Tell Me About It: HIV Conversations in the Community is a six-part podcast series of honest conversations sharing accurate and trustworthy information about HIV and sexual and reproductive health in a friendly and open way.
Funded by Public Health England through their Reproductive Health, Sexual Health & HIV Innovation Fund, which supports new and innovative ways of improving reproductive and sexual health, and working with Radioville, one of the UK’s longest-established and most well-known radio advertising teams, the series counters the ignorance and fear around HIV that can result in stigma and misunderstanding.
Tell Me About It was inspired by the conversations that people living with HIV often find themselves having with those unaware of the many new and life-changing developments in HIV prevention and treatment – how did you get it? Aren’t you just a drain on NHS resources? Can I catch it off you? Will you die young?
HIV remains one of the most stigmatised of all medical conditions. These everyday conversations can be an opportunity for education, given that there are significant gaps between public perceptions, and the lived experience of those with diagnosed HIV.
Hosted by writer, researcher, international performance poet and TEDx speaker Bakita Kasadha, each episode is a conversation between people sharing their experiences of living with HIV, or opening up about their assumptions and what they’d love to know more about.
It’s a personal, engaging and honest look at what it really means to live with HIV today, and how that’s changed significantly over the years. We want people listening to hear about the amazing developments in prevention and treatment that ensure people living with HIV can now live long and healthy lives, free of fear; and shatter some of the most damaging myths about HIV and its impact on sex, life expectancy, starting a family, staying well, mental health and public attitudes.
Our guests include:
- Rich Watkins, activist and educator; with Jonathan Blake, actor, one of the first people to be diagnosed with HIV.
- Matthew Hodson, Executive Director of NAM aidsmap; with Simon Blake OBE, CEO of Mental Health First Aid and the Deputy Chair of Stonewall.
- Dr Naomi Sutton, Consultant Physician in Sexual Health and star of E4's The Sex Clinic; with Kate Moyle, Psychosexual & Relationship Therapist and host of The Sexual Wellness Sessions podcast.
- Susan Cole, HIV activist and influencer; with Dr Halima Begum, Director of the Runnymede Trust.
- Jo Josh, HIV activist and media adviser; with Jo Good, actress and broadcaster with BBC Radio London.
- Becky Kroger, youth HIV activist; with Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, Editor-in-Chief at gal-dem magazine.
The series launches on Wednesday 17 February and is available on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.