Is this thing on? Firsthand testimony makes for some of the most powerful and impactful stories, but people living with HIV are too often left out of conversations about the epidemic. Stepping up to the mic are  2  special guests who are using their lived experiences to teach compassion, dismantle taboos, and normalize  HIV with  openness and vulnerability.  Our guests are:  George M. Johnson, an activist and award-winning writer whose young-adult memoir, All Boys Aren’t Blue, intimately portrays the intersection of Blackness and queerness. They tell us about living with HIV as a Black queer person, the process of bringing their story to life, and the subsequent book bannings that  have  attempted to stifle their voice.  Karl Schmid, an Australian-born journalist and television correspondent known for covering Hollywood’s hottest red-carpet events. He recounts the experiences that inspired him to talk publicly about his HIV diagnosis and  launch Plus Life Media, a television program dedicated to ending HIV stigma.  This podcast was created and fully funded by Gilead Sciences, Inc. GILEAD, the GILEAD logo, and the & design are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc. © 2023 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. IHQ-UNB-3820 Date of Preparation May 2023.