The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast

This episode is great to share with your doctor or healthcare provider. 
We explore how medical visits could become more supportive for people living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS).
We focus on listening, trust, and the responsibility clinicians have to support people with chronic illness. And how small changes can lead to more respectful, effective care.
Aaron Goodman speaks with Téa Christopoulos, PhD candidate and sessional instructor at the University of Toronto, working across the Faculty of Kinesiology and the Joint Centre for Bioethics. Her research explores narrative medicine and Chronic Invisible Disabilities, examining how lived experience can reshape care to be more ethical, responsive, and truly patient-centered.
🎧 Listen: 
https://www.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/1970633/episodes/19104690-from-dismissal-to-support-rethinking-care-for-mcs-tea-christopoulos-phd-candidate
▶️ Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/m1txBxi03Bc
Subscribe for episode takeaways, research insights, and updates on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS):
https://bit.ly/42N3Geh
2025 paper by Téa Christopoulos:
An Ethics of Care, Relational Suffering, and Contested Invisible Disability

DISCLAIMER: THIS WEBSITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE
 
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images, and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. No material or information provided by The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast, or its associated website is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. 

Support the show
Thank you very much to the Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation generously supporting the podcast!

If you find the podcast helpful, please consider becoming a monthly or one-time supporter:
https://www.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/1970633/supporters/new
https://buymeacoffee.com/mcspodcast  
Follow the podcast on YouTube!  Captions available in any language. 
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What happens when people's lived experience with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is dismissed in medicine? And how can it become a vital form of knowledge?
In this episode, Aaron Goodman speaks with Megan Moodie, a medical anthropologist and disability studies scholar at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her work explores patient activism and how knowledge is produced in medicine. Megan also brings lived experience to this conversation, including Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and chemical sensitivities.
You'll hear Aaron and Megan discuss:
 Why people with MCS are often dismissed or psychologized in clinical settings.
 How lived experience becomes meaningful knowledge in medicine. 
 What more equitable collaboration between researchers and affected communities could look like.
And more!
🎧 Listen now:
https://www.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/1970633/episodes/19037045-mcs-when-lived-experience-becomes-knowledge-in-medicine-megan-moodie-phd
Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/k4aNnImGMd4
The podcast has a new webpage!
http://listen.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/
Please share with anyone interested in learning more about MCS.  
DISCLAIMER: THIS WEBSITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE
 
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images, and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. No material or information provided by The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast, or its associated website is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. 
Support the show
Thank you very much to the Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation generously supporting the podcast!

If you find the podcast helpful, please consider becoming a monthly or one-time supporter:
https://www.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/1970633/supporters/new
https://buymeacoffee.com/mcspodcast  
Follow the podcast on YouTube!  Captions available in any language. 
Please follow the podcast on social media:

Facebook
Instagram
X
BlueSky
TikTok

Long COVID has pushed millions into a reality people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) have faced for decades: severe symptoms, disbelief, and no clear diagnosis.
This episode of The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast explores what these conditions share:
Medical dismissal.
Stigma and social isolation.
And epistemic injustice—when patients’ knowledge of their own bodies is questioned or ignored.
Aaron Goodman speaks with Professor Deborah Lupton, a leading sociologist of health and medicine at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and editor of the recent book, Long COVID and Society: International Perspectives.
It's always great to hear from people who listen and watch the podcast!
Please share your experiences with MCS, Long COVID, or about anything you hear on the podcast.
Listen now:
https://www.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/1970633/episodes/18945867-mcs-long-covid-shared-struggles-stigma-endurance-deborah-lupton-phd
Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/pN6UGkaddis
The podcast has a new webpage!
http://listen.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/
Please share with anyone interested in learning more about MCS.  
DISCLAIMER: THIS WEBSITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE
 
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images, and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. No material or information provided by The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast, or its associated website is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. 
Support the show
Thank you very much to the Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation generously supporting the podcast!

If you find the podcast helpful, please consider becoming a monthly or one-time supporter:
https://www.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/1970633/supporters/new
https://buymeacoffee.com/mcspodcast  
Follow the podcast on YouTube!  Captions available in any language. 
Please follow the podcast on social media:

Facebook
Instagram
X
BlueSky
TikTok

Brain fog is something many people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) experience.
In this episode, we explore what brain fog is, how it affects thinking, memory, and what research reveals about its links to distress and quality of life.
Aaron Goodman's guests are researchers Tara Packham, PhD, and PhD candidate Ronessa Dass from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
It's always great to hear from listeners!
Please share your experiences with brain fog and MCS or about anything you hear on the podcast.
Listen now:
https://www.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/1970633/episodes/18821290-brain-fog-mcs-ronessa-dass-and-tara-packham-phd
Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/j4PulfsHX_U
The podcast has a new webpage!
http://listen.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/
Please share with anyone interested in learning more about MCS.  
Links:
Ronessa Dass - email: [email protected]
Pain and Movement Research in the IMPRinT Lab, McMaster University:
https://painmovementresearch.healthsci.mcmaster.ca/people-2/
Understanding the Experience and Impacts of Brain Fog in Chronic Pain: A Scoping Review - Ronessa Dass, Tara Packham, et al. (2023):
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37441085/

DISCLAIMER: THIS WEBSITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE
 
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images, and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. No material or information provided by The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast, or its associated website is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. 

Support the show
Thank you very much to the Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation generously supporting the podcast!

If you find the podcast helpful, please consider becoming a monthly or one-time supporter:
https://www.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/1970633/supporters/new
https://buymeacoffee.com/mcspodcast  
Follow the podcast on YouTube!  Captions available in any language. 
Please follow the podcast on social media:

Facebook
Instagram
X
BlueSky
TikTok

Listener advisory: This episode includes discussion of suicide.
Many people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) trace the start of their illness to exposures like pesticides, fragrances, mold, smoke, or chemical fumes.
Others say their symptoms began after taking prescription medications, especially antibiotics.
In this episode, Dr. Stefan Pieper, a functional medicine physician in Germany who specializes in mitochondrial medicine, discusses Fluoroquinolone-Associated Disability (FQAD).
People with the condition develop long-lasting neurological, cognitive, and physical symptoms after taking fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Some also develop chemical intolerance that closely resembles MCS.
Could medications trigger long-term chemical sensitivity? And what might this reveal about MCS?
Listen now:
https://www.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/1970633/episodes/18803337-antibiotic-injury-mcs-dr-stefan-pieper
Watch on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4Mjn-ggsZA&t=1s
The podcast has a new webpage!
http://listen.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/
Please share with anyone interested in learning more about MCS.  
Link:
Stefan Pieper — Fluoroquinolone-Associated Disability (FQAD): Side-effects of Fluoroquinolones
Springer Nature, 2026
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-72123-0
DISCLAIMER: THIS WEBSITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE
 
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images, and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. No material or information provided by The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast, or its associated website is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. 
Support the show
Thank you very much to the Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation generously supporting the podcast!

If you find the podcast helpful, please consider becoming a monthly or one-time supporter:
https://www.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/1970633/supporters/new
https://buymeacoffee.com/mcspodcast  
Follow the podcast on YouTube!  Captions available in any language. 
Please follow the podcast on social media:

Facebook
Instagram
X
BlueSky
TikTok