Between 1981 and 1987, over 40,000 people died of AIDS in the United States. But despite the obvious health crisis, no one in power was doing anything about it. The U.S. government did not care about AIDS for one simple reason: the majority of the early cases were among gay men, who the government deemed expendable. This episode will be the first of two parts on the AIDS Epidemic. Today, we will learn how the AIDS epidemic began, which communities were impacted, and how the general public responded to the outbreak.
 
Suggested Episodes:
Ep19 – The HIV Epidemic in Thailand
Ep03 – Gloria Steinem Goes Undercover
 
Sources:

* https://www.history.com/news/aids-epidemic-ronald-reagan
* https://nursing.jnj.com/ward-5b-how-nurses-defied-convention-to-care-for-hiv-aids-patients
* https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/history/hiv-and-aids-timeline
* http://www.nbcnews.com/id/13072762/ns/health-aids/t/aids-survivors-recall-epidemics-early-years/#.X0mSdnlKjIU
* https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2019/12/17/living-in-deaths-shadow-personal-stories-of-the-aids-epidemic.html
* https://abcnews.go.com/Health/friend-friend-dying-hiv-survivors-back-past-30/story?id=59468714
* And the Band Played On (Book)
* “United in Anger: A History of Act Up” documentary https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B00KEOI2HA/ref=atv_dl_rdr?autoplay=1
* https://www.avert.org/professionals/history-hiv-aids/overview (more)
* http://www.nbcnews.com/id/13072762/ns/health-aids/t/aids-survivors-recall-epidemics-early-years/#.X2AlrWhKg2w
* https://www.kff.org/hivaids/fact-sheet/the-hivaids-epidemic-in-the-united-states-the-basics/#:~:text=Key%20Facts,the%20beginning%20of%20the%20epidemic.
* “The Pride Movement” documentary
* “How to Survive a Plague” documentary
* https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/fact-sheet/the-global-hivaids-epidemic/#:~:text=HIV%2C%20the%20virus%20that%20causes,the%20beginning%20of%20the%20epidemic.