Death by a Thousand Cuts follows two PhD students, Laura Mata Lopez and Griffin Gowdy, as they deal with the aftermath of the federal government cutting science research funding from the National Institutes of Health, money that funded their own research projects at Johns Hopkins University and Columbia University, respectively. From fear of losing funding to grieving the sense of security their funding provided, and their subsequent fight for their communities and their research, their journeys reflect a spirit of resilience, the importance of collective action, and the price of freedom.