What Really Happened At Theranos? And Who Is Elizabeth Holmes?

This podcast series by ABC Radio is entirely dedicated to the story of Theranos, one of the greatest scams in recent history. It looks at all the different characters in it and tries to lift the mysterious aura around Elizabeth Holmes. 

I have been following her story for the past few years, as I have always been fascinated by the stories of people turning to crime and deception, despite having all the pre-requisites to lead normal, even privileged, lives. And how could she lie to all those people – former Secretaries of State and Stanford professors – for so long? This seems to be the main question when you listen to The Dropout, which hasn't yet finished and airs every week on Wednesday. Why did all those people believe that she was a genius? Did she really have that spark of genius in her, and has it just gone awry? Or was she just a talented actress who faked it all the way through? We might never know. 

Theranos' success hinged, to a great extent, on Elizabeth Holmes' charisma, and that's why this story works so much better in audio and video format – you have to hear that voice, and see her, to grasp it.