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HIV unmuted podcast

It has been over 40 years since AIDS was first reported. HIV unmuted, the IAS podcast, talks to the global HIV change makers who have shaped the response and asks what we must do to end the AIDS epidemic.

Listen to Episode 13: From Scranton to NIAID: In conversation with Jeanne Marrazzo

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Award winning!

HIV unmuted has received multiple awards for its impactful storytelling and dedication to amplifying the voices of people living with or affected by HIV.

 

#13: From Scranton to NIAID: In conversation with Jeanne Marrazzo

In this episode of HIV unmuted, host Juan Michael Porter II sits down with Jeanne Marrazzo, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in a conversation that goes beyond the headlines and deep into the heart of HIV research and advocacy. Read more

#12: The game-changing research from AIDS 2024

This episode of HIV unmuted introduces a new host and format for the award-winning IAS podcast. Our host, Juan Michael Porter II, the Senior Editor for TheBody/TheBodyPro, takes a deep dive with a single guest in an intimate conversation that gives the listener a glimpse of the guest – who they are and how they got into this work – and an understanding of their topic of expertise. Read more

#11: Growing older with HIV

On this World AIDS Day, the IAS calls on the HIV response to put communities first. This episode of HIV unmuted, the award-winning IAS podcast, puts the spotlight on a specific community that is often overlooked: people growing older with HIV. Read more

#10: The breaking science from IAS 2023

In this episode of HIV unmuted, the award-winning IAS podcast, we take a deep dive into the breaking science being released at IAS 2023 and explain why these breakthroughs are so important for people living with and affected by HIV. Read more

#09: Put people first

This special episode of HIV unmuted, the award-winning IAS podcast, marks World AIDS Day, which has taken place on 1 December every year since 1988. On this day, we remember the people we have lost, reflect on how far we have come, and rally together to strengthen our resolve in the HIV response. Read more

#08: Inside the scientific breakthroughs & controversies of AIDS 2022

The history of the HIV response is woven into the International AIDS Conferences. Ground-breaking science and political activism at the conferences have uniquely shaped the trajectory of the response. Conferences in Canada have played key roles. In Montreal in 1989... Read more

#07: Mpox, COVID-19 and HIV

The development of COVID-19 vaccines has allowed some people to return to “normal life”. But even now, not everyone can access these vaccines, particularly people living in low-income countries. Unequal access to healthcare is a sadly familiar story for people... Read more

#06: Ukraine and HIV: Health on the frontlines

Eastern Europe and Central Asia is the region of the world where HIV acquisitions are increasing the fastest. In Ukraine, an estimated 260,000 people are living with HIV. Many thousands more are vulnerable to acquiring HIV and rely on access... Read more

#05: Hope for a cure

The discovery of a safe and effective HIV cure would move us closer to a world in which HIV no longer presents a threat to public health and individual well-being. In this special World AIDS Day episode of HIV unmuted... Read more

#04: HIV is not a crime

In 1987, the United States introduced the world’s first laws criminalizing HIV. Today, despite scientific evidence that HIV criminalization harms public health, 92 countries still have laws that are used to prosecute people living with HIV. In this episode of... Read more

#03: The doctor with the Magic touch

We now move to the 1990s. Dr David Ho, Time Magazine’s 1996 Person of the Year and personal doctor to basketball legend Magic Johnson, talks to our host, Femi Oke, about his role in developing pioneering combination drug therapy. This... Read more

#02: The discovery that changed everything

The 1980s was a decade of despair but also discovery. On our second episode of HIV unmuted, Nobel Laureate Professor Françoise Barré-Sinoussi shares the behind-the-scenes story of how she co-discovered HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. This breakthrough provided the... Read more

#01: Back to the beginning: AIDS and the elusive vaccine

Our first episode jumps back to 1981. Dr Anthony Fauci talks to our host, Femi Oke, about how the emergence of this mysterious disease, later known as AIDS, changed the course of his career. He shares why an HIV vaccine... Read more

#00: Introducing: HIV unmuted

It’s been 40 years since AIDS was first reported. We now live in a world where AIDS has become old news: the forgotten pandemic. HIV unmuted, the IAS – International AIDS Society – podcast, brings together global HIV change-makers as... Read more

Meet the hosts

Juan Michael Porter II is a health journalist, HIV advocate, culture critic, educator and the host of HIV unmuted, the IAS podcast. He is the Senior Editor of TheBody.com and TheBodyPro – and the first person openly living with HIV to hold the position. Juan Michael’s reportage combines data dives, personal narratives and policy analyses to address the real-world consequences of ever-shifting legislation on people’s health outcomes. He has written for the Public Broadcasting Service, SF Chronicle, Philadelphia Inquirer, Christian Science Monitor, NY Observer, TDF Stages, Playbill, American Theatre, Time Out NY, Queerty, Anti-Racism Daily, Positively Aware, Documentary Magazine, SYFY Wire, Scholastic and Dance Magazine.

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Femi Oke is an award-winning international journalist, broadcaster, professional moderator and co-founder of the diverse moderators bureau, “Moderate The Panel”. Based in Washington, D.C., she hosts the interactive current affairs show, “The Stream”, for Al Jazeera English, is a correspondent for the Al Jazeera documentary series, “Fault Lines”, and is the social media contributor for NPR’s midday news programme, “Here and Now”.

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“The IAS brings us the leading lights of science, medicine, and activism and reminds us that there is still much work to be done. … Eye-opening and inspiring.”

– A&U America’s AIDS Magazine

The IAS promotes the use of non-stigmatizing, people-first language. The translations are all automated in the interest of making our content as widely accessible as possible. Regretfully, they may not always adhere to the people-first language of the original version.