If you set up a non-standard browsing environment you can get around it, but it's still a trash experience for the rest of us. I no longer follow Medium links at all.
All you need is one plugin, uMatrix, to solve it. Prevent medium from loading cookies and javascript, and you're good. You do need to enable the github gist javascript though to see gists.
I already solved it, by not following the links. I don't need to complicate my life to work around some user-hostile business model.
Images in the articles don't display for me without JS, do they work for you?