The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast

Why do some health conditions gain recognition while others remain difficult to classify, diagnose, or accommodate?
Aaron Goodman speaks with Geoffrey Bowker, Professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine, and author of Sorting Things Out: Classification and Its Consequences, about medical classification systems and what they can teach us about MCS.
You'll hear:
• Why MCS remains difficult for many healthcare systems to classify and recognize
• How medical classifications influence diagnosis, accommodation, and support
• Why some health conditions fit established categories while others remain contested
• The role of patient knowledge and lived experience in healthcare
• What lessons Long COVID may offer for the future recognition of MCS
• What could help MCS gain broader recognition within medicine and society
Listen now and subscribe:

https://www.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/1970633/episodes/19445366-the-recognition-gap-mcs-medical-classification-geoffrey-bowker-phd
Watch & subscribe on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yjGCEIMre0
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  
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This episode discusses Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), suicide, disability, chronic illness, and end-of-life decision-making. Please listen with care.
If you need support, call or text 988 in the United States or 9-8-8 in Canada (24/7).
Outside the United States and Canada, contact your local crisis line, healthcare provider, or emergency service.
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call your local emergency number.
About the episode:
What can Sophia's story teach us about disability, housing, healthcare, and Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)?
This episode features two conversations: one with disability ethicist Heidi Janz, PhD, and another with a Toronto woman living with severe MCS who was friends with Sophia, a woman whose 2022 MAiD death brought international attention to the challenges many people with disabilities and chronic illnesses face.
Together, they explore disability rights, healthcare, housing, social support, and the broader questions Sophia's case continues to raise.
Professor Janz participated in this interview with the assistance of a support person who repeats her words for listeners.
Listen now and subscribe:
Watch & subscribe on YouTube:
Professor Heidi Janz:
2025 paper - "First they came for the Physical Crips: The Eugenic Logic Driving MAiD." 
https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/bioethics/2025-v8-n4-bioethics010388/1121337ar.pdf
Faculty profile:
https://www.ualberta.ca/en/john-dossetor-health-ethics-centre/about/people/adjunctmembers/heidijanz.html
#MCS #MultipleChemicalSensitivity #DisabilityRights #MAiD 

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:

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This episode marks the 100th episode of The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast!
Thank you very much to the Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation for its support that makes this work possible.
Gratitude to  listeners and viewers around the world for being part of this journey. 
If you enjoy the podcast, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and on YouTube, and share it with others who may benefit from these conversations.
http://listen.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/
Here's to 100 episodes and more to come!
In this episode:
What can the history of lead exposure teach us about risk, regulation, and MCS?
Aaron Goodman speaks with Bruce Lanphear, MD, PhD, about lead as a model for understanding chemical harm.
Topics include:
What lead teaches us about body burden and cumulative exposure
Risk, regulation, and the precautionary principle
Why listening to affected people matters—and lessons for MCS
Listen and subscribe: 
http://listen.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/
Watch & subscribe on YouTube: 
https://www.youtube.com/@podcastingMCS
Link: 
Dr. Bruce Lanphear
https://www.sfu.ca/fhs/about/people/profiles/bruce-lanphear.html
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:

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What can the daily chemical exposures faced by nail salon workers teach us about MCS, chronic illness, and the environments many people live and work in every day?
Aaron Goodman speaks with Reena Shadaan, PhD, from the University of Toronto, about chemical exposure, worker health, body mapping, and chronic illness in nail salon environments.
Topics include:
 • The hidden chemical exposures faced by nail salon workers
 • What nail salon environments may reveal about MCS and chronic illness
 • Body mapping and citizen science as tools for advocacy and documenting lived experience
 • How marginalized workers are pushing back against unsafe environments
Listen & subscribe:
https://www.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/1970633/episodes/19262474-nail-salon-workers-chemical-exposure-body-mapping-mcs-reena-shadaan-phd
Watch & subscribe on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhaCO-FAYgU

 
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:

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The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast has a new trailer!
Please share with anyone interested in learning more about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS).
Listen to the podcast — new episodes twice a month!
http://listen.chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org/
Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/8HJadAGuLaE

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