A preview of the third series of HIV: The Morning After — ten new interviews with people living with HIV across four decades, five countries, and every assumption you thought you had.

Summary

Series 3 of HIV: The Morning After brings ten new voices to the podcast. An American journalist who smuggled AZT across the Mexican border in the boot of his car. A fashion makeup artist who lived with HIV for 30 years without a single day of medication, carrying a rare gene mutation his doctors couldn't explain. A young woman who kept a physical notebook of lies to remember which cover story she'd given for the pill she took at lunch. A Ukrainian DJ who survived six overdoses on the streets of Kyiv and now drives antiretroviral medication through a war zone in his own car. A Ugandan-born woman who packed six months of pills and flew home to die, arriving in the UK with a CD4 count of one. A man who survived a hijacked 747 at eleven and found clarity on a single dose of LSD taken for cluster headaches. A Nigerian priest who fasted for 40 days to pray the gay away, married a woman under church pressure, and founded Africa's first inclusive LGBTQ church across 22 countries. A Black British-Caribbean woman who told nobody for ten years and found her way back to her body through yoga and Buddhism. An HIV consultant who went from writing prescriptions to needing them, becoming the first person with HIV to lead the British HIV Association. And an actor who was diagnosed at 16, kept it secret for 15 years, and turned his story into a one-man show that led to 53 five-star reviews and a part in It's a Sin.

These are not cautionary tales. They are lives.

The Guests

• Mark S King — HIV journalist and long-term survivor, diagnosed in 1985 in West Hollywood. Author of My Fabulous Disease.
• Laurence Close — Fashion hair and makeup artist, diagnosed in 1985. Lived 30 years without medication due to a rare CCR5-Delta 32 gene mutation. This episode is his first public disclosure.
• Ellie Harrison — Diagnosed at 21 in 2018. Spent 1,199 days in silence before going public on World AIDS Day 2021.
• Anton — Ukrainian DJ and harm reduction advocate, diagnosed in Kyiv. Founding member of the Ukrainian Network of People Who Use Drugs.
• Winnie Sseruma — Born in Sheffield, raised in Uganda, diagnosed in 1988 in the US. Co-founded the African HIV Policy Network. Arrived in the UK with a CD4 count of one.
• Hamish Noah — Born in Cambridge, raised across Southeast Asia and Africa. Diagnosed in January 2020. Recovery coach and HIV advocate.
• Reverend Jide Macaulay — Nigerian-born Anglican priest, diagnosed in 2003. Founder of the House of Rainbow, now operating in 22 countries.
• Louise Vallance — Black British-Caribbean woman, diagnosed in 2006 at 37. Told nobody for ten years. Yoga therapist and host of Aunty Lou's House.
• Dr Tristan Barber — HIV consultant at the Royal Free Hospital, diagnosed in 2002. First person living with HIV to chair the British HIV Association.
• Nathaniel Hall — Actor and activist from Stockport, diagnosed at 16 in 2003. Creator of First Time (53 five-star reviews) and cast member of It's a Sin.

Resources

• Terrence Higgins Trust
• National AIDS Trust
• Positively UK
• George House Trust — Manchester
• The 2025–2030 UK HIV Action Plan

New episodes released weekly. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.

If you have been affected by the themes in this series, support is available at tht.org.uk.

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