Listen as false promises and lies are exposed

A more sinister deception is explored in ...

It’s been a while since I’ve listened to a podcast that exposed a jaw-dropping deception, but The Dropout does that – in knockout fashion.

Produced by ABC radio in the United States and the network’s late-news TV show Nightline, it’s the result of an impressive threeyear investigation into the alleged fraud at Theranos, a tech company founded by Elizabeth Holmes, a Stanford University dropout who started Theranos when she was 19.

She was Silicon Valley’s first female billionaire.

Holmes convinced venture capitalists and elite benefactors to fund the development of an affordable single-drop blood test that, it was claimed, could detect several diseases from one sample.

She recruited top engineers and reputable scientists, but questions about the accuracy of her technology began to emerge via articles in The Wall Street Journal.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission eventually charged Holmes with fraud. That case was settled, but Holmes is now facing criminal charges.

Presented by business reporter Jessica Jarvis, the podcast features interviews with former employees, and police depositions that have never been published.

A more sinister deception is explored in Broken Harts, which charts the demise of white, liberal couple Jen and Sarah Hart, and their six adopted African-American children.

Jen’s social media accounts painted a picture of idyllic family life via gushy posts and images. The family seemed to be a multi-racial adoption success story.

In reality, the Harts moved around amid allegations of child abuse, before a drunk Jen drove the family SUV off a California cliff, killing them all.