Compilation Special: The Waiting Room

Crowdfunder Link: RIO CALLING Fundraising LinkThis is a special compilation episode featuring highlights from Series 1 and 2 of HIV: The Morning After, released ahead of Series 3 in June 2026.A life can divide cleanly into before and after. This episode sits in the gap between them - in the waiting room, the clinic corridor, the flat you don't remember getting back to.It covers what it felt like to receive a diagnosis across four different decades, from 1982 to the early 2020s: the isolation that followed, the absence of information aimed at people like you, the impossible mask worn at work, the referral slip kept under a bed for months. It covers what it means to plan your own death and then, for reasons you didn't expect, not go through with it. And it covers what it means to be the youngest voice in a series like this - diagnosed in an era of effective treatment, never having personally lost anyone to HIV, and yet carrying the weight of that history as something visceral and present.Content note: this episode contains a description of suicidal ideation.ResourcesTerrence Higgins Trust - HIV information, support and campaigning www.tht.org.ukNAM aidsmap - Clear, evidence-based information about HIV www.aidsmap.comPositively UK - Peer support for people living with HIV in the UK www.positivelyuk.orgNational AIDS Trust - Policy and advocacy www.nat.org.ukSamaritans - Free, confidential support if you're struggling Call: 116 123 | www.samaritans.orgLinksListen to the full episodes:Jonathan Blake - Series 1, Episode 1Jim Vogiatzis - Series 1, Episode 3Angelina Namiba - Series 2, Episode 3Jan - Series 2, Episode 8Music by Paul Leonidou: www.unstoppablemonsters.comSubscribe and listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTubeMentioned in this episode:RIO CALLING! Crowd-funderWe're taking over the feed for 'Rio Calling': six daily despatches from AIDS 2026, the world's biggest HIV conference. Each day Dan Glass and I will bring you the stories that matter most to people living with HIV and the people working to end it - straight from the conference floor in Rio. The wonderful folks at BHIVA have helped get us there, but there remains a funding gap. The rest is down to you. If you can chip in via the Crowdfunder link below, you'll be helping to put these six episodes in people's ears - and we'd be genuinely grateful. Thank you for listening, and for keeping this going.RIO CALLING Fundraising LinkThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp