Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
by John Carreyrou
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31:06
ReasonTV interviews author about origins of book + slides
2.3M
27K
Jun, 2018
Spoiler:
The author sits down with fellow journalist Nick Gillespie to discuss how and why Elizabeth Holmes was able to scam so many veteran investors, hedge funds, established companies like Walgreens, and experienced business people twice her age. He says that, in part, the phenomenon of Steve Jobs has led us to idolize college dropouts who seem to be technological innovators. He adds that Holmes in fact worshiped Jobs and took to wearing black turtlenecks and having certain meetings on Wednesdays because he had done the same.
70:50
Author speaks and responds to audience questions at D.C. bookstore
522K
5K
Jun, 2018
Spoiler:
Responding to questions from a deeply literate audience, many of whom had read the author’s forty-some articles on Theranos and some of whom had already read the book, the author delves into the how and why. He emphasizes that Silicon Valley has had a “fake it til you make it” ethos that Elizabeth Holmes channeled. He says that there’s a reason why most Nobel science winners are in their sixties or beyond when they win: it takes a lifetime to make a commensurate contribution and nothing in healthcare could happen as fast as Holmes claimed.
11:46
Author sits down with CBS This Morning + vintage photos of Holmes
154K
1K
May, 2018
Spoiler:
The author recounts how a charming, young Elizabeth Holmes convinced the likes of Reagan-era Secretary of State George Schultz and Henry Kissinger to join the board of her sham company, Theranos. In part, investors were convinced to jump in based on the belief that nothing could possibly be suspect about a company that boasted such a prestigious board. The author tells an anecdote that reveals that even Holmes’s voice, remarkably deep and attractive by all accounts, was a put-on and is actually much higher-pitched.
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Publications
Gates Notes: The inside story of the Theranos scandal is almost too wild to believe.
The New York Times: ‘Bad Blood’ Review: How One Company Scammed Silicon Valley. And How It Got Caught.
The Economist: The rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes, Silicon Valley’s startup queen
Financial Times: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, by John Carreyrou
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