Episodes
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In this episode of What The Pox?, host Martin Joseph explores the resurgence of news about MPOX in 2024 after it is once again declared a global health emergency by the WHO in August 2024.
The episode unpacks the spread of the more dangerous Clade 1B virus, which is killing hundreds of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and its wider impact in Central and West Africa. We ask if a global north spread of the new strain will happen, and what the global response must be to this emergency.
This episode's guests are:
Dr Marc-Alain Widdowson - WHO Lead, Infectious Hazard ManagementDr Catherine Smallwood - WHO EuropeDr Chloe Orkin - British physician and Professor of HIV/AIDS medicine at Queen Mary University of LondonQuasar Siddiqui - Vaccine Coordinator at The Love TankEnjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:
Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletterListen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ storiesListen to our documentary on the history of PrEP and it's impact on the way queer communities have sex - The Other Blue PillInstagram - @WeAreQueerAF_Twitter - @WeAreQueerAFRead our missionHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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"I’ve been taking PrEP for almost 7 years now. During that time, I’ve been crazy enthusiastic about making positive changes to reduce health inequalities. But I have seen how queer health has been mishandled time and time again - most recently, MPOX is the perfect example"
So today, Phil Samba is here to help us all discover the untold story behind PrEP, the revolutionary pill that's transforming HIV prevention and sexual health.
In the first episode of QueerAF's new six-part limited series documentary, we dive into the battle for PrEP access in the UK by not only looking at the court case fought here in England for the drug - but the advent of HIV and AIDS in the 80s.
Did you know we knew PrEP was effective from the early 2000s? Why did it take until 2020 to get it on the NHS you ask?
Join host Phil Samba as he uncovers the legal struggles, the historic activism, and the groundbreaking moments that made PrEP a reality. From the early days of HIV awareness to the modern fight for equitable healthcare, this is the compelling journey of The Other Blue Pill.
This week, we understand the past of this HIV game-changer, so in the first episode of a series about the the present, and future of The Other Blue Pill.
Hosted by Phil Samba, it is a QueerAF production for The Love Tank, supported by National Aids Trust.
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-other-blue-pill/id1744532072Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kOezXQXHp4ZnVXJLzBaZe?si=bf88e76133ee4da2QueerAF: https://www.wearequeeraf.com/theotherbluepill/Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episodes manquant?
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It’s been quite a year since we last spoke to you.
But since we have, as many of the experts we talked to predicted, pockets of outbreaks that have the potential to spread epidemically have started to pop up again.
We’ve also seen Monkeypox get renamed to MPOX to combat stigma and racist stereotypes connected to the virus.
As we mark a year since the UK outbreak peaked, we wanted to check in and ask what we know now. Has it gone away? Will it come back? And when it comes to diseases that impact marginalised communities, what lessons have we learned?
This week's guests are:
Will Nutland - Co-founder of The Love Tank CICDr Chole Orkin - British physician and Professor of HIV/AIDS medicine at Queen Mary University of LondonDr Richard Peabody - WHO lead of high-threat pathogen team
Listen to understand:How MPOX is spreading asymptomatically, and what this means for the spread.Why people with HIV and low CD4 counts are dying, as experts call for MPOX to be classified as an AIDS-related disease.New information on vaccines' effectiveness and whether you can get reinfected - early signs showing a mutation means this is now possible.Enjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:
Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletterListen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ storiesInstagram - @WeAreQueerAF_Twitter - @WeAreQueerAFRead our missionHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Countries are struggling, vaccines are scarce and mpox (monkeypox) is at risk of becoming endemic in many countries.
In the final episode of this documentary, we find out what actions need to be taken at a global scale to get the outbreak under control.
This virus became endemic in some countries after we first saw it in the 1970s, and we have not done much about it. That bears repeating, for over 50 years - people have been struggling with it, in Central and Eastern Africa - and even now, when it’s spreading around the world - the action is limited.
The most frustrating thing for people with experience and experts is we have the tools to fix this. But only if we work worldwide to prevent future pandemics, if governments step up, and if we change our attitudes to queer sex.
Can we end the outbreak and prevent future ones - let's work out What The Pox? is going on.
Resources:
Ask your GP for a referral to the PLATINUM trial if you've caught or had monkeypoxCampaign calling on the UK to do more from THT, NAT and Prepster - Write to your MP toolThis week's guests are:
Eolan Mcfadden - Frontline Aids,Dr Jose Hidalgo - Infectious disease physician with Via Libre, PeruDr Richard Peabody - WHO lead of high-threat pathogen teamListen to understand:
Why countries like Peru are only just seeing their peaks and struggling to respond without global helpHow globally connected response to infectious diseases is the only way to end this monkeypox outbreakThe pandemic preparedness work that the UN, WHO and HIV organisations are taking part in, to try and prevent future pandemicsEnjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:
Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletterListen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ storiesInstagram - @WeAreQueerAF_Twitter - @WeAreQueerAFRead our missionHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Sex. Some people aren’t just doing it - they’re really doing it.
But, like with anything fun - safety comes first. We’ve got to be aware of sexually transmitted infections.
Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted infection, but this current outbreak is being transmitted sexually. And when it comes to infections that are passed on sexually, there is an added level of stigma.
It’s clear that when STIs impact sexually active folk in the LGBTQIA+ community - it’s worse. Why is that? What is it about queer sex that creates this furore. It's just sex?
So let's talk about sex and work out just What The Pox? is going on.
This week's guests are:
Jason Domino - Porn4Prep founder and sex worker advocate Joseph Osmundson - American biophysicist and writerHarun Talunay - Sexual health expert with lived experience of monkeypoxTopher Taylor - Award-winning pleasure expert and queer columnistListen to understand:
What sex on site venues do to empower people to have better knowledge of their sexual healthWhy monkeypox could impact sex workers for months if they get the virusHow shame and stigma can be worse when talking about queer sex, and what to do about itEnjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:
Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletterListen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ storiesInstagram - @WeAreQueerAF_Twitter - @WeAreQueerAFRead our missionHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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I haven’t had one. Some people have - but with a limited supply left, just who can get a vaccine?
Medical professionals are under the assumption that I currently don’t need a vaccine as they think I probably have some immunity.
But we don’t know how long that will last. I’m nervous about if and what immunity I have and how long it will last. I can’t imagine having to go through all of this again.
And what about the folks that haven’t had Mpox (monkeypox)? How easy is it to get a vaccine? And what about those like me that went through this, was their experience any better? Today, we’re travelling around the UK to find out.
Because if you want to hear about access to the vaccine, then we need to speak to the folks that have tried, succeeded or failed to get hold of one to find out what the pox is going on?
This week's guests:
Harun Talunay - Sexual health expert with lived experience of monkeypoxTopher Taylor - Award winning pleasure expert and queer columnistConor Macis - PHD student and Uni of Bristol teacher who shares his monkeypox journeyDan Ellis - Director and actorListen to understand:
What parts of the UK have better access to monkeypox vaccinesWhy care is different depending on where you liveHow soon after having monkeypox can you be more confident that you don't pass it on via sexEnjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:
Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletterListen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ storiesInstagram - @WeAreQueerAF_Twitter - @WeAreQueerAFRead our missionHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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In this bonus episode of What The Pox? host Martin Joseph shares his most recent QueerAF episode: How can you be queer, single and happy?
Monkeypox stigma and shame, is inherently linked to queer and sex shame - and so the themes in this episode, ring so true. So true, they are practically an episode of the show. ]
We'll be back to wrap up the season over the coming weeks with big interviews with the WHO, investigating new scientific research which could create new treatments for Monkeypox - plus we'll delve deeper into the the themes of this bonus episode - sex, and the shame our community can feel about it.
Enjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:
Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletterListen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ storiesInstagram - @WeAreQueerAF_Twitter - @WeAreQueerAFRead our missionHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Dr. Demetre Daskalakis is like the Chris Witty of monkeypox in the US - slides and all. But can you imagine anyone 'official' in the UK talking about buttholes, fetish gear or anal while responding to a health crisis?
That's what Daskalakis is doing, and he says the language he's persuaded the CDC to use is working better than anything they've used before. In official CDC guides about the virus, expect to see language like anal, oral and buttholes. Which, as NAM Aidsmap director Matthew Hodson notes earlier in the show, works because it reflects how gay and bi men talk.
In the global north outbreak, monkeypox primarily affects sexually active queer, gay, bi and men who have sex with men. But numbers are now declining after a sharp spike, with nNw York named the epicenter of the global north outbreak.
However, without action, it could take root and become endemic in more countries, joining those in Central and West Africa who've struggled with the disease for many years.
Daskalakis is acutely aware of this. He's using his long history of sexual health work to get vaccines into arms. Indeed, this history has even seen him do HIV outreach off his own back. All of that and more this week as we work out just what the pox is going on, in America...
This week's guests are:
Dr. Demetre Daskalakis - White House Deputy Co-ordinator for MonkeypoxJoseph Osmundson - American biophysicist and writerListen to understand:
The press headlines that painted him as a monkeypox ‘super spreader’ and satanist for being a gay man with tattoosThe frank language he’s persuaded federal departments to useWhy he’s taking vaccines to the places where those most affected are, including fetish events and bathhousesResources:
CDC guidanceVisit wearequeeraf.com/whatthepox to support the show and listen ad-free
Take action! Write to your MP to help the monkeypox outbreak with this easy tool.
Enjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:
Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletterListen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ storiesInstagram - @WeAreQueerAF_Twitter - @WeAreQueerAFRead our missionHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Health secretary Thérèse Coffey has rejected advice from officials to procure additional doses of the mpox (monkeypox) vaccine.
That's the topline from Donato Mancini's scoop for the FT this weekend. But what does it mean?
Read Donato's story in the Financial TimesIt's raised great concern that it will leave the UK ill-prepared for a resurgence of the disease. This news comes as the outbreak could be curtailed, if progress continues, with new cases down to 100 a week. It also flies in the face of advice from the UK Health Security Agency and sexual health experts.
Join us, in this rapid response special episode, to work out why the UK government has rejected this advice as we ask Donato and some of the show's recent contributors what the pox is going on?
This week's guests are:
Donato Mancini - Pharma Correspondent, Financial Times
Susan Cole - Community Engagement, NAM AIDSmap
Matthew Hodson - Executive Director of NAM AIDSmap
Will Nutland - Co-founder of Love Tank CIC, Prepster
Listen to understand:
Why this outbreak feels familiar to HIV in the 80s
What we can learn from the response (and lack of) to HIV - for monkeypox
How we can talk about monkeypox without stigmatising sexually active LGBTQIA+ people
Visit wearequeeraf.com/whatthepox to support the show and listen ad-free
Take action! Write to your MP to help the monkeypox outbreak with this easy tool.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Mpox (Monkeypox) has been troubling for many queers here in the UK and US because of the parallels to HIV. The legacy of AIDS stigma born in the 80s still lives with us today.
This UK government has not released statements damning LGBTQIA+ people for monkeypox, but their silence is damning. It has had almost the same effect in drumming up homophobic rhetoric as if they had directly targeted us with this speech.
But 40 years on, we have come a long way - we’ve fought for policies which could end HIV by the end of the decade. We can learn many lessons from HIV for Mpox, even though they’re very different viruses. So what are they?
Join us to work out why HIV charities leading the fight to work out just what the pox is going on?
This week's guests are:
Matthew Hodson - Executive Director of NAM Aidsmap
Susan Cole - Community engagement lead, NAM Aidsmap
Harun Talunay - Sexual health expert with lived experience of monkeypox
Listen to understand:
Why this outbreak feels familiar to HIV in the 80s
What we can learn from the response (and lack of) to HIV - for monkeypox
How we can talk about monkeypox without stigmatising sexually active LGBTQIA+ people
Visit wearequeeraf.com/whatthepox to support the show and listen ad-free
Take action! Write to your MP to help the monkeypox outbreak with this easy tool.
Enjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:
Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletterListen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ storiesInstagram - @WeAreQueerAF_Twitter - @WeAreQueerAFRead our missionHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Mpox (monkeypox) - when I was super sick, in pain and feeling really under the weather - wasn't even the worst part. It was telling people. I couldn't put my finger on why, though.
I knew in my rational brain that I had done nothing wrong. But I couldn't shake this feeling. For the longest time - I couldn't figure it out. And then it hit me.
I grew up in the 90s, in the shadow of HIV, hearing all the awful things the newspapers and people had to say about the virus and gay sex. The shame I was feeling wasn't because I'd done that affected me, but that I'd let down others. That I'd given ammo to every homophobe about the stereotypes around LGBTQIA+ people - specifically gay men.
When I started to produce this series, I was nervous. Not because I was talking about myself, or the condition or even that I would be discussing sex. But because of the shame I’d internalised from the world around me because of the stigma placed upon us.
Internalized queer shame is something so many of us have picked up, and Monkeypox is just another reminder - so join us as we find out just what the pox can we do about it.
This week's guests are:
Matthew Todd - Author of Straight Jacket, former Attitude editor
Conor Macis - PHD student and Uni of Bristol teacher who shares his monkeypox journey
Liam Beattie - Trades Union campaigner, former Terrance Higgins Trust staffer
Marc Thompson - Co-founder of Prepster
Listen to understand:
Why the shame and stigma with HIV, feels so familiar to monkeypox - and what we can do about it
How we internalise shame from the stigma put on us by the world - plus how we can combat it
Why the norms of a heterosexual world, doesn't have to be what we strive for as we carve out a queer way to live#
My other QueerAF episodes:
Around eating disordersOn being single, happy and coming to terms with my sex lifeVisit wearequeeraf.com/whatthepox to support the show and listen ad-free
Enjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:
Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletterListen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ storiesInstagram - @WeAreQueerAF_Twitter - @WeAreQueerAFRead our missionHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Mpox (monkeypox) - about four days into isolating with it - I got some pretty intense pain. After spending 24 hours in agony - I called 111 for help.
They got me an emergency appointment, and I had to cover up my legions and wear a mask. Reasonable requests. But the response I got was less so. I was greeted with what could only be described as panic.
Staff used hushed tones, and a doctor in full PPE made me talk to him on the phone, through the door. After being asked if I was gay and how did I catch it - without examining me, they put me in an Ambulance. Eventually, at the A&E - they worked out that Monkeypox had caused an infection which needed antibiotics.
I’ve heard similar from other people who’ve suffered. And it's of no fault of the incredible staff who were, at the end of the day, just trying to help me.
Join us to hear what has the response been and why these doctors were running around trying to work out just What The Pox was going on? This week's guests are:
- Marc Thompson - Co-founder of Prepster
- Will Nutall - Co-founder of The Love Tank CIC
- Shivani Dave - Physicist, broadcaster and producer
- Sarah Mulindwa - TV personality and sexual health nurse, 56 Dean Street
Listen to understand:
- Why some doctors and nurses have had to scramble as they help and support patients with monkeypox
- How sexual health is funded in the UK, and what that means for the service you receive
- What we as the LGBTQIA+ community can do to change the way we talk about monkeypox
Visit wearequeeraf.com/whatthepox to support the show and listen ad-free
Enjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:
Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletterListen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ storiesInstagram - @WeAreQueerAF_Twitter - @WeAreQueerAFRead our missionHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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I still have a lot of questions about Mpox (Monkeypox). And I've literally made a whole podcast about it.
I remember sitting in the doctor's surgery not long after catching it, wanting to know: What treatment is available? How long will this part last?
Then after I recovered, why wasn't I automatically eligible for the vaccine - am I immune? So I put these questions to the experts and doctors who've been tirelessly to track this outbreak, the changing symptoms and help all of us manage it.
Join us to determine what the science tells us about What The Pox is going on? This week's guests are:
Dr Chole Orkin - British physician and Professor of HIV/AIDS medicine at Queen Mary University of London
Susan Cole - Community engagement, NAM AIDSmap
Joseph Osmundson - American biophysicist and writer
Tri Vo - NYC based graphic designer and illustrator
Listen to understand:
How one doctor worked out that Mpox has changed and re-wrote the symptoms list
The key info about the virology behind transmission - and what this tells us about why more people are catching it
How it's spreading, what we know about immunity, and how effective the vaccines are
Visit wearequeeraf.com/whatthepox to support the show and listen ad-free
Enjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:
Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletterListen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ storiesInstagram - @WeAreQueerAF_Twitter - @WeAreQueerAFRead our missionHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Mpox (Monkeypox). That’s what we are here to talk about. And this episode is everything I needed to hear when I first caught the virus.
Quite a lot of people have got it or had it at this point. I’m one of them. In early July this year, I had monkeypox… and it was not fun. When I was alone at home, with monkeypox - in all kinds of pain. I was desperate for information.
I googled "how long will this last" and searched "is it meant to feel like this?" But there was such little official advice. Classic. So I got talking to people instead.
And I realized something. It’s super queer to create something because the official people haven’t. So this is it. With experts, people with experience and all done without shame and stigma.
Join us to work out What The Pox is going on? This week's guests are:
Matt Ford - Actor, writer and singer based in LA
Sarah Mullindwa - TV personality and sexual health nurse, 56 Dean Street
Susan Cole - Community engagement, NAM AIDSmap
Matthew Todd - Author ‘Straight Jacket', former Attitude editor
Listen to understand:
Everything you need to know if you've just caught Monkeypox
The key info about the virus, its symptoms and why it's spreading
A brief history of Monkeypox, that's been endemic in Africa for decades
Resources:
Matt Ford's (essential reading) Google Doc for if you've just caught the virus
Matthew Todd's Straight Jacket, for reading about gay shame and internalized homophobia
Visit wearequeeraf.com/whatthepox to support the show
Enjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:
Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletterListen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ storiesInstagram - @WeAreQueerAF_Twitter - @WeAreQueerAFRead our missionHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Monkeypox. That’s what we’re here to talk about. Quite a lot of people have got it or had it at this point. I’m one of them. And it was not fun.
When I was home alone with Monkeypox in all kinds of pain, Feeling scared and alone I had very little information. So I went online to find help.
And guess what - there wasn’t much official advice. But I did start talking to all kinds of people: experts, people who’ve had the virus, And to those who see this outbreak, as part of a much bigger picture.
Monkeypox is spreading worldwide- and for many of us queer people, the response feels a bit too familiar…You see History rarely repeats. But it often rhymes.
This podcast is basically all things a needed to hear when at the time. It’s for anyone who has or had Monkeypox - plus anyone who is queer, or cares about LGBTQIA+ people, or is just worried about this outbreak. So yeah, it’s kind of for everyone.
Because although Monkeypox isn’t a 'gay and bi men’s' disease; for now it's predominantly affecting sexually active men who have sex with men. That’s because of the way it spreads, mostly through sexual contact. And well, everyone can have sex. That’s why it’s important that everyone understands how it's moving between people. Listen to understand:
Why we're feeling shame and stigmaThe parallels with the HIV outbreak in the 80sThe broader queerness at playAnd I’ll let you in on a secret - we have the tools to manage this outbreak, we’ve just got to use them
So join us for this rapid response series from QueerAF and me, Martin Joseph as we try to work out - just What The Pox? is going on.
Tune in every Wednesday for leading Monkeypox experts, sexual health superstars, and real people talking about Monkeypox without shame or stigma.
Or head to wearequeeraf.com/whatthepox to get early access to episodes as soon as they’re ready.
We Are QueerAF, and so are you.
Enjoying What The Pox? Get more from QueerAF:
Understand the LGBTQIA+ news (but skip the doomscrolling) with QueerAF's top-rated weekly newsletterListen to our award-winning QueerAF podcast, with inspiring LGBTQIA+ storiesInstagram - @WeAreQueerAF_Twitter - @WeAreQueerAFRead our missionHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
