Dr. Lori Brotto is internationally recognized as a leader in sexual health research. She has evaluated psychological interventions for sexual dysfunction and genital pain, which collectively impact 1/3 of women. Her work influences practice internationally, with mindfulness now implemented in sexual medicine centres and recommended as front line care in international guidelines. In recognition of her contributions, she holds a Canada Research Chair in women’s sexual health, has received recent awards in mentoring junior faculty, excellent public education through media, book awards, and is listed among the top 2% cited scientists by Stanford/Elsevier (SCOPUS citations).

We talk about stigma around things sex: sexual anatomy, sexual pleasure, sexual relationships, and the harms from stigma for individuals, relationships, and society. You can find Lori's book 'Better Sex through Mindfulness: How Women Can Cultivate Desire'  here and you can also find her on Netflix. We also shout out Cliterate and the World Association for Sexual Health!

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Cozmic Cat, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

This podcast invited Dr. Mike Lang and Kristy Wolfe, digital storytelling experts at Common Language Digital Storytelling to reflect on the power of digital storytelling and stigma reduction. Carmen met Mike and Kristy at the First International Digital Storytelling Festival in Greece in 2024 where she was blown away by their powerful stories across the world. Carmen was then a podcast guest on the Common Language Digital Storytelling Podcast Co-Created, hosted by Kristy Wolfe.

We discuss the potential power of digital storytelling in both freeing the storyteller from internalized and anticipated stigma, as well as increasing awareness and empathy among people watching and listening. Telling stories matters- they help us to understand, and this deeper understanding of oneself and others can reduce stigma. We talk about stigma spanning a range of issues, HIV, substance use, heart disease, suicide, autism, PTSD- and how both the storyteller and the listener can shift socio-cultural norms and expectations to generate more community support. Digital Storytelling can highlight strengths-based perspectives on coping, ingenuity, hope  and wisdom in the face of challenges. "When we change the questions we ask, we change the answers we get." Learn more about how to meaningfully engage with digital stories from Mike's article.

As our podcast guests remind us: "If no-one is willing to tell the story, nothing is ever going to change."

Dr. Steffanie Strathdee is Associate Dean of Global Health Sciences and Harold Simon Distinguished Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. She co-directs UCSD’s new center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics (IPATH), Global Health Institute and the International Core of UCSD’s Center for AIDS Research. An infectious disease epidemiologist, she has spent the last two decades focusing on HIV prevention in marginalized populations and has published over 600 peer-reviewed publications. She has recently begun working to move bacteriophage therapy into clinical trials at IPATH. She has co-authored her memoir, The Perfect Predator: A Scientist's Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug.

In this podcast we talk about Dr. Strathdee's experiences learning about bacteriophage (phage) therapy treatment through a personal experience where her husband became extremely ill from antimicrobial resistant bacteria. She learned that stigma in part was how phage therapy had become forgotten in North America--stigma toward scientists with different beliefs and training than the mainstream, stigma toward viruses that maybe perceived "at the borderline of life", and stigma toward research based on geopolitics (including the "Russian taint"). Steffanie inspires listeners with her discussion of the power of global collaboration, advocacy in healthcare, and the importance of making (rather than waiting for) miracles to happen.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

As a community organizer, artist, activist, academic and at times a “professional”, Jessica Lynn Whitbread is interested in doing work that creates spaces for dialogue about social justice and social change. She does this through public installations, consciousness raising, workshop development and facilitation, engaging in direct action, policy review, research and any other method that allows a variety of stakeholders to engage in a diversity of ways. She believes that acts of kindness are stronger than acts of fear and that strong, united hearts can overcome the inequalities of this world. Jessica was the youngest and first queer woman to be elected as the Global Chair for the International Community of Women Living with HIV – ICW (2012), the founder of the first International Chapter of Young Women, Adolescents and Girls living with HIV (2010) as well as a long standing Steering Committee member for AIDS ACTION NOW!, and a Board member of the Canadian HIV Legal Network.  Learn more about Jessica here

In this podcast we speak with the legendary Jessica Lynn Whitbread, whose projects include Tea Time, Love Positive Women, No Pants No Problem, and PosterVIRUS (AIDS ACTION NOW!). Jessica discusses how we can all engage in action and work for social change to improve the lives of women living with HIV. To learn more about how you can participate in, and contribute to, LOVE POSITIVE WOMEN: Romance Starts at Home! (LPW) visit here and check out this LPW implementation guide by WHAI.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Sabby Duthie and John E. Johnson are authors of 'Elder Abuse: You have a role to play'.  This first-of-its-kind book undertakes the uncomfortable conversation that elder abuse is widespread and very real. John E. Johnson, a retired lawyer, and Sabby Duthie, a former retirement-home owner, share real stories from families of different generations and backgrounds.

In this podcast, we discuss elder abuse and how stigma toward the elderly can fuel elder abuse and create a lack of awareness surrounding this issue. Sabby and John provide examples of the ways in which people can value the elderly, notice important signs of elder abuse, and be part of creating change.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Annie Philpott is a public health professional, pleasure propagandist and ‘guerrilla girl’ of HIV prevention. She founded The Pleasure Project in 2004,  an international education and advocacy organization working to eroticize safer sex. The Pleasure Project builds bridges between the public health world and the pleasure and sex industry, and help to develop the evidence base for a sex-positive and pleasure-based approach to sexual health and rights. You can read more about her work here and follow The Pleasure Project on Twitter here.

We talk about The Pleasure Project's important work in entering sexual pleasure as key to sexual rights and sexual health, and the ways that certain sex is more stigmatized than others. Annie talks about the exciting projects that The Pleasure Project is doing to put the sexy into safer sex, the importance of pleasure inclusive sexual health, and the pleasure wave. 

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Dr. Keosha T. Bond is an Assistant Medical Professor in the Department of Community Health and Social Medicine at the CUNY School of Medicine.  She is a trained behavioral scientist and sexual health educator who has centered her work on the complex intersections of race, sexuality, social justice, and health equity among individuals of marginalized genders. You can learn more about her research here, and follow her on twitter here.

We talk about Keosha's work on the intersection of gender and race, and the ways that bias, stereotypes, laws and health practices impact the ability of Black women to live healthy and quality lives. We also discuss the stigma surrounding sex, and how this gets in the way of sexual and reproductive health care and safer sex. Keosha describes the multiple ways people can be part of reducing stigma and bias, including learning about histories and continued legacies of racism and becoming comfortable talking about sex.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Associate Professor Steve Bell is a Principal Research Fellow in the UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at the University of Queensland. He is an applied health and social researcher with 20 years’ experience of qualitative, participatory and ethnographic research on sexual, reproductive and maternal health, HIV and other infectious diseases. He is currently working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in remote, regional and urban settings across Australia, and excluded and oppressed communities in Asia and the Pacific (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea), and has undertaken previous work in countries in Africa (Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and Asia (India and Nepal). Find his new book here and follow him on Twitter.

We talk about the importance of community expertise and leadership in research, youth-centred research, and recognizing the solutions and agency within persons experiencing social exclusion. Steve calls for empathy and action to reduce stigma and inequity.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Calvin Hudson Hwang is an award winning Taiwanese Canadian director, producer and founder of SUPRE.  SUPRE aims to empower underpowered voices and present  often unheard points-of-view with insight, vulnerability and authenticity. They find unconventional ways to produce films to make them openly accessible for everyone to watch. Calvin's directorial work includes What Flowers They Bloom (2021), Miracle, Baby (2019), Exiting Hell Bar (2017), My Best Dress (2013), and Vestiaire (2011). You can follow SUPRE on Twitter here.

In this podcast we talk about Calvin's new documentary 'What Flowers They Bloom' (2021) on anti-Asian racism and COVID-19. Calvin discusses the importance of addressing both disinformation as well as pre-existing stigma, discrimination and bias toward Asian communities that has been amplified in the pandemic. What Flowers They Bloom explores the trauma created by anti-Asian racism, as well as the importance of solidarity and community in fighting back against this stigma.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Laura Ferguson is an assistant professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California, the director of the Program on Global Health & Human Rights and the director of research at the USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health. Her research focuses on understanding and addressing health system and societal factors affecting health and the uptake of health services, as well as how attention to human rights can improve health outcomes. She collaborates with a range of United Nations agencies as well as foundations, universities and non-governmental organizations. She is also an associate editor for the journal Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters. Learn more about her research here and follow her on Twitter.

We talk about the social and structural forces that cause harm, such as laws and policies that criminalize sex work and same-sex sexual practices, that limit rights and produce barriers to health care access. Laura shares her experience working on changing these social and structural contexts of discrimination, including engaging judges in conversations with persons who are negatively impacted by laws. Laura details actions everyone can take to create a more just world.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Dr. Ayden Scheim is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health. He is also an Affiliate Scientist in the Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation and Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital (Toronto) and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Western University. He studies the impacts of social, policy, and healthcare environments on the health of stigmatized populations. In particular, he conducts community-engaged research with transgender populations and people who use drugs, both domestically and globally. You can learn more about his research here and follow him on Twitter.

Dr. Scheim discusses the varying ways that stigma and discrimination toward trans persons, persons who use drugs, and racialized persons show up to shape the everyday lives of people in ways that challenge basic humanity and harm health.  We discuss the backlash following progress on human rights. Ayden shares how everybody has a role in reducing stigma, providing practical tips for engaging in personal reflection and growth, community engagement, political activism and shifting our interpersonal interactions. 

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Dr Nitika Pant Pai is Associate Professor at McGill University’s Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Epidemiology and a Physician Scientist at the MUHC Research Institute. She has been working in diagnostics for 20 years in the United States, Canada, South Africa, and India, with a focus on point of care diagnostics for HIV, Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, HPV, and bacterial sexually transmitted infections. She develops and incorporates digital innovations, implementation science, Bayesian diagnostics, and artificial intelligence to generate innovative digital diagnostic solutions to plug health service delivery gaps in diagnostics. In 2015, she founded a social enterprise, Sympact-X, funded by the Government of Canada, to take her innovations to scale, for social impact, both nationally and internationally. Her website is nitikapantpai.com.

In this podcast we talk about Nitika's journey to becoming an epidemiologist, Gandhian philosophy, and her experiences as a 'disruptor' entrepreneur. Nitika describes how diagnostics can take people from the unknown to the known, and the ways in which stigma surrounding HIV and tuberculosis can play a role in the forefront or the background. We also discuss patriarchy and the need to dismantle inequitable power systems.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Dr. Angela Kaida is a Simon Fraser University Distinguished Professor and the Scientific Director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute for Gender and Health. Dr. Kaida’s research interests pertain to understanding the impact of expanding access to HIV treatment and prevention services on sexual and reproductive intentions, behaviours, and outcomes of HIV-affected individuals and couples in high HIV prevalence global settings and in Canada. You can read some of her work here.

Angela talks about what it meant to practice allyship in contexts of stigma, in all areas of life and specifically throughout the research process. We talk about gender differences in HIV stigma, the challenges getting rid of stigma even while we make biomedical advances,  and steps for us all to take in becoming aware of and working to dismantle stigma and inequity. She  discusses recommendations for advancing sexual and reproductive health among women living with HIV in Canada that centre on creating enabling environments that amplify the voices of women in their diversity and challenge stigma and marginalization. We also learn about Angela's inspiring namesake.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Dr. Amrita Daftary is an Assistant Professor of Global Health at York University and a social and behavioural global health researcher. Dr. Daftary examines health care seeking and caregiving practices for tuberculosis (TB) and HIV.  Her projects are based in a number of global settings, particularly South Africa, India, and Canada. Learn more about her research here and you can follow her on Twitter.

Dr. Daftary discusses TB and how this preventable and curable illness still affects more than 10 million persons each year and 1-2 million die from it. She talks about the fear and stigma that act as both drivers and consequences of TB. TB can affect anybody, but it most impacts communities facing other social inequities such as poverty, overcrowded living conditions, and persons who are undernourished. Her work applies a social justice lens to raise the voice of people living with TB, aligning with the calls rooted in the disability rights slogan 'nothing about us, without us!'

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Dr. Patrick Sullivan, Professor of Epidemiology at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health, has spent two decades investigating HIV.  He implements innovative technology – mobile phones, tablets, text messaging, and online tools – into HIV and AIDS care and research. Find out more about Patrick's work at PRISM Health and learn more about his research here. You can find Patrick on Twitter as well as PRISM,  @EmoryCFAR, @EmoryEPI, and @EmoryRollins.

In this podcast, Patrick shares his work addressing racial and sexual orientation disparities in the HIV pandemic. He discusses PrEP stigma, racism, HIV-related stigma, and the barriers of accessing HIV prevention services in rural areas. Patrick also discusses the science behind reducing stigma, U=U, and what we can all to do support people when they disclose PrEP use or living with HIV.  You can also learn about his favourite karaoke songs and insights on mentorship.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Dr. Julie Pulerwitz is the director of the Population Council’s HIV and AIDS program, where she provides leadership for a portfolio of research that generates evidence to inform HIV programs and policies around the world. Among her contributions, Dr. Pulerwitz is known for her conceptual and methodological work developing tools to measure power in sexual relationships (the SRPS), and gender norms / attitudes (the GEM Scale). The measures have led to a body of work documenting the global salience of these issues, and have helped shape HIV and gender-based violence prevention programs worldwide. Learn more about her research here.

Dr. Pulerwitz describes how HIV information, and even medication, are not sufficient to eradicate stigma. She explains how stigma is intertwined with other social inequalities--related to gender, age, sexual orientation and gender identity, poverty, among others--and these need to be addressed alongside stigma. Engaging all persons as agents of change, documenting both inequalities and resilience, and community engagement, will contribute to better health and quality of life outcomes.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Chris Beyrer MD, MPH, is the Desmond M. Tutu Professor of Public Health and Human Rights at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland. He is a Professor of Epidemiology, International Health, Health, Behavior and Society, and Nursing. He serves as Director of Johns Hopkins Training Program in HIV Epidemiology and Prevention Science and as Founding Director of the Center for Public Health and Human Rights. He is the Associate Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and of the University’s Center for Global Health. You can learn more about his research here and follow Chris on Twitter. He has extensive experience in conducting international collaborative research  in HIV/AIDS and in health and human rights.

In this podcast we chat about the importance of human rights to health. Chris shares stories from the beginning of the HIV and AIDS epidemic in the United States, and from his HIV practice and research around the globe, including Thailand, Myanmar and Russia. Chris leaves us with a message of compassion and a call to action.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs. 

Dr. Daniel Buchman is a Bioethicist and Independent Scientist in the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute at CAMH. He is also an Assistant Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto,  a member of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, and an Affiliate Scientist in the Krembil Research Institute at the University Health Network. You can follow him on Twitter here and learn more about his work here.

Daniel shares his journey to becoming a bioethicist. He discusses the issues with focusing on brain imaging to understand substance use, and the stigma experienced by people who use substances. He also talks about the need to believe people, and really listen, and the epistemic injustice of who is wronged in their capacity as a knower. Daniel also reminds us of this great song by Leonard Cohen and how there is beauty in imperfection.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs. 

Dr. Kenneth Mayer is Medical Research Director and Co-Chair of The Fenway Institute. He is also a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School; a Professor, Department of Global Health and Population at Harvard School of Public Health; and an Editor-in-Chief at the Journal of the International AIDS Society. Find out more about Dr. Mayer's work here.

In this podcast we talk about the impact of non-affirming environments on health outcomes among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons, and the intersection of LGBT stigma with HIV-related stigma and racial discrimination. Dr. Mayer describes the education and training work that The Fenway Institute does to optimize healthcare with LGBT persons. He provides multiple ways to intervene in stigma, ranging from becoming comfortable talking about sexual orientation and gender identity, self-awareness of power dynamics, to structural and political changes.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs. 

Dr. Charlotte Loppie is a Mi’kmaq/French Acadian scholar. She is a Professor in the School of Public Health and Social Policy and the Associate Dean Research in the Faculty of Human and Social Development. Dr. Loppie’s guiding principle is to be of service to Indigenous communities, collectives and organizations. To that end, she has made it her life’s work to bring Indigenous peoples into research projects that touch their lives.

We discuss the fallacy of racial categories and hierarchies underpinning colonization and slavery. Charlotte describes the structural roots of racism  embedded in ideologies of white supremacy, capitalism, and patriarchy. Racism produces toxic environments of life threatening acute and chronic stress. Self reflection on social location, privilege, and whose land one is living on, can start raising awareness of the roots of racism.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs. 

Dr. Ina Park is an associate professor of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California San Francisco, Medical Consultant at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of STD Prevention, and Medical Director of the California Prevention Training Center. Check out her new book Strange Bedfellows: Adventures in the Science, History, and Surprising Secrets of STDs to learn the untold stories of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). You can follow her on Twitter.

Inspired by her 7 year old son's candid conversations, Ina embarks on a mission with her new book to normalize talking about sex and STIs. Ina talks about the importance of moving beyond beyond the fear of stigma and STIs to make it easier to take care of our sexual health. We talk about how common STIs are, how stigma produces feelings of shame, and how stigma varies by STI diagnosis. We also discuss sexual networks in local bars, how television perpetuates stigma towards herpes (hello The Bachelor!), and how our reactions to STI disclosure can be part of the solution. 

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs. 

Gareth Henry is the Executive Director of the Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention (Black CAP) with leadership roles in the non-profit and HIV sectors for almost twenty years. He has worked at Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG), The 519 Church Street Community Centre and the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation (PWA). Gareth has also served as Board Chair at Africans in Partnership Against AIDS (APAA) for more than six years. He also volunteers with Rainbow Railroad, a Canadian nonprofit that helps relocate LGBTQ people who face danger and oppression around the world. You can learn more about  Gareth here and follow Black CAP on twitter here.

We talk about how stigma prevents people from living life freely and being their authentic self. People often suffer in silence from stigma, and can feel isolated. We discuss the importance of finding information on HIV (it is out there!) to move beyond fear, and practising kindness and compassion. Gareth talks about living his life openly with HIV to challenge stigma. He discusses how stigma robs people of the opportunity to take care of each other, and forces people into a box. Solutions lie in lifting each other up and seeing one another's humanity.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs. 

Dr. Marija Pantelic is a Lecturer in Public Health at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS). Marija is an associate member of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention, Oxford University; member of the International Scientific Advisory Board for the AIDS Impact Conference; and member of the Technical Working Group of the Global Partnership for Action to Eliminate HIV-related Stigma and Discrimination. Marija is passionate about maximising the utility of research for evidence-based practice and is lucky to work closely with public health and human rights advocates from across the world. Follow her on Twitter here.

We talk about stigma as a way to maintain power and the status quo, and the need to move beyond information as an answer to stigma. We discuss radical kindness and imagining that any person you may be talking about is in the room with you. Marija also discusses solutions to stigma lying in structural empowerment and communities being at the centre of leading change. 

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs. 

Kim Canady is an HIV/AIDS activist, advocate, mother, and wife born with HIV. Throughout her adolescence, Kimberly became a member of many HIV/AIDS awareness organizations. These organizations include Theo, Heat, UNICEF, YWCHAC, co-chair of YACAC, spokesmodel for New York State Department of Health campaign HIVSTOPSWITHME, and Love Heals. As an African American woman born and raised in Brooklyn, Kimberly faced having to combat the ignorance and stigma that surround HIV and AIDS within her community. Kimberly continues to move forward, not only educating others and living in her truth, but working locally and on a national and global level to help those living with and affected by HIV. Kim is a community advisory board member for The Well Project and her work advances pleasure as a human right and aspect of justice.

In this podcast we talk about the ways that HIV stigma still arises in day-to-day living, the importance of experiencing pleasure in all aspects of life (including and expanding beyond sexual pleasure), and ways to make the uncomfortable-comfortable (and the incredible superpower from talking about difficult things).

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Marvelous Muchenje is a PhD student at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto and the Manager, Community Relations and Communications  at ViiV Healthcare Canada. With a professional and activist background in sexual and reproductive rights, Marvelous is passionate about seeking social justice in all its forms by changing systems of oppression through collective action. An affirming HIV-positive Black woman, Marvelous has made it her mission to spread love and empowerment. She is a writer, motivational speaker and advocate for marginalized communities. Marvelous sits on several national boards with a global reach, which she uses to uplift the narratives of those who face injustice. She believes that justice must be intersectional and inclusive in order to improve the quality of life for all. You can follow Marvelous on twitter here and learn more about her research here.

We talk about how HIV stigma shows up in families, healthcare, employment, legal systems, and ultimately impacts community and self-acceptance of people living with HIV. Marvelous shares how HIV stigma intersects with stigma toward sex, immigrants, and other social identities. We discuss the many things that people can do to challenge HIV stigma in their own relationships, communities, and workplaces. Marvelous leaves us with this question about HIV stigma: (A.I.D.S.) Am I Doing Something?

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs. 

Dr. Judith Auerbach is an independent science, policy consultant, and Professor in the School of Medicine at UCSF. She recently served as Vice President, Research & Evaluation at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, where she was responsible for developing, leading, and managing research and evaluation-related activities.  Dr. Auerbach  has taught, presented, and published widely in the areas of HIV/AIDS, social science and public policy, and sex and gender. You can find more about her research here.

In this podcast we talk about disciplinary stigma toward the social sciences in health research, and the ways that not giving social scientists a seat at the table can result in lower uptake of health advances, including  vaccines. We discuss how social sciences can increase our understanding of where a health issue sits in someone's life, inequitable social arrangements, and unintended consequences of health interventions. Listening and opening our heart and minds to socially marginalized persons' viewpoints, and examining how inequities are operationalized at institutional levels, can inform our actions to make change.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs. 

Dr. Emily Mendenhall is the Provost’s Distinguished Associate Professor in the Science, Technology, and International Affairs Program in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Her books, Rethinking Diabetes: Entanglements with Trauma, Poverty, and HIV (2019, Cornell) and Syndemic Suffering: Social Distress, Depression, and Diabetes among Mexican Immigrant Women (2012, Routledge), have received wide acclaim. You can learn more about her work here and here, read her COVID-19 Vox article here, and follow her on Twitter.

In this podcast Dr. Mendenhall discusses the concept of syndemics, referring to the clustering of social and health problems, with examples from her global research that explores diabetes, HIV, violence, depression and trauma. She describes the way that stigma can be linked with multiple health conditions, how stigma differs by gender and between global contexts, and the many ways we can work together to create social change.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Dr. Bernice A. Pescosolido is distinguished professor of Sociology at Indiana University and director of the Indiana Consortium for Mental Health Services Research. Pescosolido's research agenda addresses how social networks connect individuals to their communities and to institutional structures, providing the "wires" through which peoples attitudes and actions are influenced. This agenda encompasses three basic areas: health care services, stigma, and suicide research. You can learn more about her research here and follow her on twitter here.

In this episode we discuss how stigma contributes to the rejection of people with mental health issues in society, workplaces, healthcare, and interpersonal relationships. Increasing society's mental health literacy does not necessarily reduce stigma toward mental illness as this stigma is often rooted in fear produced by incorrect stereotypes of dangerousness. While  stigma toward depression is reducing, it may in fact be getting worse toward people with schizophrenia. Dr. Pescosolido talks about the importance of seeing persons' full humanity, putting more resources into mental health, and the need for inclusion. Recognizing and celebrating our connectedness and what each person has to contribute  will help us to find a place for everyone.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Epidemiologist, physician and public health expert Dr. Mark Tyndall has dedicated his career to studying HIV, poverty, and drug use in multiple places around the world, starting with Nairobi, and now in Vancouver. An early advocate for harm reduction programs, Mark was at the forefront of North America’s first legally sanctioned supervised injection facility, INSITE, established in Vancouver in 2003. A proponent of evidence-based public health policy and interventions,  Mark's work advocates for a safer drug supply including through the MySafe opiod vending machine. You can learn more about his work here and follow Mark on twitter here.

We talk about the stigma toward people using drugs that is built into the legal and healthcare systems, including the lack of trust and autonomy for people accessing prescription hydromorphone. We talk about the harms of prohibition and how this approach fuels the overdose crisis.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Dr. Millicent Atujuna is a sociologist/population scientist with a focus on issues relating to social and behavioral aspects of health. Currently working as a social behavioral scientist at the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation, Millicent’s current research interests are on understanding the macro and micro factors that drive health-seeking behavior as well as understanding how individuals negotiate such dynamics. Millicent also has a particular interest in issues relating to adolescent health and wellbeing.

On today's special World AIDS Day episode, we join Millicent, colleagues and young people living with HIV at the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation to learn about why stigma matters for youth living with HIV in South Africa, and how we can challenge this stigma. You can follow  the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation here and learn more about Millicent's research here.

Dr.  Susan Sherman is a Professor in the Department of Health, Behavior, and Society at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. Her work focuses on improving the health of marginalized populations, particularly that of people who use drugs and sex workers. Dr. Sherman is interested in the structural drivers of health and risk. You can learn more about the Sparc Center that she co-founded, and find out more about her research here.

Susan discusses stigma toward drug use, sex work, and homelessness. She talks about the connectedness between us, the work it takes to stay alive while living in poverty, and the power of empathy.  Susan describes the importance of looking people in the eye and acknowledging one another's humanity. We discuss how people can pay it forward to be part of the solution.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Dr. Dani Barrington is a Lecturer in the School of Population and Global Health at The University of Western Australia and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She is also a Visiting Lecturer in Water, Sanitation and Health within the School of Civil Engineering at The University of Leeds and an Honorary Fellow within the School of Public Health at The University of Queensland. You can follow her on Twitter and learn more about her research.

In this podcast Dr. Barrington shares the importance of recognizing the harms that stigma regarding toileting, incontinence and menstruation have on wellbeing and social participation. She also discusses the ways that these forms of stigma are shaped by access to water and soap, gender norms, and social expectations regulating what are considered 'normal' body functions. Dr. Barrington urges people to start conversations about menstruation, incontinence, and inequitable access to water and sanitation in order to start breaking down the stigma.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Dr. Andrea Gruneir is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alberta. She is an epidemiologist and her research focuses on the health care needs of older adults, in particular as related to the use of home and long-term care services. Find more about her research here and you can follow her on Twitter here. Jim Mann was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in February 2007 at the age of 58. Since that time, he has been active in the community breaking down stereotypes and assumptions about people living with a diagnosis of dementia by volunteering in the community, collaborating with research projects and through his writing as a published author. In recognition of his advocacy efforts toward the rights of people with lived experience of dementia, UBC  announced Jim is the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. He also received the Governor General's Caring Canadian Award.

We talk about the stigma surrounding aging, and toward dementia and Alzheimer's more specifically. Andrea and Jim describe how stigma harms people experiencing dementia, as well  as their families, and prevents people from accessing healthcare and social support. We discuss the importance of people making the time to learn more about dementia and Alzheimers, and to listen to more stories and narratives to recognize and support people's full humanity.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Trevor Stratton is a 55-year old, two-spirit citizen of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation near Toronto, Canada with mixed English and Ojibwe heritage. Diagnosed with HIV in 1990, he is now the Coordinator for the International Indigenous Working Group on HIV & AIDS (IIWGHA) for its host organization, the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN). Trevor is the President of the Board of 2-Spirited People of the 1st Nations in Toronto. He is also the Interim CEO of the International Indigenous HIV & AIDS Community (IIHAC).

In this podcast Trevor talks about racism, classism, drug-related and HIV-related stigma and discrimination that present barriers to healthcare. Trevor talks about stigma as the biggest barrier to the global HIV pandemic, including criminalization of people with HIV, sex work, drug use, and LGBT persons. We also discuss stereotypes and overt racism experienced by Indigenous peoples and the intersection with other forms of stigma. Trevor also explains the importance of understanding Indigenous worldviews, including equity and kinship, where solutions to stigma lie. He also urges listeners to learn about and implement the Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada Recommendations.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Bridgette Picou is a nurse with several years of HIV and infectious disease experience and an avid blogger with The Well Project. She also writes a guest column with Positively Aware Magazine called "Being Bridgette." In addition to her LVN license, Bridgette has been certified as an AIDS Care Nurse (ACLPN) and received the 2022 Patrick Kenny Certified Nurse of the year award. Serving as the President of the Greater Palm Springs Chapter of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC), it's important to her to not only continue to build relationships between providers and patients but also partner with other members of the HIV medical community for education and advances. She finds that in advocating for others she advocates for herself and affirms her own journey. You can also find her on Twitter.

In this podcast we discuss Bridgette's journey and advocacy to thrive with HIV. We talk about the need to better understand the lives of women living with HIV--in particular Black women-- whose voices are often missing from research and media. Bridgette explains the importance of seeing HIV as a LIFE (vs. a disease) process and encourages us all to educate ourselves and learn more about HIV (see The Well Project for up to date info). She  recommends that we all get tested to know our HIV status, and perhaps become humbled to the experiences of stigma in the process.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Dr. Yohann White is a Family Physician and Workplace Wellness Consultant. Born in St. Ann and raised on Jamaica’s North Coast town of Ocho Rios, Yohann’s career has spanned academia, industry and public service. Yohann is Medical Director and Chief Innovation Officer at Para Caribe Consulting. He received his medical training at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica, and obtained his Doctor of Philosophy degree in disorders of the immune system from Kagoshima University, Japan. He studied vaccines research at Institut Pasteur, Paris, France, and holds the Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene from the Royal College of Physicians of London. Dr. White worked on developing new vaccines at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Maryland, USA. Find more of his research here and you can follow him on Twitter.

We discuss Dr. White's experience working in the field of HIV, and the intersection of HIV stigma with LGBT stigma in Jamaica. He also talks about shadeism, and the importance of recognizing and challenging not only stigma when it happens, but also privilege.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Matthew Bonn is the program coordinator of the Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs, national board member with the Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, and is a knowledge translator for the Dr. Peters Centre. Matt was one of the cofounders of HaliFIX Overdose Prevention Society which implemented Atlantic Canada’s first Overdose Prevention Site. Matt is also a freelance writer with By Lines in Filter-Magazine, CATIE, The Coast and The Conversation. He contributes to our understanding of the opioid epidemic, overdose prevention, and  decriminalizing drugs.  Follow him on Twitter here. Find more of his work and art here:
Slowly Dying Part 1
Already Feel Dead
RDS VS A Story of Justice and Race
and What's for Lunch can be found here

We talk about the harms of stigmatizing people who use drugs, and how widespread and blatant stigma is, from co-workers, families and the healthcare system. We talk about the intersection of stigma toward drug use and other health issues, such as Hepatitis C and HIV, and social identities. Matthew shares the problems created by criminalizing drug use, and the possibilities that are created when people who use drugs are treated with respect, support, and humanity.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Dr. Kyle Ganson is an Assistant Professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto. His research focuses primarily on eating disorders and muscle-enhancing behaviors among the under-served and under-researched male population. You can learn more about Kyle's research here and find him on Twitter here.

We talk about stigma and how it both contributes to the development of eating disorders, and works as a barrier to accessing eating disorder treatment. We also discuss how this stigma is exacerbated for boys and men, as eating disorders are seen as a women's issue, as are mental health issues more broadly. Kyle also discusses his research on muscle enhancing practices and how social ideals of body types are tied with stigma. 

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Dr. Julia Marcus, PhD, MPH is an infectious disease epidemiologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, and Adjunct Faculty at The Fenway Institute. Her research focuses on improving the implementation of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent new HIV infections and promote sexual health. In addition to her research, Dr. Marcus has contributed timely op-eds on current events, including a series of articles in The Atlantic on public health communication during the coronavirus pandemic. You can follow her on Twitter and learn more about her research.

We talk about the blame, shame and judgment underlying COVID-19 stigma, and how it harms prevention initiatives. We also discuss the danger in focusing on individual risk practices rather than the responsibilities of larger social and institutional structures. Dr. Marcus encourages us take action (and create heat) for positive social change.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

On this episode, Dr. Travis and I co-host to interview Dr. Lori Ross. Dr. Lori Ross is an Associate Professor in the Social and Behavioural Health Sciences Division of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, and Affiliate Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto. She is the leader of the Re:searching for LGBTQ Health Team. Dr. Travis Salway is an Assistant Professor of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University, and works in collaboration with the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, the Community Based Research Centre and the Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity. You can find Lori and Travis on Twitter.

We talk about stigma targeting bisexual and non-monosexual people that results in lack of support from both heterosexual as well as gay and lesbian communities. We also discuss the ways that stigma can render bisexuality invisible-even though bisexual persons make up the largest sexual minority group.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

We have two podcast guests on this episode of stigma and im/migration. Dr. Shira Goldenberg is an Assistant Professor of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University and Director of Research Education at the Centre for Gender & Sexual Health Equity. Her research focuses on sexual and reproductive health among im/migrant and refugee women, and the impact of laws and policies on sex workers’ health, safety and human rights. You can find her research here, Shira's twitter here and the Centre for Gender & Sexual Health Equity here. Stefanie Machado is a Research Associate at the Centre for Gender & Sexual Health Equity and a PhD Candidate at the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University. Stefanie’s doctoral research focuses on intersectional determinants of im/migrant women’s sexual and reproductive health access during COVID-19 and beyond.

On this podcast we discuss the intersection of xenophobia, racism, COVID-19 stigma, and sex work stigma with stigma targeting im/migrants. Structural change, societal change, and individual change are needed to recognize dignity, rights and shared humanity to challenge im/migration stigma. We talk about learning from Black Lives Matter, migrant justice and rights work, defunding the police, sex worker rights movement, and standing up against harassment.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Dr. Lisa Bowleg is Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology at GW. She is a leading scholar of intersectionality in behavioral and social science research. She is the Director of the DC CFAR's Social and Behavioral Sciences Core. Learn more about Dr. Bowleg's work here and follow her research here.

We talk about Dr. Bowleg's work documenting intersecting stigma and discrimination, and the foundation of intersectionality in the works of Audre Lorde, bell hooks, and Sojourner Truth. We discuss how racism and other forms of discrimination: limit people's potential, rights and freedoms; manifest in health problems; and reduce opportunities to thrive.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Dr. Angela Mashford-Pringle is an Algonquin (Timiskaming First Nation) Assistant Professor and Associate Director at the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health, Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Angela is the Director of the Master of Public Health – Indigenous Health program, Director of the Collaborative Specialization in Indigenous Health and Founding Editor of the Turtle Island Journal on Indigenous Health. She works with Indigenous communities in urban and rural settings with issues related to Indigenous health including cultural safety, land-based learning, and climate action. You can find Angela here and the Turtle Island Journal here.

In this podcast Dr. Mashford-Pringle talks about her journey to promoting Indigenous cultural safety inspired by the Oka Crisis. She describes the current and historical contexts of discrimination and violence toward Indigenous peoples, including residential schools,  forced sterilization, and mistreatment by police and healthcare workers. Dr. Mashford-Pringle explains the 3 P's-power, privilege and positionally-central to understanding Indigenous cultural safety. We also discuss the significance of sports teams changing their names, respect for Mother Earth, and the interconnectedness underlying climate change. 

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Angelique Jenney, PhD, RSW, is an Assistant Professor and the Wood’s Homes Research Chair in Children’s Mental Health in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary. Dr. Jenney has over 20 years’ experience in intervention and prevention services within the child protection, children’s mental health and violence against women sectors. Dr. Jenney’s research and program development has been devoted to understanding and responding to the impact of violence in families. Find a recent blog post Angelique wrote on stigma and children's mental health access and experiences.

We discuss how stigma is a barrier for children and adolescents accessing early interventions for mental health--despite its potential to change the trajectory of their lives. Mental health stigma contributes to bullying and social isolation of children, and blaming of parents. We discuss stigma, fear, stereotypes and misinformation toward parents and families with children with mental health issues. Angelique shares how we need more dialogue about complicated feelings (and the magic of Inside Out!) and how we can use our range of emotions to know ourselves. Angelique recommends saying yes to opportunities that you may be afraid of, and being ok with being uncomfortable so we don't reject everything that we are afraid of. We also invite dream future podcast guests: Barack Obama, Dan Levy and Bruce Springsteen.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Professor Voisin has served as Dean of the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work since 2019. He holds the Sandra Rotman Chair in Social Work. Prior to his appointment at the University of Toronto, he was Professor at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago for two decades where he was a Faculty Affiliate at the Center for the Study of Race, Culture, and Politics and the Center for Health and the Social Sciences. A central focus of Voisin’s scholarship is examining the impact of structural, neighborhood and police violence on the life chances and behavioral trajectories of urban youth and the protective factors that protect youth in the presence of such adversities. His latest book is America the Beautiful and Violent: Black Youth and Neighborhood Trauma in Chicago, published by Columbia University Press in 2019. You can find more of Dr. Voisin's work here.

We talk about Dr. Voisin's work on race, class and place-based stigma and the implications for people's lives and wellbeing. We talk about the costs of stigma and how we all pay the price for not addressing social inequalities. Dr. Voisin shares how COVID-19 has laid bare how race, place and class-based inequalities in one area of a city impact a city's wellbeing. We discuss who we pay attention to in situations of police violence toward Black persons, including how women and gender diverse persons' names may be less known to the general public. He talks about how people engage in stigmatizing practices to feel superior, and how how we are all sinners, sufferers and saints when it comes to stigma. Moving forward we need to find true power innate within ourselves, rather than illegitimate forms of power from stigmatizing.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Ciarra “Ci Ci” Covin is a mother, advocate, and lover of all human beings. Diagnosed with HIV at the age of 20, Ci Ci has curated a life of HIV and mental advocacy through both her lived experience and education. Ci Ci is program manager at The Well Project, past Ambassador for the CDC’s Let’s Stop HIV Together Campaign, and Owner of Healing Is Voluntary, LLC. In these roles, Ci Ci has been able to connect with other leaders from around the world to further the mission of destigmatizing HIV and providing a community for women who are living with HIV. Learn more about HIV and the work at The Well Project here and follow them on Twitter.  Check out Ci Ci's A Girl Like Me series.

In this podcast we talk about the persistence of HIV stigma in society and how it affects self-stigma and self-acceptance, advances with U=U, breastfeeding and HIV, and how people living with HIV are still human, with the same desires that might just look a little different. Ci Ci shares simple and powerful ways we can all challenge HIV stigma.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs.

Dr. Kaitlin Schwan is Lead Researcher for the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing, and Director of Research for The Shift. Kaitlin teaches social policy at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Social Work, where she is appointed Assistant Professor, Status Only. She is also a Senior Researcher at the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness (York University). Since completing her PhD in Social Work at the University of Toronto, Kaitlin’s research has focused on homelessness prevention in Canada and beyond, particularly for women and youth. Across her work, Kaitlin uses research to build bridges between evidence, advocacy, policy, and lived expertise in order to advance housing justice for all. You can follow The Shift here and Kaitlin here.

In this episode Kaitlin shares the importance of understanding the ways that stigma produces invisibility of people who are unhoused. Kaitlin talks about shelter practices that deepen feelings of shame, stigma and increase exposure to violence, as well as human rights violations in public spaces. We talk about the need for a radical redistribution of wealth, a tackling of poverty, and a reflection on policies and everyday practices that exacerbate vulnerabilities of people who are unhoused. We discuss the need to trust people who are unhoused as the experts in their own lives, and engage all people as members of our community. Finally Kaitlin reminds us of the importance of lifting as you climb.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. Original music and podcast produced by Jupiter Productions, who have various production services available to support your podcast needs. 

Dr. Gillian Einstein is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto where she leads the Einstein Lab on Cognitive Neuroscience, Gender & Health. She is also the Founder of the Collaborative Specialization in Women’s Health at the University of Toronto, The Wilfred and Joyce Posluns Chair of Women’s Brain Health and Aging, and Guest Professor of Neuroscience and Gender Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. She founded the Canadian Organization for Gender & Sex Research. You can learn more about her work here and find her lab on Twitter.

We talk about how the social can become biological. Stigma and stress are connected to brain health, including Alzheimers and dementia, as well as metabolic issues such as diabetes. We discuss how COVID-19 stigma impacts older persons framed as vulnerable and the need to understand the long-view and wisdom that older people bring to society. Dr. Einstein likes to startle people to get them to shift their perspective to become alert and aware. We shout out the Lofoten Islands as a dream destination. Gillian talks about following your heart and your pleasures to have an honest life.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Original music and podcast produced by Cozmic Cat. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. 

Dr. Ramona Alaggia is a Professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto where she is deeply engaged in examining gender based violence issues from the standpoint of survivors of child sexual abuse, sexual violence and intimate partner violence. She is an international speaker and her research contributes to developing anti-discriminatory policies and practices for people living with and disclosing gender based violence. Ramona is currently running a large scale study on the impact of the #MeToo movement on gender based violence disclosures in Canada. The 3rd edition of her co-edited book "Cruel But Not Unusual: Violence in Relationships and Families in Canada" will be released in 2020.

In this episode we talk about stigma around sexual violence and how this impacts sexual violence disclosure experiences (and decisions of whether or not to disclose). Ramona provides examples of helpful, and less helpful, responses to sexual violence disclosures. We talk about the intersectional impacts of stigma on who is believed (and who is not) in disclosing sexual violence. Ramona discusses the history of the #MeToo movement, trauma-informed approaches to disclosure, and the need to change public perception (including media) portrayals of sexual violence survivors. 

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Original music and podcast produced by Cozmic Cat. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. 

Informational resources on violence can be found below:

Assaulted Women’s Helpline (national); 1-866-863-7868; www.awhl.org

Toronto Rape Crisis Centre; 24-hour crisis line: 416-597-8808; crisis@trccmwar.ca

Kids Help Phone (national): Text 686868; 1-800-668-6868

Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Care Centre; Women’s College Hospital, 76 Grenville St., Toronto Room 1305; 416-323-6040

Distress Centres of Greater Toronto; www.dcogt.com; (416) 408-HELP (4357)

Dr. Nadine Nakamura is a Professor of Psychology at the University of LaVerne and a licensed psychologist. She is committed to understanding the unique needs of multiple minorities, LGBT immigrants and asylum seekers, as well as LGBT international issues. Dr. Nakamura co-edited a book recently, alongside myself, published by the American Psychological Association on LGBTQ Mental Health: International Perspectives and Experiences.

Nadine talks about how stigma can look like omission, and the need to amplify voices on the periphery. Nadine discusses the importance of broadening the conversation of what LGBTQ mental health looks like outside of North America. She talks about LGBT asylum seekers' experiences navigating multiple marginalized identities and finding spaces of acceptance. Nadine discusses how parents can first get comfortable talking about racism, as that will help them have these conversations with their children, and how these conversations need to address power. She also talks about the need for rest to sustain ourselves over the long game. We discuss the importance of celebrating the small wins, loosening the grip of productivity, and the personal project of stopping oppressing ourselves.

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Original music and podcast produced by Cozmic Cat. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program.