Dr. Anthony Fauci's costly mistake during the HIV/AIDS crisis

Dr. Anthony Fauci oversaw the U.S. response to COVID-19; decades earlier he oversaw the HIV/AIDS crisis. In the early years of HIV/AIDS there was a drug that could have saved thousands of lives... but Fauci didn't approve its use nor did he lead a study to test its efficacy. Why not?

The presenting sponsor of this season is Freddie, Canada's #1 PrEP provider. To learn more about PrEP and to book your free consultation with Freddie, visit gofreddie.com/dane.

Help us make our show—commit $1 per month on Patreon.

Reach out to us on Instagram or at [e-mail].

Sources:

• On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service. Dr. Anthony Fauci. 2024.
• Hold Tight Gently: Michael Callen, Essex Hemphill, and the Battlefield of AIDS. Martin Duberman. 2014.
• How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tames AIDS. David France. 2016.
• Surviving AIDS. Michael Callen. 1990.
• An Open Letter to Dr. Anthony Fauci. Larry Kramer. 1988.
• Successful Chemoprophylaxis for Pneumocystis carinii Pneumonitis. Walter T. Hughes, et al. New England Journal of Medicine. 1977.
• Prophylaxis of Pneumocystis Carinii Infection in AIDS with Pyrimethamine-Sulfadoxine. Michael Gottlieb, et al. The Lancet. 1984.
• Therapeutic Drugs for AIDS. Congressional Hearing Transcript. 1988.
• Official Blames Shortage of Staff For Delay in Testing AIDS Drugs. New York Times. 1988.
• TOXIC HOPE: WIDELY EMBRACED, THE AIDS DRUG IS NOW UNDER HEAVY FIRE: THE AZT STORY. The LA Times. 1993.
• Video of Michael Callen provided courtesy of Richard Dworkin.
• Interview with Sean Strub, founder of POZ Magazine.
• Interview with Miriam Lewis Sabin, author of an upcoming biography on Joseph Sonnabend.

This episode was researched, hosted, and edited by Dane Stewart with music by Dane Stewart & Matthew Rogers. Produced by Dane Stewart & Matthew Kariatsumari. Our outro track is Easy to Love by Clara Jones.

---

Hosted on