Once upon a time, before the advent of highly active anti-retroviral therapy for HIV, most of my friends died of AIDS. It was gruesome and it was devastating. But since there was no way to hide the wounds, it was also a time of true tenderness and rich vulnerability. Remembering some of the more than 130 friends who died of AIDS, I explore the question: “Even though, in the world today, we can hide our wounds more easily, who asks you, ‘Where does it hurt?'”
2014 August
The world of HIV/AIDS is changing for the better. The amount of new HIV infections worldwide has dropped more than 50%, according to the World AIDS Day report. Yet there are there still so many people having unsafe sex and getting infected with HIV. This podcast explores the contradiction of human behavior in this new age of AIDS and tries to offer a solution. Giving a voice to the mothers who lost their sons to AIDS a generation ago, imagine what they might say to today’s young men and women putting themselves at risk for HIV. Recorded in front of a live audience at Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, NYC for World AIDS Day Shabbat. Tissues recommended.