Episode One: Dr. Joseph Sonnabend
Show notes
On July 3, 1981, the New York Times publishes an article titled "Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals." This article is the first mention of AIDS in a mainstream media outlet and marks a turning point in queer history. But, the article could have been published much earlier.
This is the story of Dr. Joseph Sonnabend, a physician in New York's West Village, and his early push to get the medical establishment to act quickly on a new illness that was impacting gay men.
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Sources for today's episode include:
- An interview with Joseph Sonnabend from the ACT UP Oral History Project (November 12, 2015 / Joseph Sonnabend / Sarah Schulman)
- Hold Tight Gently: Michael Callen, Essex Hemphill, and the Battlefield of AIDS. Martin Duberman. 2014. (Book)
- How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tames AIDS. David France. 2016. (Book)
- A Look Back at the Year a Rare Cancer Was First Seen in Gay Men. POZ Magazine. Joseph Sonnabend. 2020.
- Joseph Sonnabend, Early Force in Fight Against AIDS, Dies at 88. New York Times. Katharine Q. Seelye. 2021.
- The Good Doctor. POZ Magazine. Sean Strub. 1998.
- RARE CANCER SEEN IN 41 HOMOSEXUALS. New York Times. Lawrence K. Altman. 1981.
- Interview with Sean Strub, founder of POZ Magazine.
- Interview with Miriam Lewis Sabin, who is working on an upcoming biography of Joseph Sonnabend.
This episode was researched, hosted, and edited by Dane Stewart with music by Dane Stewart & Matthew Rogers. The episode was produced by Dane Stewart & Matthew Kariatsumari. Our outro track is called 'Easy to Love' by Clara Jones.
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