# HIV Is Not Over: Andrew Spieldenner and Alex Garner on Stigma, Survival, and What Gay Men Over 40 Need to Hear

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/40-plus-gay-men-gay-talk-912616/hiv-is-not-over-andrew-spieldenner-and-alex-garner-on-stigma-survival-and-what-gay-men-over-40-need-to-hear
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/40-plus-gay-men-gay-talk-912616/hiv-is-not-over-andrew-spieldenner-and-alex-garner-on-stigma-survival-and-what-gay-men-over-40-need-to-hear.md
Podcast: [40 Plus: Gay Men. Gay Talk.](https://stenobird.com/podcast/40-plus-gay-men-gay-talk-912616)
Published: 2026-05-29T10:30:00+00:00
Episode link: https://rickclemons.com/40-gay-men-gay-talk/383-andrew-alex
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/ecb15681-c6ff-4a87-aa40-41f6dbdd6908.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/40-plus-gay-men-gay-talk-912616/episodes/hiv-is-not-over-andrew-spieldenner-and-alex-garner-on-stigma-survival-and-what-gay-men-over-40-need-to-hear
Duration seconds: 2876

## Resource

You lived through it. You lost people. And somewhere along the way you decided HIV was somebody else's problem now. It is not. Andrew Spieldenner and Alex Garner from MPact Global Action join Rick for a conversation that does not let the queer community off the hook. MPact works across 60 countries supporting LGBTQ-led organizations fighting HIV stigma, funding cuts, and the political forces making all of it worse. This episode covers where the stigma still lives, why gay men over 50 are among the fastest growing groups of new diagnoses, and why staying sexual, visible, and engaged is still an act of resistance. Key Takeaways: Why HIV stigma has not gone away, it has just gotten quieter and more insidious How structural racism and poverty drive HIV transmission more than individual behavior Why gay men over 50 are seeing rising new diagnosis rates and what that means The dangerous gap between available prevention tools and who actually gets access to them About Andrew Andrew R. Spieldenner, Ph.D. is Executive Director of MPact Global Action, an international gay rights organization in the HIV response, and Professor in the Department of Communication at California State University-San Marcos. Openly living with HIV, Dr. Spieldenner’s writing is at the intersection of health and culture, particularly looking at HIV and the LGBTQ community. Dr. Spieldenner’s edited books include Intercultural Health Communication, Post-AIDS Discourse in Health Communication, and the award-winning A Pill for Promiscuity. About Alex Alex Garner is a writer, artist, and community advocate dedicated to advancing queer visibility and health equity. He currently serves as Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives & Communications at MPact Global Action and previously led sexual health i…

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