THE DROPOUT.

• Author: Britschgi, Christian
• Position: PODCAST - Brief article

The Dropout, a fascinating new podcast from ABC, charts the rise and fall of the Silicon Valley huckster Elizabeth Holmes and her now-defunct company, Theranos. The show's weekly installments mix high production values and a wealth of interviews with those who saw the fraud play out in real time.

The narrator, ABC business reporter Rebecca Jarvis, explains how Theranos sold itself as a visionary company that promised to make an affordable, over-the-counter tool capable of diagnosing cancer or diabetes with a single drop of blood. The tantalizing and lucrative product attracted a number of A-list investors and boosters, including Henry Kissinger and Bill Clinton.

They were kept around by another vision Holmes was selling: that of herself as the next Steve Jobs. The Dropout's early episodes describe how Holmes tried to copy everything about...