This Scientist Saved Lives During COVID. Now She Needs Your Help

Transcript:

A bit of a change of pace today: usually on this channel my videos are relatively short and scripted, and today’s video is neither. I really wanted to share the story of my good friend, Dr. Siouxsie Wiles, and I realized that the absolute best way to do that is to have her tell you in her own words. So the bulk of this video is a conversation we had about what she’s been through in the past few years, and I think it’s a fascinating and necessary conversation but I wanted to give you the tl;dw at the start because I know you don’t usually come to this channel for hour-long interviews. Siouxsie was the most visible science communicator in New Zealand in 2020, and so she helped guide the country through the COVID-19 pandemic, developing educational tools that ended up being used worldwide.

Much like what happened here in the US with conspiracy theorists and Dr. Anthony Fauci, Siouxsie became the target of an avalanche of harassment and threats. At the same time, her University refused to provide her with any kind of help to deal with that harassment, and she ended up fighting them in court. She has just won an important, precedent-setting judgment that will protect public-facing employees in every field, but despite winning she’s lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now that the case is over, she’s started a crowdfunding campaign to try to recoup some of her costs. Here’s the page if you have a few dollars to contribute. If you don’t, that’s fine! I’ve already made a donation on your behalf just for watching, liking, and sharing this video. Now, here’s Siouxsie to tell her story in her own words.