HIV: The Morning After

About HIV: The Morning After

An oral history and public-education audio archive documenting the lived experience of people living with HIV in the UK. The series captures testimony at a moment when institutional memory, peer support, and long-term survivor narratives are being eroded, despite medical progress. Led by Emmy award-winning documentary producer Dan Hall, the project is building a long-form archive of recorded testimonies for public, community, and educational use. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Publisher

Dan Hall

Category

health & fitness · society & culture · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

25 Aug 2025

Latest episode

8 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

50 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   8 Oct 2026

   Emma McAnally: Stigma, Strength and Superpower

   Content note: this episode discusses domestic abuse and suicidal thoughts. In 2016, Emma McAnally was diagnosed with HIV in a Scottish sexual health clinic while in an abusive relationship. This episode follows how that diagnosis led her to challenge outdated NHS maternity guidance and become an HIV educator in Scotland today. Summary Emma McAnally was diagnosed with HIV in 2016, in a Scottish sexual health clinic, while in an abusive relationship. Isolated and convinced she was the only person in Scotland living with the virus, she reached her lowest point before falling pregnant gave her a reason to leave. Motherhood brought fresh battles: she was denied a water birth because of her status, discouraged from breastfeeding, and, by 2023, discovered that Scotland's maternity guidelines for women living with HIV hadn't been updated since the early 1990s. Her research helped change them. Emma later met her partner, Paul, through a wild swimming group, and found in their mixed-status relationship the acceptance she'd feared she'd never get. Now a mental health nurse turned Senior Learning and Engagement Officer at Waverley Care, she delivers HIV-awareness training to health and social care staff, the same profession that once told her, wrongly, that HIV could be caught by sharing a toothbrush. The conversation closes with a moment of remembrance for the teenage HIV educator Krista Blake. Key Moments [00:01:43] Diagnosed with HIV in 2016, inside an abusive relationship [00:05:05] Googling the symptoms in the clinic waiting room, and the moment the penny dropped [00:12:22] Reaching a lowest point, and finding purpose in pregnancy [00:13:18] Denied a water birth because of her HIV status [00:17:51] Fighting outdated guidance to win delayed cord clamping for women living with HIV [00:24:07] Meeting her partner, Paul, through a wild swimming group [00:30:50] Told, wrongly, by a nursing lecturer that HIV could be caught by sharing a toothbrush [00:37:02] A moment of remembrance for teenage HIV educator Krista Blake [00:44:14] A postcard to her newly diagnosed self: "HIV can be your superpower" About Emma McAnally Emma McAnally is a mental health nurse and HIV advocate from Scotland, diagnosed with HIV in 2016. She successfully campaigned to update outdated NHS guidelines on childbirth for women living with HIV, and now works as Senior Learning and Engagement Officer at Waverley Care, delivering HIV-awareness training to health and social care staff. She is a mother of two and lives with her partner, Paul. Resources & Further Reading Terrence Higgins Trust (https://tht.org.uk/) – UK support and information for anyone living with or affected by HIV. National AIDS Trust (https://nat.org.uk/) – campaigning on HIV stigma, discrimination and the law. Waverley Care (https://www.waverleycare.org/) – Scotland's HIV and hepatitis C charity, and home of the HIV Informed training Emma now delivers. Prevention Access Campaign (https://preventionaccess.org/) – the research behind Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U). In Memory of Krista Blake (https://www.morningjournalnews.com/news/local-news/2020/05/in-memory-of-krista-blake/) – background on the teenage HIV educator Emma remembers in this episode. If you've been affected by anything discussed in this episode, support is available through the Terrence Higgins Trust (https://tht.org.uk/). This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

2. 

   1 Oct 2026

   Veda Lady: Secrets, Sequins, Solidarity

   For over a decade, Veda Lady was the most recognisable drag queen in Dublin. They talk to Dan Hall about a childhood spent dodging the word "AIDS", the partner who begged them not to tell, and the 2019 disclosure that led to Ireland's first podcast made by and for people living with HIV. Summary Veda Lady has spent three decades as Dublin's reigning drag mother, but for a long stretch of that career they were keeping the biggest secret of their life. Growing up gay in 1970s and 80s Catholic Ireland, they were accused of having AIDS at twelve, years before they understood what it really meant. It was a fear that resurfaced when they received their own HIV diagnosis in the early 2000s. Veda describes the deal they made to stay silent, and then the 2019 disclosure timed to a new marriage and a song, "I Came Out One Night". Veda also traces the drag lineage behind their activism, from San Francisco's Trannyshack to Dublin's Alternative Miss Ireland, and explains how a lockdown drag show streamed from their kitchen grew into Poz Vibe, the podcast and social enterprise they now run with Doctor Robbie Lawlor for people living with HIV across Ireland. Timestamped Takeaways [12:06] Introducing Veda — three decades a fixture of queer Dublin, and the first podcast made for and by people living with HIV [16:48] A grey childhood in Catholic Ireland — bullied, and accused of having AIDS at twelve [21:26] Dropping out of Trinity College — for the door of a Dublin cabaret club [26:52] San Francisco, 1996 — a first night in drag at the club now known as T*Shack (its original name has since been retired), run by the late Heklina [33:21] Alternative Miss Ireland — drag family, chosen sisters, and a tribute to Thom McGinty, "The Diceman" [42:44] The double life — an HIV diagnosis, a frightened partner, and a promise to tell no one [45:34] Atripla, insomnia and anxiety — years spent blaming her mental health for the medication [51:16] Coming out in 2019 — "I Came Out One Night," the Irish charts, and the kitchen drag shows that became Poz Vibe Guest Bio Veda Lady is a Dublin drag artist, broadcaster and HIV activist who has performed across Ireland for over three decades. Diagnosed with HIV in the early 2000s, they kept their status private until 2019, when they came out publicly and co-founded Poz Vibe Podcast and Poz Vibe Tribe with Doctor Robbie Lawlor — now one of Ireland's largest peer-led HIV communities, over 100 episodes deep. Resources If you have been affected by the themes in this episode, support is available at Terrence Higgins Trust (https://www.tht.org.uk/) and HIV Ireland (https://www.hivireland.ie/). Links Poz Vibe Podcast (https://pozvibe.com/) HIV Ireland (https://www.hivireland.ie/) Terrence Higgins Trust (https://www.tht.org.uk/) National AIDS Trust (https://www.nat.org.uk/) Prevention Access Campaign — U=U (https://www.preventionaccess.org/) I Came Out One Night (SONG) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqW8T9Yb9wE) This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

3. 

   24 Sept 2026

   Adrian Hyyriläinen-Trett: Parliament, Pills and Powerlifting

   In 2015, Adrian Hyyriläinen-Trett became the first openly HIV-positive parliamentary candidate in UK history, standing for the Liberal Democrats in Vauxhall. This episode follows their 2004 diagnosis at Camden's Mortimer Market Centre through twelve years on AZT, a complex PTSD diagnosis, and a new life as president of the LGBT Powerlifting Union. Summary Adrian Hyyriläinen-Trett was diagnosed with HIV on the 3rd of June 2004, at Camden's Mortimer Market Centre. Twenty-five and living in Beckton at the time, they made the journey home alone on the DLR, before waiting six months to tell their parents, on Boxing Day, that they were both gay and HIV positive. Eleven years on, standing as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Vauxhall, Adrian chose to go public about their status ahead of the 2015 general election, becoming the first openly HIV-positive parliamentary candidate in UK history. This conversation follows that journey through twelve years on AZT to a new single-tablet regimen, a 2016 mental health crisis that led to a diagnosis of complex PTSD, and an unlikely second act: powerlifting. Adrian is now president of the LGBT Powerlifting Union and competed at this summer's Gay Games in Valencia. The episode closes with reflections on the growing divide between the LGB and wider LGBTQ+ community, and a moment of remembrance for Dean Street's David Stewart, the friend who first got Adrian through the door of a therapist's office. Key Moments [00:02:24] Why the single-tablet switch: protecting kidneys and liver while staying undetectable [00:04:15] 3 June 2004: an HIV test at Mortimer Market Centre, Camden [00:05:12] "Absolutely nothing": the empty state of HIV education in 2004 [00:08:13] A solo journey home on the DLR, processing a new HIV diagnosis alone [00:18:41] Coming out as gay and HIV positive to parents on Boxing Day 2004 [00:22:20] Twelve years on AZT, drug resistance, and the road to today's regimen [00:28:17] The decision to become the UK's first openly HIV-positive parliamentary candidate [00:32:52] LGB versus LGBTQ+: the case against leaving trans and non-binary people behind [00:39:16] From a 2016 mental health crisis to president of the LGBT Powerlifting Union [00:44:46] A complex PTSD diagnosis, and a moment of remembrance for David Stewart About Adrian Hyyriläinen-Trett Adrian Hyyriläinen-Trett is a Liberal Democrat politician and HIV advocate who, in 2015, became the first openly HIV-positive parliamentary candidate in UK history, standing for Vauxhall. Diagnosed with HIV in 2004, they have advised the House of Lords, worked with over 400 organisations worldwide, and wrote the party's 2010 same-sex marriage motion. They are president of the LGBT Powerlifting Union, competed at this summer's Gay Games in Valencia, and are married. Resources & Further Reading Terrence Higgins Trust (https://tht.org.uk/) – information, testing and THT Direct support for anyone living with or affected by HIV in the UK. National AIDS Trust (https://nat.org.uk/) – campaigning on HIV stigma, discrimination and the law. LGBT Powerlifting Union (https://lgbtpowerlifting.com/) – the trans-inclusive powerlifting organisation Adrian now leads. Mind (https://www.mind.org.uk/) – support and information for anyone affected by the mental health themes discussed in this episode, including complex PTSD. If you've been affected by anything discussed in this episode, support is available through the Terrence Higgins Trust (https://tht.org.uk/). This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

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