Mal was tired of mainstream media misrepresenting COVID-19 and Long COVID, so she picked up a mic and a camera and told the story herself. Thus, Lola Germs was born.

In this episode of Still Here, co-hosts Miles Griffis and Betsy Ladyzhets talk to Lola Germs about her path from online COVID-safer community member to viral science communicator, and the research behind her latest project, “what if everything we thought we knew about disease spread was wrong?” She traces the history of airborne disease science from early miasma theory through germ theory’s overcorrection, the overlooked mid-century research of Mildred and William Wells, and the contemporary scientists who tried (and failed) to get the World Health Organization to act on airborne spread early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Links mentioned:

• what if everything we thought we knew about disease spread is wrong?
• The 60-Year-Old Scientific Screwup That Helped Covid Kill | WIRED
• Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe
• Indoor CO2 Map
• Follow Lola Germs on Instagram, YouTube, and Bluesky

Oonagh Cousins was preselected for the Tokyo Olympics as a professional rower on the British team — until Long COVID derailed everything.
In this episode of Still Here, co-hosts Miles Griffis and Betsy Ladyzhets talk to Cousins about developing severe Long COVID at the start of the pandemic, her years-long attempt to return to elite training, and the relapse that ultimately forced her retirement in 2022. She is one of many professional athletes grappling with infection associated chronic conditions, including NHL player Jonathan Toews, tennis player Emily Radacanu, and many more. Cousins reflects on how her athletic background reshaped her understanding of rest, toughness, and listening to her body, and speaks candidly about pushing back on harmful “brain retraining” programs.
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Links mentioned:

• Research updates, July 14 - The Sick Times

• Emma Raducanu has post-viral syndrome. And commentators are giving her terrible advice. - The Sick Times

• NBA player Kristaps Porziņģis shares POTS diagnosis - The Sick Times

• Grappling with Long COVID as an elite athlete - The Sick Times

• Long Covid course is ‘exploiting people’, says ex-GB rower - BBC

• The importance of understanding rest - by Oonagh Cousins

• Follow Oonagh's work on socials: @oonaghcousins_longcovid
  @visible.health
  

To wrap up LGBTQ+ Pride Month 2026, The Sick Times hosted Virtual Pride, a COVID-conscious drag show featuring queer and disabled performers in the Long COVID community from across the country, hosted by Sick Times contributor and poet Khalil Dennis.
In this episode of Still Here, we’re sharing the Q&A that followed the show. Performers Taipei, Mondo Millions, King LOTUS BOY, Ginger Ail, and Katie Drackert open up about the ancestors and mentors who shape their work, camp and absurdism as tools against denial and fascism, the unlearning required to embrace disability, and where they find queer joy outside of Pride Month.
Subscribe to Still Here wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review letting us know what you think of the show.