In this episode, we unpack the deeply intertwined history of HIV/AIDS, medical ethics, and one of the most disturbing public health scandals in modern U.S. history.

We explore how HIV/AIDS was long framed as a so-called “gay disease,” obscuring the role of unsafe medical practices and contaminated blood products in spreading the virus globally. At the center of this story is the Arkansas prison blood scandal, where incarcerated people—many with no real ability to consent—were used as a cheap source of plasma. That blood entered the global supply chain, infecting patients across the world.

This episode is a sobering reminder that disease stigma doesn’t just harm individuals—it can conceal institutional wrongdoing with deadly consequences.

New episodes drop Mondays, with companion historical case episodes on Fridays.
Follow along, stay curious, and remember—

In the light of scandal, medicine shows its darkest corners.

🔗 All our links, sources, and socials:https://linktr.ee/thecadaverslessons

📲 Follow us on Instagram @the_cadavers_lessons & TikTok @the.cadavers.lessons

Class is dismissed.

📚 References

1. Salon article
   Parker, S. (1998, December 24). Blood money. Salon. https://www.salon.com/1998/12/24/cov_23news/
2. Encyclopedia of Arkansas entry
   Staff of the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. (n.d.). Arkansas prison blood scandal. Encyclopedia of Arkansas. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/arkansas-prison-blood-scandal-3732/
3. Law journal article (PDF from William & Mary Business Law Review)
   Chase, S. (2012). The Bloody Truth: Examining America’s blood industry and its tort liability through the Arkansas prison plasma scandal. William & Mary Business Law Review, 3(2), 597–644. https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1042&context=wmblr
4. Prison Legal News article
   St. Clair, J. (1999, May 15). Tainted plasma traced to Arkansas prison: Bill Clinton’s blood trails. Prison Legal News. https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/1999/may/15/tainted-plasma-traced-to-arkansas-prison-bill-clintons-blood-trails/