It’s forty years since the first report on HIV/Aids appeared in a medical journal. Back in the early days in the 1980s a misunderstanding made one man the face of the epidemic. A Canadian air steward, Gaetan Dugas was mistakenly identified as ‘Patient Zero’. A misreading of scientific data had given the impression that he was responsible for the spread of th ... Show More
Nov 2021
The Aids 'patient zero' myth
In the early days of Aids, a misunderstanding made one man the face of the epidemic. Canadian air steward Gaetan Dugas developed the symptoms of HIV/Aids in the early 1980s, but a misreading of scientific data led to him being identified as 'patient zero', giving the mistaken imp ... Show More
10m 3s
Apr 2021
HIV/AIDS and Stigma (with Peter Staley, Jonathan Van Ness & Dr. Oni Blackstock)
When HIV was first identified in the early 1980s, it was a public health crisis mired in urgent scientific questions: How was it transmitted? What were the symptoms? Could it be treated? But alongside that, and equally challenging to public health, was the stigma attached to the ... Show More
54m 23s
Dec 2021
40 years later, stigma still overshadows HIV prevention
In 1981, the first case of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was diagnosed. The virus that causes AIDS, became a thing to be feared for people in the LGBTQ+ community, who also became a scapegoat for its existence.
On World AIDS Day, we remember that even when things have ch ... Show More
23m 18s
Dec 2023
AIDS Epidemic: Life & Death On The Frontline
How do we understand something as huge as a global epidemic?
Similarly to Covid, the AIDS epidemic, which was most destructive in the 1980s and 90s, had such universal reach. Yet within that, there were millions of personal experiences.
What was it like to work on the frontline w ... Show More
59m 33s
Oct 2020
The Fight Against AIDS | The Epidemic Begins | S37-E1
In the early 1980s, a mysterious new disease spread like wildfire through the gay communities of major U.S. cities. Before it even had a name, AIDS had already killed over half its victims. Public response was hampered by ignorance, fear, and homophobia. This is the story of the ... Show More
42m 23s