLA Pope and APA Pope

Great job everyone

I wrote about the science behind earworms and fulfilled a lifelong goal of rickrolling people professionally: www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/int... (But seriously, the art and design really make this story sing!)

Check out how the anchors of CBS Evening News ended their broadcast tonight:

FDA “is drawing up plans that would end most of its routine food safety inspections work, multiple federal health officials tell CBS News, and effectively outsource this oversight to state and local authorities.” from the great @alexander-a-tin.bsky.social

"The proposal would cut the CDC’s budget by about 44 percent.... and would eliminate all of the agency’s chronic disease programs and domestic HIV work. The chronic disease programs being eliminated include work on heart disease, obesity, diabetes and smoking cessation."

Fun fact: Planes have sexual dimorphism

CDC has rejected a request from health officials in Milwaukee for help with a lead poisoning investigation, after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. eliminated the agency's response team. Story by @alexander-a-tin.bsky.social www.cbsnews.com/news/milwauk...

Scoop: DOGE now controls how grant opportunities get posted across government. DOGE engineer removed users’ permissions to post to Grants-dot-gov without telling them. Now requests flow thru DOGE-controlled mailbox. with @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social + @hannahnatanson.bsky.social

Very informative chart from Washington Post