The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast

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,...

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 benefi...

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 b...

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 p...

Can public spaces ever truly be safe for people living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)? In this episode of The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast, Aaron Goodman speaks with Aimi Hamraie, Associate Professor at York University whose work focuses on disability justice, accessibility, and inclusive design. They explore: • Why MCS is often overlooked in accessibility conversations  • Remote access...

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 Ch...

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....

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....

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'...

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 wh...

In Japan, many people report developing Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) following exposure to fragrance in personal care and household products—and increasingly, in laundry projects, especially fabric softeners.  Some are forced to leave their jobs. Others can no longer attend school. Many struggle to access medical care or even safe housing. Yet despite the profound disruption to people’s liv...

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is often seen as a condition that mostly affects older people. However, recent studies indicate young adults may be especially affected by MCS. Research suggests young adults have the highest prevalence, may be more likely than other age groups to develop the condition, and seem particularly vulnerable to the mental-health impacts of living with chemical intoler...

You’re listening to The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast . I’m Aaron Goodman. In this episode, we discuss illness memoirs as evidence, resistance, and survival. We explore the seminal 1994 memoir by Australian writer,  Diana Crumpler, Chemical Crisis: One Woman's Story, Humanity's Future?   I speak with Roxana Delbene, PhD, a linguist and medical humanities scholar who studies how people wit...

This episode of The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast explores something many listeners live every day: toxic exposures hidden in everyday products. I’m speaking with researcher Adrianna Trifunovski and environmental health professor Dr. Caroline Barakat about their study on women’s awareness, beliefs, and avoidance of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in personal care and household products. We discuss:...

On February 3, 2023, a freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in the U.S. Days later, a “controlled burn” released a massive plume into the air. Many residents who returned home soon became ill. In this episode of The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast , Aaron Goodman speaks with sociologist Madison Scott and toxic exposure expert Professor Lynn Singer.  They explor...

This episode of The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast is a game-changer. It counters widespread misinformation and misunderstanding about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), an illness that affects millions around the globe. You'll hear Aaron Goodman in conversation with Beatrice Golomb, Professor in Residence in Medicine at the University of California in San Diego in the U.S. Professor Golomb e...

In this episode of The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast , we’re exploring youth, chronic illness, and MCS. You'll hear Aaron Goodman speaking with Imogen Harper, Ph. D., a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Sydney in Australia. She explores how: ·       Diagnosis of illnesses like MCS in youth is often complex and requires adults noticing symptoms and advocating.  ·       Parent...

In recent weeks, as many listeners know, I've been exploring ways to challenge false arguments that MCS is a psychological disorder. I hope you find this episode of The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast helps. You'll hear me in conversation with Kevin Elliott, Ph. D. He is the Red Cedar Distinguished Professor of Philosophy of Science at Michigan State University in the U.S. I was delighted t...

Thank you to everyone who took time to share feedback about The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast through the 2025 listener survey. The goal was to learn more from you about how the podcast contributes to awareness, education, and support around MCS.  Share your feedback anytime on social media — and you can reach me at aaron@chemicalsensitivitypodcast.org Listen at https://www.chemicalsensitivitypodca...

In the latest episode of The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast, we’re exploring medical invalidation. It's something virtually everyone with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) has experienced and it can be devastating. Researcher Allyson Bontempo, Ph. D. joins Aaron Goodman on the podcast to discuss her work on healthcare invalidation and discusses:  ·       What she calls an “epidemic” of medica...

The newest episode of The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast is available now!      It's called “Synthetic Food Dyes & MCS.”  Researcher and psychology professor Rebecca Bevins tells Aaron Goodman how she discovered her son’s extreme reactions to synthetic food dyes — petroleum-based additives linked to anxiety, aggression, and cognitive disruption.  Their conversation reveals the impacts of ev...

The newest episode of The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast is available now!     It's called “Chemical Production, Regulation, & MCS." I’m speaking with Miriam Diamond, Ph. D., an expert in chemical contaminants and a professor at the University of Toronto in Canada. You'll hear Professor Diamond explore: How tens of thousands of toxic chemicals are produced, yet many people with MC...

In the latest episode of The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast, we uncover what people with the illness already know — there is no such thing as safe fragrance. I speak with Professor Gertrud Morlock from Justus Liebig University Giessen in Germany. You'll hear her share: What her lab found when screening 42 perfumes. Why fragrance formulas are shielded as trade secrets, and how even small amounts...

Millions of people live with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS).  We are often the best sources of knowledge about the condition. In this special episode of The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast, I explore listeners’ important questions. I turn to people with MCS for answers, as well as researchers who specialize in the condition. We explore: How to survive in toxic housing Traveling safely with MCS W...

For people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), this is often our reality:  We're told the illness isn’t real — it's just in our heads — and the law refuses to protect us. In this episode of The Chemical Sensitivity Podcast, Professor Doron Dorfman, a disability law scholar at Seton Hall University School of Law in Newark, New Jersey, in the U.S., explores how: People with Multiple...