Emily Bass on PEPFAR’s Data Spin, What South Africa’s Oral Histories Reveal & the future w/ AIDS2060

May 6, 2026

1:26:08

Episode Description

Investigative journalist and public health expert Emily Bass returns to A Shot In The Arm with the most consequential update on the global HIV response in months. Drawing on a brand-new report from Physicians for Human Rights and South African partners — built from 40 oral histories — Emily walks Ben Plumley through the human cost of the Trump administration’s foreign aid disruptions, the staggering waste of dismantled prevention infrastructure, and the bizarre data spin emerging from the State Department.

The episode also covers Dr. mike Reed’s headline-making resignation as PEPFAR’s Chief Scientific Officer, the dangerous quiet around supply chain contracts and bed-net procurement, and what the new “America First Global Health Strategy” is choosing to celebrate — and choosing to obscure. Ben closes with a preview of two new initiatives: AIDS 2060, a long-horizon project from A Shot In The Arm Media, and the rebrand of MTV Staying Alive Foundation to Shuga Global.

00:00 Welcome and Setup

01:18 Global Health Upheaval

03:13 PEPFAR Data Spin

04:07 South Africa Report

05:51 Prevention Platform Collapse

09:27 Clinic Breakdown Story

12:52 Why 18 Percent Matters

16:33 Community Resilience

19:22 Research Partnerships Lost

22:12 Treatment Disruptions

25:26 Trauma to Transition

31:11 Data Blackout Returns