Episode 12: AIDS Censorship

This is the last full episode that Christine Maggiore participated in, taped on December 2, 2008. In it, experienced LA journalist Bob Navarro describes the firestorm of criticism when he published US government statistics noting a decline in AIDS cases. “Not allowed!” screamed the AIDS dogmatists. Christine also expresses, both overtly and implicitly, how much the “How Positive Are You?” podcast meant to her.

Comments (4)

Episode 10: AIDS Social Worker Experiences Paradigm Shift

Sarah Breidenbach was a highly regarded social worker who specialized in assisting people diagnosed HIV positive or with AIDS. For Sarah, this position was far more than a job, it was an opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of her clients, and she approached her work with great dedication and conviction. She felt very strongly that by encouraging compliance with AIDS drug treatments and discouraging skepticism about the causal link between HIV and AIDS she was offering HIV positives their best possible chances for staying alive.  But after more than half a decade of a professional and personal life that revolved around AIDS from the mainstream perspective, Sarah very reluctantly agreed to watch the documentary film, The Other Side of AIDS, and something remarkable happened as a result: she began to question the basis for her staunchly held views, and ultimately the direction and meaning of her life’s work. Continue reading »

Comments (13)

Episode 9: Science Fiction: Law & Order’s Morality Tale on “AIDS Denialism”

David and Christine discuss “Retro”, a recent episode of the prime time TV show, “Law & Order Special Victim’s Unit”, in which a false version of Christine’s life is used to send a supposedly true message about AIDS. Special guests include Robin Scovill, Christine’s real life husband of 12 years whose inexplicable HIV negative status causes him to be eliminated from fictionalized portrayals of his family as well as from most factual news articles. Continue reading »

Comments (6)

Episode 7: Was That AIDS?

A gay man experiences sudden weight loss of about 20 pounds, general weakness, blurred vision, numbness that eventually progresses into the inability to walk, and facial paralysis that makes it difficult to speak or even swallow. Is this AIDS? What would you do? Keith Relkin decided to refuse an HIV test or accept another label when MS was suggested. Continue reading »

Comments (3)