Listen Ad-free

Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis

Audible Originals

From the co-creators of Slow Burn, Fiasco is a narrative podcast that transports listeners into the day-to-day reality of America’s most pivotal historical events.

Using original interviews with dozens of key players, host Leon Neyfakh brings to life the forgotten twists and turns of the past while shedding light on the present day. The new season of Fiasco goes deep on the AIDS epidemic in America, with a special focus on the early years of the crisis, when a diagnosis was tantamount to a death sentence. The eight-part series looks at the mystery and missteps around identifying and treating a new, contagious disease, and what it took to get the public - and the government - to care.

read less

Our Editor's Take

Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis is a podcast that catalogs a difficult time in America's history. With essential original interviews, this show remembers the epidemic that cost many lives. Host Leon Neyfakh offers a sincere account of the daily diagnoses of the AIDS crisis. Presented by the cocreators of Slow Burn, the show details a crisis in public health. Its documentary style is a time capsule for this part of history. Starting with the first infections in New York, the podcast brings listeners to the beginning. It connects the past with present events and ensures this disaster doesn't vanish in history. This podcast chronicles the pivotal historical events involved. The show reveals the terror of the death sentence the disease delivered to many.

This podcast tells a complete eight-episode season with a true crime style. Seamless cuts from narration to interview clips create an immersive audio experience. Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis demonstrates the atmosphere of the time and battle lines drawn between communities. Doctors scrambled to figure out what caused this threat that caught the name the gay plague. Every mention of this epidemic preceded outcries of fear and hopelessness. People panicked and searched for answers for themselves and their friends. This crisis came down to the human rights of gay citizens and their freedom of expression. The gay community was battling for public acceptance as well as survival.

Places like New York and San Francisco once stood as beacons of hope and possibility. Then, their citizens fought this rapid outbreak of disease. Still confused by the disease, doctors searched for the end as real numbers were rising. Booming bathhouses and denial caused a rapid spread of infections. A lack of understanding and public intervention caused indecision. This podcast puts into context all the political and cultural debates of the time.

This pandemic was detrimental to the gay community. It came along with hatred, bigotry, and moral questioning. Yet, through this dismal time, there are examples of community and activism. The public outcries for justice brought people together. Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis catalogs an intense event that cannot disappear in history.

read less
NewsNews
Play Trailer
Trailer
Feb 22 2022
Trailer
From the co-creators of Slow Burn, Fiasco is a narrative podcast that transports listeners into the day-to-day reality of America’s most pivotal historical events.  Using original interviews with dozens of key players, host Leon Neyfakh brings to life the forgotten twists and turns of the past while shedding light on the present day. The new season of Fiasco goes deep on the AIDS epidemic in America, with a special focus on the early years of the crisis, when a diagnosis was tantamount to a death sentence. The eight-part series looks at the mystery and missteps around identifying and treating a new, contagious disease, and what it took to get the public - and the government - to care.

Episodes

Trailer
Feb 22 2022
Trailer
From the co-creators of Slow Burn, Fiasco is a narrative podcast that transports listeners into the day-to-day reality of America’s most pivotal historical events.  Using original interviews with dozens of key players, host Leon Neyfakh brings to life the forgotten twists and turns of the past while shedding light on the present day. The new season of Fiasco goes deep on the AIDS epidemic in America, with a special focus on the early years of the crisis, when a diagnosis was tantamount to a death sentence. The eight-part series looks at the mystery and missteps around identifying and treating a new, contagious disease, and what it took to get the public - and the government - to care.
Episode 1: Gay Plague
Mar 24 2022
Episode 1: Gay Plague
How doctors and scientists responded to the arrival of a strange and terrifying new disease. You can find a list of books, articles, and documentaries we used in our research at bit.ly/fiascopod
Episode 2: How to Have Sex in an Epidemic
Mar 31 2022
Episode 2: How to Have Sex in an Epidemic
As the AIDS crisis worsens, gay men in New York City improvise a response, forming alliances and drawing battle lines. You can find a list of books, articles, and documentaries we used in our research at bit.ly/fiascopod
Episode 3: The Baths
Apr 7 2022
Episode 3: The Baths
A debate rages in San Francisco over whether or not to close the city's famous bathhouses, as government officials and gay rights advocates weigh the implications for civil liberties and public health.  You can find a list of books, articles, and documentaries we used in our research at bit.ly/fiascopod
Episode 4: Blood
Apr 14 2022
Episode 4: Blood
AIDS spreads through the country's blood supply, endangering people with hemophilia and leading to a breakthrough about the cause of the disease.
Episode 5: Leading Men
Apr 21 2022
Episode 5: Leading Men
One of the most famous actors in Hollywood tries to keep his diagnosis under wraps - and ends up becoming the face of AIDS in America.  You can find a list of books, articles, and documentaries we used in our research at bit.ly/fiascopod
Episode 6: Drugs into Bodies
Apr 28 2022
Episode 6: Drugs into Bodies
A new coalition of AIDS activists takes on the American medical establishment, pushing for access to clinical trials and experimental drugs.  You can find a list of books, articles, and documentaries we used in our research at bit.ly/fiascopod
Episode 7: Lazarus
May 5 2022
Episode 7: Lazarus
After years of frustration and despair, scientists finally make a breakthrough. You can find a list of books, articles, and documentaries we used in our research at bit.ly/fiascopod
Episode 8: No Harm
May 12 2022
Episode 8: No Harm
The Clinton administration promises a new approach to the AIDS epidemic — but gets bogged down in the politics of sex, drugs, and morality. You can find a list of books, articles, and documentaries we used in our research at bit.ly/fiascopod.