The Other Blue Pill

Sep 10 2024 8 ep. 26 mins 8
The Other Blue Pill Podcast artwork

Have you heard about The Other Blue Pill?  No, not the one that makes folks - you know (grow). The other one that has revolutionised how people have sex. It’s been a crucial part of ending HIV and is helping people take control of their health too – PrEP. 

PrEP stands for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, it prevents HIV by taking a pill before and after sex. It’s available on the NHS in the UK for free now, but to make this happen was a historic battle that many people don’t know. 

Meanwhile, around the world, and even in the UK - access to PrEP is far from universal but what is holding us back? What is stopping marginalised people from getting the healthcare they need and deserve? And crucially, what lessons can we all learn from the fight to get it for free on the NHS?

There is a whole movement of people taking this other blue pill and taking ownership of their health. Let’s understand the history to work out: where do we go in the future?

The Other Blue Pill is the phenomenal story of the battle for access to HIV prevention drugs in the UK, told in six parts by the health professionals, activists, and researchers who fought for it alongside stories from the PrEP generation. 

Hosted by Phil Samba, it is a QueerAF production for The Love Tank.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  Health & Fitness  Society & Culture
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Live epsisode: After PrEP, what next?

Sep 10 2024 30 mins  
A special 'reunion' style episode of our highly rated 'The Other Blue Pill' podcast on the little-known history of the fight for PrEP on the NHS in England. In front of a live audience at The Common Press book store podcast host Phil Samba discusses what lessons we can learn from the battle for PrEP for emerging queer health fights like gender-affirming care and DoxyPEP w

What have we learned from PrEP?

Jul 03 2024 46 mins  
The Other Blue Pill has covered a lot of ground on the history of PrEP and where we're at with it now. But what does its future look like?The hidden history of PrEP shares a lot of lessons on how we can do things differently to ensure all of our sexual health needs are met. This week, we look at the exciting innovations in sexual health provision that are going to further change an

Why are so many people still locked out of PrEP access?

Jun 26 2024 35 mins  
The Other Blue Pill has so far talked a lot about gay and bi men's sexual health, which is for a good reason with how much the HIV pandemic has affected us.But this community isn't the only one who needs access to PrEP; it’s a drug that can protect everyone from HIV. This week, we focus on the nuances and needs of other marginalised groups of people who are also disproportionatel

Truvada tension - why some people didn't want PrEP

Jun 18 2024 25 mins  
Are you a Truvada Whore? Is that something to be proud of? An article in 2016 changed the way many people saw PrEP for many years. Reflecting on it years later, the writer - spoke about why they'd since started PrEP, but their article put many people off the life saving drug for many years.It highlights an ongoing, albeit diminished, tension between those who fight for HIV provisio

Queers are doing it for themselves

Jun 11 2024 24 mins  
PrEP's story is the perfect example of how we can democratise our own health - because when the NHS continued to refuse to provide the drug, grassroots activist groups found ways to get the drugs to those who needed and wanted it.From I Want PrEP Now to PrEPster and Act Up London, a coalition of groups came together with different intersecting approaches to change the future of HIV

How PrEP has changed the way people have sex

Jun 04 2024 23 mins  
This drug literally liberated a whole generation who lived in fear of either direct or inherited trauma from a community ripped apart by the AIDS pandemic.In the second episode of this six-part limited series documentary, about the battle for PrEP access in the UK we ask those who remember a time before the drug, what life was like before and after the drug started to get into the

We almost didn't get the HIV game changing drug PrEP - why not?

May 28 2024 24 mins  
Discover the untold story behind PrEP, the revolutionary pill that's transforming HIV prevention and sexual health.In the first episode of this six-part limited series documentary, we dive into the battle for PrEP access in the UK by not only looking at the court case fought here in England for the drug - but the advent of HIV and AIDS in the 80s.Did you know we knew PrEP was effec

Trailer: The Other Blue Pill

May 03 2024 2 mins  
Have you heard about The Other Blue Pill? No, not the one that makes folks - you know...The other blue pill that revolutionised how people are having sex. The HIV gamechanger. PrEP – Big P, little r, Big E, Big P PrEP or Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. A way of preventing HIV infection by taking a pill before and after sex. You can now get it for free on the NHS in