Wired Magazine: The Painful Truth About Long Covid by Alan Levinovitz, 2026

[hapl808]

I noticed in the Wired article that some people had to do a few different brain training programmes before one worked.

I hate to be a bumbling and biomedical-obsessed “let’s quantify treatments with a trial” kind of patient advocate, but if anything this undermines the brain-training case because you’ve stated it doesn’t always work.

See, it sounds like you're getting confused and using 'logic' and 'science' and 'common sense' to approach the issue.

Meanwhile, Alan Levinovitz's stated fields of expertise are 'faith' and 'pseudoscience', both of which seem very suited toward brain retraining.

If this were a movie, you'd revise the script: no way you can have the guy who is a religious studies professor whose only credentials are degrees in divinity - make it their life's work to study pseudoscience - and then promote repeatedly buying expensive pseudoscientific faith-based treatments.

It just seems like lazy screenwriting. Studio notes would not be kind.

 

[MrMagoo]

See, it sounds like you're getting confused and using 'logic' and 'science' and 'common sense' to approach the issue.

Meanwhile, Alan Levinovitz's stated fields of expertise are 'faith' and 'pseudoscience', both of which seem very suited toward brain retraining.

If this were a movie, you'd revise the script: no way you can have the guy who is a religious studies professor whose only credentials are degrees in divinity - make it their life's work to study pseudoscience - and then promote repeatedly buying expensive pseudoscientific faith-based treatments.

It just seems like lazy screenwriting. Studio notes would not be kind.

Ironically, I found his article boring and tedious because it’s the same old script. Plucky outsider dares to speak the truth others can’t and won’t hear. The trouble is, not only is the subject/key themes old hat and been done to death but also the drama and framing is doing more of the heavy lifting than the substance.

That’s not a science vs faith critique, it’s a literary one.

 

[MrMagoo]

Hopefully he was able to find someone to engage with his discourse in the way he wanted, before the whole book drops.
It’s a shame he wouldn’t clarify what his arguments are because it’s a bit unclear.

 

[Turtle]

I'm getting more and more angry with the BPS lot the AL's and all of the braintraining crowd.
Everyone judges and even condems the patients, It's all between the ears, yeah, yeah, untill it isn't.
I could have been properly treated 35 years ago!!!!!!!!
I asked for a vitamin D test, it was untraceable, had never been tested before.

Thanks a lot for stealing my life with your "idea's", "narratives" and "hunches".
Filling your pockets with empty promises and keeping docs from doing their job properly, most too eager to comply.

Why wouldn't we come running towards ye all, if you had something good to offer. No one delivered. A point here or there, who cares.
Research so flawed; remember the Dutch BPS paper? The one percent improvement on a 6MW test, wasn't traceable with actometry and Prof. Knoop saying actometry is not working. Even that paper got published.

6 meters improvement wouldn't even get me across the road: run over by a car because I didn't get far enough.

Give me my life back and stop destryoing that of others!!

Rant over

 

[Chandelier]

David Putrino joins the calls to retract the article:

Wired: Retract 'The Painful Truth About Long COVID' | David Putrino

It is irregular for me to call for a media piece to retracted, but when faced with such an obviously biased and poor piece of journalism that is being platformed by bad actors that are harming the #LongCOVID community, it becomes necessary. Unfortunately, WIRED has chosen to allow an article...

www.linkedin.com

David Putrino

It is irregular for me to call for a media piece to retracted, but when faced with such an obviously biased and poor piece of journalism that is being platformed by bad actors that are harming the #LongCOVID community, it becomes necessary.
Unfortunately, WIRED has chosen to allow an article through their editorial process that is both factually inaccurate and written by a non-expert with a known bias and history of platforming a psychosomatic framing of LongCOVID.
In addition, he has since displayed shocking behavior online: gaslighting and mocking severely ill people who pushed back against the misinformation he is peddling in his article.
The author claims that the backlash he has received from the article proves his point, but even this is a calculated and bad-faith position.
For instance, were I to write an article claiming that "smoking cigarettes cures emphysema, but I'm not allowed to talk about it" would WIRED publish it?
This is not hyperbole - this accurately represents the framing of the article and the subsequent posturing of the author when faced with critique.
I have to believe that as a science-based news outlet, WIRED is better than this.
Please listen to the community of patients, scientists and clinicians who are calling for the retraction of this inaccurate piece of work. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/wire...go-mblqc?trk=public_post_feed-article-content

 

[MrMagoo]

Imagine thinking you have a viewpoint that might be controversial and likely to invite critique, then imagine unfurling it like this, and carrying out these behaviours.

 

[JellyBabyKid]

Thanks a lot for stealing my life with your "idea's", "narratives" and "hunches".
Filling your pockets with empty promises and keeping docs from doing their job properly

I could have been properly treated 35 years ago!!!!!!!!

This. Entirely and completely this.

I have to work very hard not to be incandescent with rage when I see the full extent of what has been done, our reality completely denied and research stalled. For what? Careers?

People believing we thought ourselves into this and we can think ourselves out - but only with a very expensive programme, or several, because we are too silly to figure out "maybe I could move more" which is literally arguing with reality, because PEM is real.

 

[Turtle]

This. Entirely and completely this.

I have to work very hard not to be incandescent with rage when I see the full extent of what has been done, our reality completely denied and research stalled. For what? Careers?

People believing we thought ourselves into this and we can think ourselves out - but only with a very expensive programme, or several, because we are too silly to figure out "maybe I could move more" which is literally arguing with reality, because PEM is real.

D3 depletion would be treated by BPS with; you just have to cope with 36 C, we "know" you can do it; heat intolerance.

LP would say do not think of weak muscles, nothing wrong with them, you're muscles are strong now, you can do whatever you want.

Brain training D3 up? How would a theologist do that? Praying very hard while doing a fMRI?

 

[MrMagoo]

D3 depletion would be treated by BPS with; you just have to cope with 36 C, we "know" you can do it; heat intolerance.

LP would say do not think of weak muscles, nothing wrong with them, you're muscles are strong now, you can do whatever you want.

Brain training D3 up? How would a theologist do that? Praying very hard while doing a fMRI?

Established science is allowed. D3 deficiency can be seen on a test and treated with D3. People thinking they have D3 deficiency make it their whole personality for no good reason and are part of the silly “wellness” tribes.
It’s only things science has yet to establish (ME and LC) where science is bad and stupid and too “concerned” with risks, and outcomes which dont say anything, whilst a perfectly good brain treatment is available but the patient activists won’t let anyone buy it, I mean try it, because then they’d have to admit they don’t need to be ill, they like it, it’s their gang and whole personality.

This is easy, I might write a book and become a professional opinion-haver.

 

[Turtle]

Established science is allowed. D3 deficiency can be seen on a test and treated with D3. People thinking they have D3 deficiency make it their whole personality for no good reason and are part of the silly “wellness” tribes.
It’s only things science has yet to establish (ME and LC) where science is bad and stupid and too “concerned” with risks, and outcomes which dont say anything, whilst a perfectly good brain treatment is available but the patient activists won’t let anyone buy it, I mean try it, because then they’d have to admit they don’t need to be ill, they like it, it’s their gang and whole personality.

This is easy, I might write a book and become a professional opinion-haver.

I might even try to read it, when D3 improves my brainfog.

 

[MrMagoo]

I am reminding myself of the work of Furedi on climate change, your man AL is a temu knock off of the OG, he really is. And it’s a shame because it’s an interesting discourse. I don’t agree with it, but it’s interesting.