The Morning After: new podcast interviews with UK community activists

25 January 2026. Related: Activism & advocacy, On the web.

Simon Collins, HIV i-Base

A new oral history podcast brings together a dynamic group of UK activists and gives them time to tell their stories in carefully curated weekly episodes.

HIV: The Morning After has been produced and self-funded by Dan Hall who is a London-based award winning documentary producer and director who wanted to create a permanent archive of the stories of people living with HIV.

https://feeds.captivate.fm/hiv-the-morning-after (RSS)
https://podcasts.apple.com/bs/podcast/hiv-the-morning-after/id1835342862 (Apple)
https://open.spotify.com/show/6STKi9WAVGW1WIVb2MK3wH (Spotify)

Series 1 is already online and series 2 will be published in March 2026.

Series 1: The Foundations

1. Jonathan Blake

One of the UK’s first and longest survivors, Jonathan was diagnosed in October 1982 and given only months to live. He discusses his life as an actor in the vibrant 1980s London scene and his pivotal role in the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners group. His story is a remarkable record of early activism and the transition from suspected death to decades of survival.

2. Susan Cole-Haley

Susan is a writer and international broadcaster who discovered her status during routine immigration testing in 1999. She shares the shock of her diagnosis and her subsequent twenty year career as a leading advocate for women and Black communities. She focuses on health equity and ensuring that the progress made in treatment reaches all marginalised communities equally.

3. Jim Vogiatzis

Jim is a dedicated activist and fundraiser who worked in the media for years before ill health intervened. He speaks candidly about his diagnosis in 1988 and the conscious decision he made to be a participant in the fight for human rights rather than a bystander. His episode covers the difficult realities of early drug regimens and the importance of remaining authentic in the face of misinformation.

4. Martin Fenerty

Martin is a psychotherapist from Liverpool who has been living with HIV since 1993. He provides a deeply personal insight into the psychological impact of diagnosis and the lingering effects of past traumas. He discusses how he channelled his lived experience into a career supporting others navigating clinical systems and societal stigma.

5. Caroline Guinness

A pioneering figure in UK advocacy, Caroline co-founded Positively Women, one of the first peer led support organisations specifically for women. Diagnosed in 1986, she discusses the dual challenge of facing her own mortality while being responsible for her three year old daughter. Her story tracks the transformation of the HIV sector from a climate of fear to a community of collective survival.

6. Anthony Bird

Tony is a graphic designer whose life took a dramatic turn in 1995 when he was diagnosed with an AIDS-defining illness. He describes the rapid onset of his illness and the magical turnaround he experienced with the arrival of combination therapy in the mid nineties. His episode is a powerful account of surviving at the literal edge of death and reclaiming a future.

7. Matthew Hodson

Matthew is one of Britain’s most influential activists, known for living shamelessly with HIV for many years. He discusses coming of age in the 1980s under the shadow of Section 28 and the peak of societal homophobia. He explores the power of protest, the evolution of the epidemic, and the vital importance of living one’s truth as an act of defiance.

8. Peter Willis

At 83, retired GP Peter Willis offers a unique dual perspective as both a medical professional and a person living with HIV. He treated patients and friends during the height of the epidemic while living with the quiet assumption that he too was positive. He provides moving insights into the complexities of ageing with HIV and the evolution of medical ethics.

9. Gus Cairns

Gus is a respected HIV educator and survivor whose journey includes a magical resurrection from near death in the 1980s. He shares his experiences of London’s early gay scene and the lessons learned from being at the heart of an incredible historical event. His episode focuses on self respect and the idea that you cannot moralise your way out of an epidemic.

10. Marc Thompson

Mark is a visionary leader in HIV prevention who was diagnosed in 1986 at the age of just 17. He discusses the profound isolation he felt as a young Black gay man and how he transformed that experience into groundbreaking activism. He highlights the systemic inequalities that persist in health care and the necessity of creating representative community spaces.

Series 2: Expanding the Narrative

1. Lord Chris Smith

The first UK MP to voluntarily come out as gay and the first to publicly disclose his HIV status, Lord Smith changed British political history. He documents the shift in public attitudes from the mid 80s to the 2000s and his experience of high level political leadership. He speaks about learning to live with life’s uncertainties and the power of telling your own story.

2. Alexander Cheves

An American writer based in Berlin, Alexander’s writing explores sex, identity, and HIV with unflinching honesty. Diagnosed at 20 in the American South, he discusses the severe depression that followed and his journey through manic behavior to self acceptance. His work asks uncomfortable questions about what really threatens gay survival when the virus itself becomes manageable.

3. Angelina Namiba

Born in Kenya and now a leading voice in the UK, Angelina survived a death sentence diagnosis in 1993 to become a mother and mentor. She discusses the total lack of information for women and Black communities at the time of her diagnosis and the silence she had to navigate. Her episode focuses on community support and ensuring no woman has to face HIV alone.

4. Garry Brough

Garry has been one of the architects of HIV peer support in the UK for over 25 years. He shares his journey from a small Welsh mining village to the front lines of activism at organisations like Positively UK and the Bloomsbury Clinic. He discusses the evolution of community care and the importance of having the strength to simply get through today.

5. Diego Agurto Beroiza

A Chilean artist and activist living in London, Diego is creating a Living Museum of Emotional Archives to preserve community testimonies. He explores how the history of dictatorship in Chile affected people living with HIV and the lessons that can be learned in the UK. He discusses the intersection of migration, art, and the public sphere in fighting stigma.

6. Sylvia Petretti

As the CEO of Positively UK, Sylvia has spent over 25 years centring lived experience and community power in health systems. Born in Italy, she was diagnosed in 1997 just as effective treatment was becoming available, a period she describes as terrifyingly uncertain. She discusses her long leadership journey and the vital importance of self acceptance.

7. Eli Fitzgerald

At just 26, Eli has never known life without HIV and works as a peer support integration manager. He speaks about the compound marginalisation of being both trans and HIV positive in systems that often fail to acknowledge his existence. His story challenges assumptions about growing up positive in an era of effective treatment and the need for visible role models.

8. Jan

Jan is a Turkish Kurdish global citizen in London who has navigated coming out about his ethnicity, his sexuality, and his HIV status. He discusses the hidden diversity of his home country and the sense of othering that led him to seek liberation abroad. His episode provides a moving account of navigating multiple layers of identity in a city that celebrates diversity but doesn’t always understand it.

9. Nikolaj Tange Lange

Nikolaj is a Danish musician and author living in Berlin who has spent nearly two decades navigating the gap between HIV myths and reality. He discusses the punk roots of queer identity and the sex world of pre prep Berlin in the 2000s. His episode covers the transgressive nature of queer life and the psychological complexities of sex, trauma, and survival.

10. Dan Glass

An activist and author, dan has co-founded numerous queer self defence and protest groups, including Bender Defenders. He discusses growing up under Section 28 and his initial refusal of treatment until he developed an AIDS-defining illness. His work focuses on challenging silence through performance activism and the political importance of chosen family.