In a new book, Minnesota author spotlights unsung hero from the HIV/AIDS crisis

World AIDS Day is coming up on Dec. 1 and leaders in the HIV/AIDS field are taking this time to reflect on the enormous progress the medical community has made to reduce the spread and improve the lives of people living with HIV. That progress was made in no small part from the shift in public narratives around the disease.

A Minnesotan is exploring the life of Randy Shilts, a little-little known leader from those early days of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Shilts was a pioneering journalist from San Francisco who worked to change the narratives and reporting around the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s. Michael G. Lee is a professor at Saint Mary’s University and the author of a new book about Shilts’ life called “When the Band Played On.” He joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about it.