Kevin Hall, a researcher at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, poses for a portrait at an atrium -- Politics coverage from STAT
Kevin Hall, while a researcher at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the NIH in Bethesda, Md.Christine Kao for STAT

Sarah Todd returned to reporting in January 2025 after being assignment editor at STAT since October 2022. You can reach Sarah on Signal at sarahlizchar.47.

Kevin Hall can speak freely now. 

The leading U.S. authority on the science of ultra-processed foods made headlines this spring when he accused the Trump administration of censoring his work and opted to retire from his position at the National Institutes of Health. Without interference from D.C. to worry about, and with a forthcoming book, “Food Intelligence,” to promote, Hall is ready to speak candidly about his experiences with the leaders of the Make America Healthy Again movement. 

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That includes going into detail about why the plan for Hall’s return to NIH — touted by the agency’s director Jay Bhattacharya — fell apart, and what Hall sees as top health officials’ ongoing failure to pursue scientific answers about exactly how ultra-processed foods are hurting Americans’ health.

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