I Found My Name in the Epstein Database
36sThe shock of discovering a personal connection to a notorious scandal creates immediate curiosity and relatability.
▶ Play ClipAI Summary
The speaker reveals that their name appears twice in the Epstein database, linked to a research proposal they wrote in 2013. They explain how the document ended up there through a funding pitch made by their institute's director to Jeffrey Epstein, who ultimately declined to fund the project.
Chapters
[00:00]
Discovery of Name in Epstein Database
The speaker searched the Epstein database and found two PDFs with their name, both copies of the same research proposal from 2013.
[01:07]
Initial Confusion and Investigation
Initially thought someone sent the document to Epstein because it was interesting, but further digging revealed the director of the institute had pitched research to Epstein.
[02:08]
Meeting and Pitch to Epstein
The director met Epstein in February 2013 to present ongoing research, including the speaker's proposal, as part of fundraising efforts. Emails confirming the meeting are public records.
[03:09]
Epstein Declined to Fund
Epstein decided not to fund the research. The project was later funded through a grant and published successfully. The speaker calls it 'the best rejection in human history.'
[03:38]
Director's Account of First Meeting
The director first met Epstein at a dinner party for famous scientists and Nobel laureates. Epstein was a 'celebrity collector' seeking influential contacts.
[04:31]
Realization of Dodged Bullet
When Epstein's crimes became public in 2017/2018, the institute realized they had avoided a dangerous association. The speaker emphasizes transparency and sharing the facts.
The speaker's presence on the Epstein list is an indirect result of a research funding pitch, not direct involvement. The incident underscores the importance of transparency and the unpredictable ways one's name can be linked to infamous figures.
Mentioned in this Video
💡 Key Takeaways
💬
Best Rejection in History
A memorable quote emphasizing the relief that Epstein did not fund the research.
03:09
💡
Dodged Bullet
Shows how a rejected funding attempt prevented a harmful association with Epstein.
04:31Full Transcript
[00:00] I just found out my name pops up in the Epstein database not once but twice. So here's everything I know about it. How it ended up in there. Full disclosure for a week now. The Epstein scandal
[00:12] has been everywhere on social media and rightly so. Even I talked about it on Monday. I touched on the Peter Aia case and I was messaging with some doctor friends and they were looking themselves
[00:24] up and saying, "Thank God I'm not in there." almost light-hearted because you don't expect to be in a repository like that if you're not a celebrity or super rich. But I put my name in, I hit search and I was smiling like, "Yeah, right." And two hits pop up, not emails,
[00:40] two PDFs and it's two copies of the same thing, same document and you can click and open it and read the whole thing. And it's a research proposal that I wrote in 2013 when I was a post-doal
[00:54] scholar in a neurobiology research institute in Los Angeles. And I remember typing this. I remember making these figures. This scientific document is sitting in the Epstein database on the
[01:07] website of the Department of Justice of the United States. So this blew my mind for a second. How did this thing end up in there? I didn't even know who the guy was 13 years ago before he became famous
[01:20] for all the wrong reasons. And in fact, there's no email hits with my name. There's nothing else on the whole database. Just this PDF of my work kind of dangling in there. How is that possible? My
[01:34] first thought was somebody probably just sent this to him because they thought it was interesting. It was fascinating research, the neurobiology of emotions and feelings. I think a lot of people would find that interesting. So, I thought maybe somebody just sent this to him like, "Hey,
[01:50] look at this cool research they're doing over in LA. Super creepy that they sent it to this guy, but I thought maybe that was it." But then I kept digging more and I figured it out. The director of the institute I worked at, Dr. Deasio, he would pitch the ongoing research to rich people
[02:08] all the time. That's a common source of funding in universities and research centers in the US, donations from rich people. And so Jeffrey Epstein was one of the people he pitched to.
[02:20] All the emails documenting this are public records now. They're all made public in this database. I went through it. You can see the emails to the assistant saying, "We have this interesting research going on at the center. Mr. Epste might be interested in supporting some of this." and
[02:37] then scheduling a meeting to go over all the research. There's even a couple of emails directly with Jeffrey Epstein confirming the time of the meeting. And this meeting took place in February
[02:50] of 2013. In one of his trips, the director was in New York City. He came over to Epstein's. They went over the research that was being carried out at the center, including the research I was involved in. That's how my research proposal ends up in the now infamous Jeffrey Epstein inbox. And
[03:09] at the end of the meeting, Epstein ends up deciding not to fund the research. Thank God in retrospect. Best rejection in human history. And that project ended up being funded through a research grant and it was successful and we published it. I knew all of that part obviously.
[03:24] I did not know this backstory, this creepy historical footnote that Jeffrey Epstein had an option to fund some of our research and passed on it fortunately. And I just spoke to the director
[03:38] on the phone and we talked about it, went over the whole story. I asked him a bunch of questions. I was really curious who wouldn't be. And I can tell you exactly what he said. It's not a secret. He said he first met Jeffrey Epstein at a dinner party that he threw for famous scientists,
[03:54] university professors and Nobel laureates, that kind of thing. He said Epstein was a celebrity collector. He wanted to know and be in touch with anyone who had power or influence in any
[04:06] sphere. So he threw this dinner party for famous scientists. The director and his wife attended. That's where they first met Epstein. years later there was the pitch meeting. That's how he was
[04:19] able to arrange it because he had met him at the dinner. And he said those were the only two times he saw him. And he said they realized who he was, his crimes and all that when the big
[04:31] expose came out, the big article. I think it was 2017 or 2018 I think it was. And it became general knowledge and they realized the bullet they had dodged. And I imagine nowadays they probably do
[04:44] extensive background searches on everybody at the institute before scheduling meetings or considering donors. And I know this video is not about nutrition or science interpretation per se,
[04:56] but it would feel weird to find this and not tell anybody. We always talk about let's look at facts even if they're uncomfortable, right? Well, time to walk the walk. Especially after the
[05:09] other day I mentioned it to you. Now I find out my name's in there and I pretend I didn't see it. I I would feel like a massive hypocrite. So just out with it. No secrets. What I know, you know.
