I have chosen to listen to the podcast The Dropout released by ABC news and hosted by Rebecca Jarvis. The Dropout is about Elizabeth Holmes, a Stanford University dropout, who founded the biotech company Theranos in 2003 at the age of 19. Theranos was so well received by venture capitalists in the market that the company brought in nearly $1 billion in funding for development. Holmes became a self-made billionaire and was even proclaimed, “the next Steve Jobs”. The foundation of Theranos was built upon Holmes’ innovation of an affordable single-drop blood test device that would be able to diagnose and treat disease. Her innovation was so promising that it was thought to revolutionize the healthcare industry “how the iPhone revolutionized the cellphone forever”. However, the unmatched technology was soon met with federal investigation, revealing several unsettling actions taken by the CEO of Theranos herself, Elizabeth Holmes. Now Holmes is facing 20 years of imprisonment for “wire fraud, and scheming to defraud investors, doctors, and patients about the company’s technology, business, and financial performance”.
In this first episode of The Dropout the narrator, Rebecca Jarvis, explores the early stages of Elizabeth Holmes’ life. Holmes knew that she wanted to attend Stanford University, and a few months after acceptance she began talking to her professors about her idea of a patch that would be able to take blood samples and deliver antibiotics. She was met with repeated criticism, all explaining that the device would never be successful in functionality or practicality in production. After finding a supportive mentor, Channing Robertson, she was introduced to several venture capitalists willing to fund her innovation. Ultimately, Holmes decided to drop out of Stanford to spend more time working on her company Theranos. We later find out that this decision to forego a college education was in part inspired by her obsession with Steve Jobs.
The Dropout is narrated mostly by, the host and primary investigator, Rebecca Jarvis with a stark similarity to the podcast structure maintained in Serial. There is a basic introductory theme music accompanied by thrilling tunes used in moments of suspicion or suspense. Jarvis often interjects her narration with several interviews of significant people in Elizabeth Holmes’ life including her professors and prior coworkers. These interviews, in my opinion, add a sense of credibility to Jarvis’ work as they are primary sources of information regarding the day-to-day actions and behavior displayed by Holmes in her development of Theranos. Personally, I think that the narration fails to follow a chronological order which makes it difficult to keep track of the timing of certain interactions that the interviewees reflect upon. However even though there is a slight lack in chronological sense, I think the untimely comments given by Holmes’ prior coworkers about her demeanor help the listener paint an early picture about Holmes. This early character development will allow for the listener to better understand the reasoning of some of Holmes’ actions throughout the podcast, and how the characters surrounding Holmes’ will display their own reactive behaviors while working at Theranos.
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