Discovering AIDS: A Conversation on Science, Stigma, and Social Attitudes with Dr. Michael Gottlieb

Written By Cathy Pickar

What was it like to encounter AIDS before doctors knew what was causing it? Dr. Michael Gottlieb joins Dr. David Pickar to recount the first AIDS patients in 1981, the fear and uncertainty of the early epidemic, and how Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor helped bring the crisis to public attention.

In this episode of Second Opinion, Gottlieb—the immunologist who helped identify and report the first recognized AIDS cases—shares a firsthand account of a defining moment in medical history. Two longtime friends reflect on the patients who changed their careers, the importance of clinical observation, and the human relationships behind medical discoveries. Their conversation spans HIV/AIDS history, the founding of amfAR, advances in HIV treatment, and the stigma surrounding both AIDS and mental illness.

IN THIS CONVERSATION

  • Recognizing an unfamiliar illness in previously healthy young men

  • Reporting the first cases to the CDC in 1981

  • Caring for patients while the cause remained unknown

  • Gottlieb’s own fear of having contracted HIV

  • Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and AIDS advocacy

  • The evolution of HIV treatment and prevention

  • Clinical observation, genomics, and schizophrenia research

  • Friendship, family, and a lifetime in medicine

ABOUT SECOND OPINION

Second Opinion with Dr. David Pickar explores psychiatry, brain science, and mental health through candid conversations about medicine and the people behind it.

Learn more about Dr. Pickar and his book, Edges of the Mind.

Subscribe to Second Opinion for more conversations with Dr. David Pickar.

Cathy Pickar