Love, Loss & Life: Real Stories From The AIDS Pandemic
A podcast series from the National HIV Story Trust, the charity telling the story of HIV and AIDS in Britain. Presenting a perspective of the crisis in the 1980s and 1990s through the lives of a diverse set of individuals, this series recognises the true tragedy of HIV and AIDS, and shares tender stories of love, unending compassion, and the unity of a disparate community in the face of a global crisis.
Introduced by Anita Dobson and voiced by actors Christopher Ashman, Elexi Walker, and Kay Eluvian, the series features stories taken from NHST’s first book, a collection of essays, reflections, and testimonies also entitled ‘Love, Loss & Life’ which was published in 2021. The book and podcast series feature in short-form just some of the moving and tragic recollections that the NHST archive of over 100 filmed interviews, currently housed at the London Metropolitan Archive, capture in expansive detail. This extensive archive provides a 360-degree thought-provoking view of the AIDS pandemic in Britain through the real-life experiences of those who were there. Since 2015, over 120 interviews have been filmed with survivors, family members, friends, advocates, and medical professionals candidly remembering their personal experiences. Through archiving these films at the LMA, and sharing the stories collected through education, media, and art projects, NHST’s mission is to preserve the story the HIV and AIDS pandemic for those who know it, and to teach it for the first time to those who do not.
Episodes
20 episodes
Krishen Samuel: Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic
Krishen Samuel, born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1986, studied Speech-Language Pathology in Cape Town before pursuing a Master’s degree in Global Health, Public Health and Policy in London. Despite being born after the AIDS ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 20
•
10:35
Richard Leaf: The Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic
Richard Leaf, an English writer, pursued his education in San Francisco and then embarked on a career in theatre. His journey led him to the Royal Shakespeare Company and appearances in notable films such as Braveheart, Hannibal Rising, The Fif...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 19
•
10:44
Dr Graeme Moyle: Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic
Dr. Graeme Moyle graduated from medical school in Adelaide, Australia in 1986. His interest in infectious diseases led him to the UK in 1988 to specialise in HIV medicine and research. Much of his career has been associated with the Kobler Clin...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 18
•
16:03
David Eason: Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic
David Eason's selfless commitment to volunteering at London Lighthouse, providing care for individuals affected by AIDS, exemplifies his unwavering dedication to making a difference. Collaborating with friends, he spearhead...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 17
•
23:03
Andrew Keates: Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic
Andrew Keates grew up in Dorset and realized he was gay at 13. He loves the theater and is now an award-winning director. Some of his productions have been performed in the West End, including 'As Is', 'Dessa Rose', and 'Dark Sublime'. In 2018,...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 16
•
9:03
Dr Rupert Whitaker: Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic
Dr. Rupert Whitaker is a remarkable individual who has shown extraordinary resilience as one of the longest survivors of HIV. He has been a strong advocate for people with HIV and other long-term illnesses for over 40 years. Disabili...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 15
•
15:50
Love, Loss & Life: Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic: Rupert Everett
Acclaimed actor and national treasure Rupert Everett describes the excitement of his youth when he first encountered the gay scene in London. Rupert Everett's full story can be found in the NHST archive, but in this story he reveals his d...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 14
•
18:09
Love, Loss & Life: Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic: Arnold Gordon
Blackliners grew out of a realisation that there were no organisations dealing with HIV that catered specifically for the black community, with the result that many HIV+ black people in the UK felt side-lined. Arnold describes the role the char...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 13
•
8:46
Love, Loss & Life: Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic: Lord Fowler
As Minister of Health in the mid-1980s, Lord Fowler found himself at odds with Margaret Thatcher and other members of the Cabinet over how much attention should be paid to the AIDS pandemic. Some neat political manoeuvring enabled him to run a ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 12
•
12:52
Love, Loss & Life: Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic: Barbara von Barsewisch
Barbara von Barsewisch trained as a nurse in London in the early 1990s and worked on Broderip Ward, the HIV ward at the Middlesex Hospital, for ten years. She went on to work at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in the Kobler Day Care Unit, ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 11
•
14:07
Love, Loss & Life: Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic: Jonathan Blake
Actor Jonathan Blake describes the excitement of his youth when he first encountererd the gay scene in London and San Francisco. His story is both delicious and dangerous and life was joyful. He tells how he had to rally against ‘a terrifying d...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 10
•
12:58
Love, Loss & Life: Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic: Flick Thorley
In the early years of the AIDS pandemic, the focus was on the physical needs of people with the illness. But by the 1990s it was becoming clear that people with AIDS could also become acutely psychiatrically unwell, often as a result of the ill...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 8
•
12:30
Love, Loss & Life: Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic: Winnie Sseruma
As a young woman, Winnie only gradually became aware of the word Slim, as AIDS was called in Africa, which was devastating communities in Uganda in the 1980s. When she was diagnosed HIV positive, she believed she was under a death sentence unti...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 6
•
10:24
Love, Loss & Life: Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic: Jane Bruton
Jane Bruton began her nursing career in Leicester and first encountered HIVpatients when she became Ward Sister in the infectious diseases unit there.After a short spell as a health advisor in the Sexual Health Clinic at theChelsea ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 9
•
15:34
Love, Loss & Life: Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic: Kelly Hunter
“It was profoundly moving that a bunch of people, pilloried by society and told that AIDS was their own fault, were utterly non-judgmental themselves.”When Kelly Hunter’s close friends in the theatre began dying of AIDS related illness, ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 6
•
10:32
Love, Loss & Life: Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic: Alan Burgess
This podcast represents just one example of many stories from the full form Audiobook "Love, Loss & Life" published by the National HIV Story Trust. Alan Burgess was diagnosed as a child in 1967 with a moderate form of haemophi...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 4
•
18:17
Love, Loss & Life: Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic: Adrienne Seed
This podcast represents just one example of many stories from the full form Audiobook "Love, Loss & Life" published by the National HIV Story Trust. Although her partner died of AIDS-related illness in 1998, Adrienne was not di...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 4
•
9:19
Love, Loss & Life: Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic: Nick Partridge & Janet Green
This podcast represents just two examples of many stories from the full form Audiobook "Love, Loss & Life" published by the National HIV Story Trust. After studying International Relations at Keele University, Sir Nick Partridg...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 3
•
23:53
Love, Loss & Life: Real Stories from the AIDS Pandemic: George Hodson's Story
This podcast represents just one example of many stories from the full form Audiobook "Love, Loss & Life" published by the National HIV Story Trust.George Hodson can legitimately claim to have been there at ‘Ground Zero’, living...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 1
•
11:32