Michael Callen moved to New York in the late 1970s to become a singer. A few years later, Mike ended up becoming one of the most impactful early AIDS activists. Among his accomplishments, Mike co-authored a document that saved many lives and forever changed the way we have sex. This is his story.

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Listen to Michael Callen's music on Bandcamp or Spotify. Learn more about Mike on his official website. You heard 'Living in Wartime' by Michael Callen, performed by Lowlife and 'Love Don't Need a Reason' written by Michael Callen, Peter Allen, & Marsha Malamet. Music courtesy of Significant Other Records.

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Sources:

• Hold Tight Gently: Michael Callen, Essex Hemphill, and the Battlefield of AIDS. Martin Duberman. 2014.
• How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tames AIDS. David France. 2016.
• Surviving AIDS. Michael Callen. 1990.
• We Know Who We Are. Richard Berkowitz & Michael Callen, with Richard Dworkin. New York Native, 1982.
• Michael Callen Papers. Accessed via The Center.
• Sex Positive. Directed by Daryl Wein. 2008.
• Interview with Richard Dworkin.
• Interview with Sean Strub, founder of POZ Magazine.
• Interview with Miriam Lewis Sabin, author of an upcoming biography on Joseph Sonnabend.

This episode was researched, hosted, and edited by Dane Stewart with music by Dane & Matthew Rogers. Produced by Dane Stewart & Matthew Kariatsumari. Our outro track is 'Easy to Love' by Clara Jones.

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