Episode 240: He Built the Database Then Blew the Whistle

What happens when the architect of a national health database discovers safety signals that he believes demand investigation?

Barry Young never expected to become one of New Zealand's most controversial whistleblowers. He wasn't an outsider criticizing his country's pandemic response. He trusted it and was doing his part to facilitate it. As a trusted Health New Zealand database specialist, Young helped build and maintain the systems supporting the nation's COVID-19 vaccination program, in particular. He completed Ministry of Health COVID-19 Case Investigation Training, served as an essential worker throughout the pandemic, and believed he was contributing to one of the country's most important public health initiatives.

Young says he put his full faith in the system and expected the data to confirm what officials were telling the public. Instead, he says, the data began raising questions he could not, in good conscience, ignore.

According to Young, while working with the government's vaccination database that he designed and operated, Young identified mortality patterns that he believed warranted urgent investigation. Determined to understand what he was seeing, he conducted his own statistical analyses and concluded that the findings deserved public scrutiny. Believing New Zealanders had a right to know, he disclosed fully anonymized government data that was later analyzed and published by Steve Kirsch. Days later, Barry Young was arrested.

Today, Young's legal battle has become about far more than his own freedom. He maintains that he acted in the public interest and is entitled to protection under New Zealand's Protected Disclosures Act, which protects whistleblowers. With his case now scheduled to return to court in October, its outcome could help define the future of whistleblower protections in New Zealand and determine whether those who expose what they believe to be serious government wrongdoing will be protected -- or will be prosecuted.

Young and Steve Kirsch will discuss Young's ensuing legal battle and why they believe this case has implications far beyond New Zealand's borders.

Don't miss this compelling conversation with Barry Young, Tuesday on VSRF Live.

⏰ Time: 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT

📺 Rumble, YouTube, and X