A 19-year-old Stanford dropout convinced Henry Kissinger, James Mattis, and Rupert Murdoch to back blood-testing technology that never worked. Elizabeth Holmes became the youngest female billionaire on a lie.
The Detail That Changes Everything
Walgreens deployed unproven blood tests to 40 stores based on demos they were never allowed to verify
Historical Context
This story spans 2003-2018 and is centered in Palo Alto, California. Understanding the broader historical context is essential to grasping why events unfolded as they did.
Key Figures
The central figures in this story include Elizabeth Holmes, Ramesh Balwani, George Shultz, and James Mattis. Each played a distinct role in the events documented in this episode.
What This Documentary Covers
- How Elizabeth Holmes fooled the most powerful people in America
- Why Walgreens deployed unproven blood tests to 40 stores
- The lab director who quit over deadly inaccurate results
- How John Carreyrou’s Wall Street Journal investigation exposed everything
- What Holmes and Balwani were sentenced to and where they are now
Themes Explored
This episode examines interconnected themes including startup fraud, fake technology, Silicon Valley hubris, healthcare, celebrity board. These themes recur across multiple episodes in our documentary collection, revealing patterns that connect seemingly unrelated stories.
Watch the Full Documentary
This companion article provides context and background for the full documentary. For the complete story with narration, original music, and archival imagery, watch the episode above or on YouTube.
