Busting stigma, talking cure: podcast
The search for an HIV cure is the topic of a recent podcast. Created by Sydney-based producer Josh Green, the podcast explores HIV cure from diverse perspectives. Interviewees include activist and advocate Nic Holas from The Institute of Many and Cipri Martinez from NAPWHA. Additional perspectives come from Dr Jennifer Power from The Australian Research Centre for Sex Health and Society, and Dr Jillian Lau from The Alfred Hospital and The Doherty Institute.
Josh reflects on what he learnt from hearing these diverse perspectives on HIV cure research in Australia:
“The strong relationship and trust between people living with HIV and the scientific community is one of the most poignant parts of this podcast for me. Each of the five interviewees have unique experiences of this. It’s really impressive, given how horrible some of the earlier treatments for HIV were.
“I was initially surprised at how willing people were to share their stories with me. That maybe stems from some stigmatising idea that HIV isn’t something to be spoken about this openly. I hope the podcast makes a contribution to eradicating some more of that stigma.
“I already had a decent knowledge about HIV in Australia from volunteering and previous stories, and I felt no one was really talking about cure.
“Looking back at the podcast, I reckon we’re probably a while away from a classical cure. But it’s really heartening to see what people are doing to get us there.
“I admire the people living with HIV who participate in these trials, if not for themselves, then for the wider community.”
You can listen to Josh’s podcast here: https://2ser.com/curing-hiv/
About Josh Green
Josh Green is a news and audio producer living on Gadigal land of the Eora nation. He works for community radio 2ser in Sydney, and more recently for Nine. Josh communicates complex ideas in a human way to inform and inspire.
