Before 1990, there had never been a documented case of a patient getting HIV from a health care worker. Kimberly Bergalis changed that. Her claim that she’d been infected by her dentist would captivate and terrify the country. And the dentist, David Acer, would be made into a villain without America ever knowing who he really was.
This episode was written by Kelly Jones and Josh Levin, One Year’s editorial director. One Year’s senior producer is Evan Chung.
This episode was produced by Kelly Jones and Evan Chung, with additional production by Olivia Briley.
It was edited by Joel Meyer and Derek John, Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts. Merritt Jacob is senior technical director. We had mixing help from Kevin Bendis. We had production help this season from Jabari Butler.
Join Slate Plus to get a special behind-the-scenes conversation at the end of our season about how we put together our 1990 stories. Slate Plus members also get to listen to all Slate podcasts without any ads.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1990: Art on Trial
1990: Bush vs. Broccoli
1990: Mandrake the Magician
1990: Pizzastroika
1955: The Hiroshima Maidens
1955: The Cutter Incident
1955: Siberia, USA
1955: The Weather Girls
1955: The Crockett Craze
1955: The Team Nobody Would Play
1942: The Black-Japanese Axis
1942: When Internment Came to Alaska
1942: The Info Wars of World War II
1942: The Day the Music Stopped
1942: The Year Everyone Got Married
1942: The Most Hated Man in America
1986: The Man From Fifth Avenue
1986: The Miracle of Cokeville
1986: Herschel vs. the Blubber Busters
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Slow Burn
Slate Debates
What Next | Daily News and Analysis
Decoder Ring
The Gist