Podcasts · True Crime

The Dropout

ABC News

31 episodes · in order

Money. Romance. Tragedy. Deception. The story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos is an unbelievable tale of ambition and fame gone terribly wrong. How did the world's youngest self-made female billionaire lose it all in the blink of an eye? How did the woman once heralded as "the next Steve Jobs" find herself facing criminal charges - to which she pleaded not guilty - and up to decades in prison? How did her technology, meant to revolutionize health care, potentially put millions of patients at risk? And how did so many smart people get it so wrong along the way? ABC News chief business, technology and economics correspondent Rebecca Jarvis, along with producers Taylor Dunn and Victoria Thompson, take listeners on a journey that includes a multi-year investigation. You'll hear exclusive interviews with former employees, investors, and patients, and for the first-time, the never-before-aired deposition testimony of Elizabeth Holmes, and those at the center of this story. Then, go inside the courtroom as 12 jurors decide the fate of the Theranos founder; three years after she was first charged, we find out how this saga finally ends. Subscribe to 20/20 True Crime+ for ad-free listening, early access to new series, exclusive bonus content, and hundreds of episodes from the 20/20 true crime vault. Visit https://apple.co/2020truecrime to subscribe now.

Episodes

  1. Trailer: The Rise and Fall of Elizabeth Holmes' Theranos

    · 2:15 · Trailer

    The Dropout tells the story of the rise and fall of former Silicon Valley darling Elizabeth Holmes, the youngest self-made female billionaire. She dropped out of Stanford to launch her company Theranos -- claiming her…

  2. 1. Myth-Making

    · 45 min · S1 E1

    On the premiere episode of The Dropout, you'll meet a young Elizabeth Holmes. Convinced of her own destiny even as a young child, she would come to drop out of Stanford in her late teens, intending to mold herself…

  3. 2. The Enforcer

    · 39 min · S1 E2

    Elizabeth brings on an unexpected character as her right-hand man at Theranos and it turns out they are hiding a big secret. They strike a monumental deal with Walgreens that could potentially put millions of lives at…

  4. 3. A Star is Born

    · 42 min · S1 E3

    Elizabeth becomes a celebrity as Theranos breaks out of stealth mode and onto the main stage. The media can't get enough, and neither can many investors as Theranos Wellness Centers start popping up at Walgreens. To…

  5. 4. The Whistleblower

    · 43 min · S1 E4

    With Theranos technology now being used by real customers, many employees are at a breaking point. They are horrified by what they believe to be widespread deception and dangerous practices, but Theranos has…

  6. 5. The Downfall

    · 41 min · S1 E5

    Elizabeth Holmes, once the darling of Silicon Valley, is under a different kind of spotlight. Now under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, she is forced to answer tough questions under oath. The…

  7. 6. What Now?

    · 37 min · S1 E6

    As Elizabeth Holmes awaits a criminal trial, how is she spending her days? A former employee who had a chance encounter tells us some surprising new details about just that, while an old classmate emerges to share some…

  8. Introducing 'The Dropout: Elizabeth Holmes on Trial'

    · 3:31 · Trailer

    Starting Aug. 31, in a series of new episodes, "The Dropout: Elizabeth Holmes on Trial" will take you inside the courtroom, breaking down the evidence and keeping score for both sides until 12 jurors decide the fate of…

  9. Where Have You Been, Elizabeth Holmes?

    · 38 min · S2 E1

    It's been over three years since Elizabeth Holmes was charged with multiple counts of fraud. Once the youngest female self-made billionaire, she was poised to change health care forever. Now she faces decades in prison…

  10. Bombshell

    · 45 min · S2 E2

    Today, after four postponements, a global pandemic and a baby, Elizabeth's long-awaited trial finally begins with jury selection. With millions of pages of discovery, a potential witness list of more than 200, and…

  11. The Jury

    · 27 min · S2 E3

    This week, after 11th-hour bombshell allegations of abuse were revealed, we meet the seven men and five women who will ultimately be deciding Elizabeth Holmes' fate. We take a peek inside the courtroom, and speak with…

  12. Setting the Stage

    · 41 min · S2 E4

    Elizabeth, holding hands with her partner, Billy and her mother, Noel, breezes into the courthouse to hear opening statements in her financial fraud trial. The government and the defense set the stage, giving us a…

  13. Mystery Men

    · 34 min · S2 E5

    This week, we hear from Erika Cheung, one of the whistleblowers who originally set Elizabeth's downfall in motion and who says she was subjected to disturbing intimidation tactics as a result. Legal experts analyze the…

  14. The General and the Patient

    · 35 min · S2 E6

    This week, a high-profile witness from Elizabeth's superstar board of directors surprises the courtroom by taking the stand: 4-star general and former U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis. He speaks of being dazzled…

  15. Sounding the Alarm

    · 36 min · S2 E7

    This week, we hear some shocking insights from a former Theranos lab director who says he tried to stop the train before it ran off the tracks. From failing machines to a lack of proficiency testing, he tells of the…

  16. Crime and Punishment

    · 30 min · S2 E8

    This week, two jurors ask to be excused, citing stress around punishment and the responsibilities in deciding the future of Elizabeth Holmes. A young woman, with unusual ties to this case, gives her perspective as a…

  17. The Clients

    · 40 min · S2 E9

    Theranos' biggest clients, Walgreens and Safeway, are on the stand this week, testifying to what exactly they say they were told before signing multimillion-dollar deals with the blood testing startup. In email…

  18. The Therabros

    · 36 min · S2 E10

    This week, we got a peek into how things at Theranos could at times be a full-on family affair. Elizabeth recruited her brother Christian to the company. He, in turn, recruited five of his Delta Tau Delta fraternity…

  19. The Investors

    · 42 min · S2 E11

    This week, we hear from high-profile companies and individuals who invested millions of dollars into Theranos, the prosecution reiterating that these investments were made on the basis of what they say was a pattern of…

  20. Patterns

    · 38 min · S2 E12

    Nine weeks into the criminal trial of Elizabeth Holmes, we've heard from dozens of witnesses -- Elizabeth's colleagues, board members, investors, clients, scientists, accountants and corporate executives. It's…

  21. The Beginning of the End

    · 43 min · S2 E13

    In this episode, we hear from two Theranos lab directors -- one who never met Elizabeth or stepped foot into the company's lab, another who ultimately voided more than 50,000 Theranos tests after a damning government…

  22. The Prosecution Rests & Elizabeth Speaks

    · 1 h 02 min · S2 E14

    In a monumental week in the trial of United States v. Elizabeth A. Holmes, the prosecution introduced its final week of witnesses before resting its case. Among them, a patient who received troubling results from a…

  23. Reframing the Narrative

    · 50 min · S2 E15

    This week, Elizabeth Holmes returns to the stand, presenting herself as a confident CEO with a noble mission who also naively took experts at their word. She meticulously details how she built her business -- even…

  24. Accusations and Evasions

    · 1 h 12 min · S2 E16

    This week, the most jaw-dropping testimony in this trial yet. Elizabeth Holmes fights back tears telling the court she was raped when she was at Stanford and claims she was in an emotional and physically abusive…

  25. The Defense Rests

    · 55 min · S2 E17

    The testimony of Elizabeth Holmes continues this week, finally concluding after seven days. And in a surprising move, the defense calls no further witnesses, resting its case. So after three months and dozens of…

  26. Closing Arguments

    · 1 h 13 min · S2 E18

    More than three months, 32 witnesses and three juror dismissals after the criminal trial of Elizabeth Holmes began, attorneys for the prosecution and defense had the chance to make their final appeals with closing…

  27. The Verdict

    · 45 min · S2 E19

    Three years after Elizabeth Holmes was charged with 11 counts of fraud, the verdict we've all been waiting for is finally in. After seven days and over 50 hours of deliberation, the 12 members of the jury -- one of…

  28. '20/20': The Rise and Con of Elizabeth Holmes

    · 1 h 17 min · Bonus

    The new Hulu limited series based on this podcast and starring Oscar-nominee Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes is out now. And in case you missed 20/20's behind-the-scenes look at the show, we wanted to drop it in…

  29. The Sunny Balwani Verdict

    · 6:39 · S2 E20

    Rebecca Jarvis sits down with Brad Mielke, host of ABC News' "Start Here" podcast to talk about the conviction of former Theranos president Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani. Follow "Start Here" on Apple Podcasts…

  30. Bonus: Amanda and The Other Liz

    · 46 min · Bonus

    Amanda Seyfried, the lead actress of Hulu's "The Dropout" and the show's creator and showrunner Liz Meriwether join host Rebecca Jarvis for a wide-ranging conversation about the making of the Hulu limited series based…

  31. Bonus: Sentenced

    · 7:27 · Bonus

    In a special bonus episode of "The Dropout: Elizabeth Holmes on Trial," we break down what happened during Holmes' sentencing hearing and what is next for the once-lauded Theranos founder. Learn more about your ad…

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them. Explicit shows are for adult profiles only, and children’s profiles hear only children’s shows. More about this list.