The Dropout artwork

True Crime · ABC News

The Dropout

by ABC News

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.

Chart trend

Position in the True Crime chart (US), last 90 days.

#132
all-time peak
51
days in the top 200 since Mar 2025

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Introducing 'Burden of Proof: Luigi Mangione'

Today, we're sharing the first episode of our latest series from ABC Audio and 20/20, 'Burden of Proof: Luigi Mangione.' In episode one, the manhunt for the alleged sho

Aug 10
39 min

Bonus: Sentenced

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

Nov 19 2022
7 min

Bonus: Amanda and The Other Liz

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 ab

Aug 11 2022
46 min

The Sunny Balwani Verdict

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

Jul 8 2022
6 min

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

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-sce

Mar 6 2022
1 h 17 min

The Verdict

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 delibe

Jan 5 2022
44 min

Closing Arguments

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 chan

Dec 21 2021
1 h 13 min

The Defense Rests

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

Dec 14 2021
54 min

Accusations and Evasions

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 w

Dec 7 2021
1 h 11 min

Reframing the Narrative

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

Nov 30 2021
49 min

The Prosecution Rests & Elizabeth Speaks

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 p

Nov 23 2021
1 h 01 min

The Beginning of the End

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

Nov 16 2021
43 min

Patterns

Nine weeks into the criminal trial of Elizabeth Holmes, we've heard from dozens of witnesses -- Elizabeth's colleagues, board members, investors, clients, scientists, acc

Nov 9 2021
37 min

The Investors

This week, we hear from high-profile companies and individuals who invested millions of dollars into Theranos, the prosecution reiterating that these investments were mad

Nov 2 2021
41 min

The Therabros

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, rec

Oct 26 2021
36 min

The Clients

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

Oct 19 2021
39 min

Crime and Punishment

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

Oct 12 2021
29 min

Sounding the Alarm

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

Oct 5 2021
35 min

The General and the Patient

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 D

Sep 28 2021
34 min

Mystery Men

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 intimidatio

Sep 21 2021
34 min

Chart positions

Where The Dropout ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 8, 2026).

#135 NEW True Crime US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

There is an unnecessary amount of repetition in the second season covering the trial. They feel the need to replay the same clips from Elizabeth’s deposition over and over again. I think this season could have been 2-3 bonus episodes instead of dragging it out. Also, it has a LOT of long adbreaks, which seems to be a pattern for iHeartRadio podcasts.

lunari113 · Mar 2025

This is one of my absolute favorite podcasts. The topic was well covered, Jarvis is an excellent journalist and the diversity of people in the case interviewed was great. I really enjoyed it. The only weak parts were with attorney Caroline Polisi. I’m not sure how she has managed to be so successful, her predictions and opinions were wrong at every turn- almost comically and she had an annoying tick of laughing when talking about things that weren’t funny. Sort of strange. The other attorneys interviewed were great.

Simy2006 · Sep 2023

Thought I knew most everything there was to know about this reprehensible scam/ scammer. This outstanding coverage brings the peripheral players into crisp focus. An important lesson with a handful of true heroes, this.

Bellamammal · Aug 2023

I first came across the drop-out on Hulu and was intrigued. I ended up watching the series and then finding the podcast. This is very well done and kept my attention. Great reporting!

Leann4194 · Dec 2022

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