The HIV Podcast

This week, Sarah and Jess glide into the story of John Curry, serving Olympic gold, high drama, and world-class artistry! But behind the perfect routines was a life shaped by being openly gay in a very different era, and later, living with HIV. So get your skates on and tune in!

Sources

John Curry - Wikipedia

BBC ON THIS DAY | 11 | 1976: John Curry skates to Olympic gold

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This week Sarah and Jess remember Michael Sundin, dancer, performer, and familiar face from Blue Peter! Behind the bright TV appearances was a talented creative whose life was tragically cut short. We take a look at his career and we what happened post-Blue Peter.

Sources

Blue Peter - Wikipedia

Michael Sundin - Wikipedia

(3) https://instagram.com/p/B0QfpIMpN1Q/ 🇬🇧... - The AIDS Memorial | Facebook

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In this episode of our year-long African Voices series, we turn our attention to Tanzania. While global conversations about HIV often centre funding pressures and programme sustainability, this episode focuses on the realities experienced by people and communities living with HIV and a fantastic project breaking down barriers to HIV testing.

Navigating ART Interruptions: Navigating ART Interruptions - The HIV Podcast | Acast

Sources

https://www.cdc.gov/global-hiv-tb/php/success-stories/hiv-results-in-tanzania.html

On the Brink of Catastrophe: U.S. Foreign Aid Disruption to HIV Services in Tanzania and Uganda - PHR

United Republic of Tanzania | UNAIDS

Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population ages 15-49) - Tanzania | Data

Release of Tanzania Population-based HIV Impact Assessment Data Shows Notable Progress, and Identifies Gaps that Stand in the Way of Epidemic Control - PHIA Project

https://hivpreventioncoalition.unaids.org/en/resources/tanzania-national-guidelines-management-hiv-and-aids-7th-edition

https://sustainability.unaids.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Tanzania_SMR_A-.pdf

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5602645/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBTQ_rights_in_Tanzania

African Voices is a year-long series from The HIV Podcast, sharing perspectives from across the African continent.

How to get involved:

We’re inviting people living with or affected by HIV to share short voice notes about what’s happening in their country, what the world needs to understand, and what education they want to share. These voice notes may be played on the podcast as part of the series.

Episodes will be released monthly, on the last Friday of each month

Voice notes may be played on the podcast

Send a voice note (max 5 minutes, no minimum) to: 07727 666791

Each country has a submission deadline, see image for details

If you’re from one of the 12 countries featured, we’d love to hear from you.

How to take part

Please send us a voice note (maximum 5 minutes, no minimum) to:

07727 666791

In your recording, please include:

• Your name (or a preferred name if you would like to remain anonymous)

• Your connection to HIV (for example: person living with HIV, peer educator, counsellor, activist, doctor, community worker, volunteer)

• The country you are in

Then tell us:

What do you want the world to know about HIV in your country?

This could include access to care, stigma, funding cuts, community realities, or anything you feel the world should understand.

What education would you like to share?

A myth to bust, a message for others, or knowledge that could help support your community.

For more information, please contact:

[email protected]

Deadlines for submissions by country 2026

March 19th - South Africa

April 17th - Kenya

May 22nd - Uganda

June 19th - Mozambique

July 24th - Malawi

August 21st - Zambia

September 18th - Zimbabwe

October 23rd - Botswana

November 20th - Lesotho & Eswatini

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello, Clarice.

The link you never thought possible…This week Sarah and Jess look at how The Silence of the Lambs influenced director Jonathan Demme's next creative choice and how that creative shift connects, unexpectedly, to HIV storytelling.

Sources

The Silence Of The Lambs Controversy Explained

Philadelphia: un-packaging the Hollywood Aids drama | Sight and Sound

The Silence of the Lambs (film) - Wikipedia

Philadelphia (film) - Wikipedia

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This week Sarah and Jess are celebrating The HIV Podcast’s 200th episode! Two hundred episodes of HIV chat, chaos, and the occasional overshare, and we’re marking this milestone with the story of the incredible Gao Yaojie. The Chinese doctor and activist who refused to stay quiet as an HIV crisis unfolded around her. We explore how one woman’s refusal to be silent helped bring global attention to a hidden epidemic.

Sources

Gao Yaojie - Wikipedia

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This week Sarah and Jess head to China to explore the complex, often hidden story of HIV. Along the way, we unpack the devastating bloodhead scandal of the 1990s, when unsafe blood-selling schemes led to entire rural communities becoming infected.

Sources

HIV

HIV/AIDS in China - Wikipedia

UNAIDS and China sign two strategic agreements to advance the HIV response | UNAIDS

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HIV… The Wizard of Oz… The Sound of Music… Ghost.......Stick with us!

This week Sarah and Jess continue their quest to show that HIV is connected to everything, even the places you’d least expect. If you’ve ever felt there are no connections to HIV in your life, this episode is an invitation to see some of the links hiding in plain sight, through films, culture, and a bit of classic HIV Podcast curiosity!

Sources

Ruby Slippers Wizard of Oz - History, Pairs & Ownership | Museum

Kent Warner - Wikipedia

10 facts you might not know about Ghost starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore - Smooth

Rick Aviles - Wikipedia

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In this opening episode of our year long African Voices series, we look at Nigeria, beyond the funding cuts that so often dominate global headlines. While international reporting focuses on donor decisions and political shifts, this conversation centres what’s happening on the ground, the people, the initiatives, and the communities continuing to respond to HIV with creativity, care, and determination.

Through lived experience of both a beneficiary and health care worker, we explore both the challenges being faced and the progress being made, highlighting what’s working, what’s changing, and what deserves far more attention than it usually gets.

A huge thank you to Project HOPE for helping connect us, so these stories can be shared authentically, directly from the people living and working within them.

Project HOPE | Advancing Global Health & Saving Lives

African Voices is a year-long series from The HIV Podcast, sharing perspectives from across the African continent.

How to get involved:

We’re inviting people living with or affected by HIV to share short voice notes about what’s happening in their country, what the world needs to understand, and what education they want to share. These voice notes may be played on the podcast as part of the series.

Episodes will be released monthly, on the last Friday of each month

Voice notes may be played on the podcast

Send a voice note (max 5 minutes, no minimum) to: 07727 666791

Each country has a submission deadline, see image for details

If you’re from one of the 12 countries featured, we’d love to hear from you.

How to take part

Please send us a voice note (maximum 5 minutes, no minimum) to:

07727 666791

In your recording, please include:

• Your name (or a preferred name if you would like to remain anonymous)

• Your connection to HIV (for example: person living with HIV, peer educator, counsellor, activist, doctor, community worker, volunteer)

• The country you are in

Then tell us:

What do you want the world to know about HIV in your country?

This could include access to care, stigma, funding cuts, community realities, or anything you feel the world should understand.

What education would you like to share?

A myth to bust, a message for others, or knowledge that could help support your community.

For more information, please contact:

[email protected]

Deadlines for submissions by country 2026

January 22nd - Nigeria

February 19th- Tanzania

March 19th - South Africa

April 17th - Kenya

May 22nd - Uganda

June 19th - Mozambique

July 24th - Malawi

August 21st - Zambia

September 18th - Zimbabwe

October 23rd - Botswana

November 20th - Lesotho & Eswatini

Sources

https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nigeria/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria

https://www.beintheknow.org/understanding-hiv-epidemic/data/glance-hiv-nigeria

https://www.phis3project.org.ng/phis3-resources/

https://www.severemalaria.org/countries/nigeria/nigeria-health-system

https://nphcda.gov.ng/bhcpf/

https://naca.gov.ng/

https://data.theglobalfund.org/location/NGA/access-to-funding

https://nepwhan.org/our-history/

https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/updates/2024/2024-02-05-nigeria-global-fund-launch-new-grants-reinforce-progress-against-hiv-tb-malaria/

https://naca.gov.ng/sustainability/

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This week, Sarah and Jess take a look at one of the greats...and Elton John’s greatest legacy might not be musical. This episode explores the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) and how it has shaped the HIV response for over 30 years, funding services, fighting stigma and supporting communities worldwide!

Sources

Elton John at Aids conference: 'I should be dead. I nearly died' | Sexual health | The Guardian

Elton John AIDS Foundation - Wikipedia

Elton-John-AIDS-Foundation_Annual-Report_2024-Digital.pdf

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The HIV Podcast is back for 2026! This week's episode takes a look at the amazing work Cher has done for the HIV community and then we look at the CHER clinical study, so this week really is all about Cher-ing.

Sources

Cher - Wikipedia

Cher, Demi Moore entertain guests at glamorous Cannes fundraiser for AIDS | Reuters

CHER | MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL

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