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PODCAST

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID.

Dr. and Mr. Amy Blackstone

A show inspired by a moment in time, about the moments we persist through over time. Dr. Amy Blackstone and her husband Lance are two sick and tired childfree Gen Xers who lament the idiocracy that surrounds them, propose solutions they expect will go ignored, and take a moment to check in and take stock. Based on Dr. Amy"s Substack: https://amyblackstonephd.substack.com/

society & culture personal journals

All Episodes

00:46:08

Rebuilding Our Village

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/11/19

What do you do when the community you spent years crafting falls apart? As we pick up the pieces wrought by the war that has been our experience with the pandemic, Long COVID, and our community's response to both, we assess where and how things went wrong and how we might begin to rebuild. Good thing Amy's done lots of research on these topics - and that there's a whole new generation doing things differently that we can learn from!REBUILDING OUR VILLAGEWhen I interviewed childfree

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00:39:04

The Bucket Formerly Known as Silver Linings

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/10/29

Forget about silver linings; midnight blue is where it's at. This week, Amy confronts her old habit of grasping for silver linings and considers a different, more nuanced approach (and color) along with lessons learned from life in a chronically ill body. Together, Lance and Amy discuss how they think about silver linings and how they find meaning when things seem to happen for no reason at all.THE BUCKET FORMERLY KNOWN AS SILVER LININGS“This sort of thing is old hat for me and I'm a huge

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00:34:54

Healing with the Housewives

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/10/08

Amy is delivering a special form of torture to Lance this week and we're discussing all things Bravo. Bravo, Bravo, f'ing Bravo! Amy shares how the 'wives have helped her cope with the challenges of chronic illness and we consider the impact and possibilities of reality TV more broadly - all while enjoying some pink bubbly, in honor of the real housewives, of course.HEALING WITH THE HOUSEWIVESMy name is Amy. I am a sociologist and I have a Ph.D. and I like to think I’m reasonably smart

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00:32:09

A Patient Sans Patience

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/09/24

We, like so many of you, are sick and tired of our broken healthcare system in the United States of America. In this episode, Amy reads a piece expressing her despair over the state of it. We discuss how disempowering it can feel to be a patient in this system. And we consider how Luigi Mangione's 2024 shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson reflects similar feelings of disempowerment and also a rising class consciousness in the United States. Finally, Lance SHOCKS Amy by quoting a

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00:28:23

Tired

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/09/10

Welcome to Season 2 of NEVERTHELESS, PERSISTING! We're still here, we're still sick, we're still tired, and we've still got idiocracy to lament and solutions to share. In this episode, Amy shares her haiku, TIRED, and Amy and Lance discuss the never-ending quest to describe to not-sick people how it feels to be always-sick. We also talk about how people have always used stories, poetry, and other forms of creativity to help others understand experiences and conditions they themselves don't

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00:43:15

Amy vs. Forces of Evil

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/07/25

Dr. Amy reads a piece from summer 2024 about her fight with an enema, Catholic hospital policies, shabby science, and JD Vance. The Forces of Evil were strong that summer and we've got shit to say about it! We've even got a few solutions to share which, as always, we expect will go ignored. Tune in, commiserate along, and perhaps the camaraderie will get us through. We can always hope.AMY VS. FORCES OF EVILLet’s never do this week again.For me, it started with a day trip to Beth Israel in

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00:25:58

It's a Lot Like Life

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/07/18

This is your brain on Long COVID. This week, we attempt the impossible: to describe brain fog while experiencing brain fog. We also share what's worked for us to fight it and Amy gets on her sociological soapbox for a moment and gives a mini lesson on the concept of ANOMIE. IT'S A LOT LIKE LIFEFog creeps in, seeps in slowly. It’s a tricky fucker. Slipping into the tiniest of crevices, spaces I didn’t know were there. My mind slows to a crawl. Words slip away, just out of reach.Mental tasks

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00:36:07

Live~Laugh~Long COVID

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/07/04

In this episode, we reflect on our 30 year marriage, lessons learned and, perhaps more importantly, lessons unlearned over the years. Topics range from the Grim Reaper and date nights to Dr. Phil and sticking together behind enemy lines.LIVE~LAUGH~LONG COVIDLance and I celebrated 30 years of marriage recently. And by celebrated I mean it went something like this. And by “something like this” I mean it went exactly like this…Amy "What day is it!? Is it our anniversary!?!"Lance " ... " (Thinking

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00:11:13

I Remember

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/06/27

Short episode coming at you this week. Amy's checking in solo while we adjust to a new time zone and settle in to our summer digs in Italy! She's got a few reflections to share about one of her favorite places on earth, how she navigates it with health challenges, and a new health update. Listen in and we'll both be back next week!I REMEMBERI almost thought I'd forgotten what life was like in the Before Times. Then someone asked what life looks like for me these days. And then I

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00:27:42

Long COVID Bingo

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/06/20

B-I-N-G-O! What good is a chronic illness if we can't have a little fun with it? Today we're playing Long COVID Bingo! Instead of numbers on the squares of our cards, we've got the questions, comments, and bits of "wisdom" most commonly shared with Long COVID patients. There are classics like, "What's Long COVID?" and, "Are you still sick?" And of course everyone's favorite, "You look perfectly fine!" and the ever-popular, "Sorry. That treatment isn't covered by your insurance." Play along! Let's

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00:20:39

Accepting Your Care

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/06/13

Have you ever struggled to admit you need help? Do you ever resist the very thing you know you need? Have you ever felt the simultaneous push-pull of gratitude AND resentment? Given your druthers, would you choose the role of care-R over care-E? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this episode is for you! If you didn't, listen for insight into how the other half of us think!ACCEPTING YOUR CARE*The carnivorous plants in our house landed there against their will. Or not so much against

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00:36:11

The More Colors That You Eat, Part 2

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/06/06

Here's Part 2 of our ALL ABOUT FOOD episode (a.k.a., The More Colors That You Eat). This week, we hear about Lance's relationship with food as related to too much, not enough, intolerances, moderation, illness, wellness, and philosophy. Not necessarily in that order. And we revisit the semaglutide question.THE MORE COLORS THAT YOU EAT... In the After Times, since I’ve been sick, I have thought about food more than I’d previously imagined possible. I have tinkered with my diet in all of the

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00:24:42

The More Colors That You Eat, Part 1

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/05/31

It's all about food! And Long COVID and semaglutide and food agony and fat and fatigue and health and all the cultural beliefs and myths and other crap that's wrapped up in all that. It's such a whopper of a topic that we had to break it up into two. This week, Amy opens up about her lifelong tumultuous relationship with food, the lengths she's gone to to "fix" herself through food, and her various (and generally failed) attempts to "cure" her Long COVID through food and food-related drugs.THE MORE

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00:27:36

Keepin' It Real with Krueger

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/05/16

In this episode, we discuss the power of taking back control when it feels like you have none. And in true Dr. Amy fashion, she's taking control in the most contrary of fashions by employing the most horrifying of allies, one Mr. Freddy Krueger. Dr. Amy describes how she has harnessed Freddy's powers to give hell to her tormenters so she can stay focused on her mission of spreading kindness, staying true to her values, and generally trying not to be an asshole (or a dingleberry). Lance

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00:59:15

5 years and trillions of dollars later, we’re still...

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/05/09

Ever wonder how the sausage gets made? In this episode, Dr. Amy and Lance take you backstage and discuss Maine bill LD1688, An Act to Encourage Continuing Education Relating to Certain Infection-Associated Chronic Conditions for Physicians and Nurses. It's like your own modern-day ⁠Schoolhouse Rock⁠! Dr. Amy reads her Bangor Daily News Op-Ed wherein she introduces the bill and we share our recent experience testifying in favor of it. We also share why we think it's so important for providers

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00:40:25

Report From the Field: How my effort to spread...

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/05/02

Lance is back, baby!!! Oh, how we've missed him! This week, Dr. Amy offers her first report from the field in her effort to spread kindness and give fewer f*cks in this, the year of our Lord Saint Dolly Parton 2025 (I guess the year of our Lord Saint Dolly Parton is technically 79 since she was born that many years ago but whatever). This may sound like a simple enough task - Be kind! Let them! (To borrow a phrase from Mel Robbins, who borrowed - ahem stole - a phrase from Cassie Phillips). But

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00:38:53

I (still) Love You. I'm (still) Sorry. (and a very...

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/04/25

You know that thing in our outro where we say we drop a new episode every Friday, Long COVID willing? Well this week, Long COVID just isn't willing so instead we have a new-ISH episode for you! There's a very important message at the beginning wherein Dr. Amy introduces Maine bill LD1688 - the thing keeping us from dropping said brand spankin' new episode this week AND a bill that we hope will soon become law! Why? Because it would require Maine's medical licensing organizations to encourage

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00:32:19

What Would Dolly Do?

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/04/18

When Lance is away, Dr. Amy has pal's night! This is a special episode for many reasons. First, we have our first-ever guests! Please welcome the A-TEAM (different A-Team) to the NEVERTHELESS, PERSISTING podcast!Dr. Amy's friends, Amy (different Amy!) and Alyssa pinch hit for Lance and we have quite a time. There are haiku, which we've used for connecting (with each other) and coping (with sh!t). We reflect on how we've managed to support each over the decades and across the miles

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00:33:22

Do You Believe Me?

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/04/11

Themes for today include the joys of invisible illness, dealing with skeptics, the firm grounding that people who actually DO believe us provide, and thanking Republicans for the Americans with Disabilities Act (and of course giving them sh*t for everything else they do). It's like life; full of contradictions! Have a listen! And, if you like what you hear, we'd be ever so grateful if you'd share the pod with a friend and/or give us 5-star review. THANK YOU, hugs, and kisses!DO YOU

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00:27:49

Finding Joy, one memory at a time

Nevertheless, Persisting: Life. Love. Long COVID. ·

2025/04/04

We're leaning into joyful memories, appreciating the people in our corner, and reflecting on Dr. Amy's glory days as Wined Up, #13abv, Central Maine Derby's definitively not-best past player. A good time was had by all. We also reflect on the importance of hobbies for getting us through hard times, particularly those we face while living with Long COVID. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it!FINDING JOY, ONE MEMORY AT A TIMEI spent a good portion of the ‘70’s curled up

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