Honestly if she had put this energy into writing a series of Sci-fi books she would have done really well. This would've been a great premise for some speculative fiction that would INSPIRE the future of science. The route she chose is deplorable. To give people false hope while pocketing money is horrible.
Seriously, the amount of people who could have achieved so much more and with much better, positive results had they just decided to be ethical or sensible... It's gut-wrenching.
She should’ve modified her idea to creating custom made portable blood test machines that can run tests that require the same reagents and/or techniques to achieve results. A one size fits all blood testing machine is just not possible.
My biggest red flag: no people in the medical field were on the board. Also for a woman who claims to care so much about women in STEM, she had no women in STEM on her board and bullied and harassed any competent women who called her out. (Petty: Everyone talks about Elizabeth’s “alluring” baritone and I just...she literally sounds like a 12 year old boy purposely deepening his voice to impress his crush. That’s my take, don’t at me)
That’s my thing .. I’m just an RN and I know we need certain amounts of blood to test levels and same goes with administration of antibiotics, a patch would never would due to the concentration of medication having to be very specific.. it makes me think she didn’t even bother to learn the basics , well I know she didn’t or she would have never tried this.. I don’t understand how these tremendously wealthy people fell for this .. like can we get a demonstration? She must have been a good shit talker .
Honestly I think the alluring-ness was in the eyes, her eyes _really_ draw you in (whether positively or negatively). And I agree she reminds me of my 15 year old cousin trying to have a deep voice to impress my friends lol
@@shelikestuff bingo. ID doc, used to work in pharm r&d in grad school, before Med school. Novel drug development to combat abx resistance. So hearing about her abx patch idea literally sent me into orbit…..so many variables….pt MPH/Med allergies, shelf life of meds, route of delivery, course of abx, pathogen sensitivity, pt weight vs dosage??? I am having an existential crisis, I cannot.
As being a woman in STEM I understand having to feel you have to put on a sort of facade so that men take you seriously. So that part I do sympathize. However the fact that no one asked for RESEARCH or EVIDENCE that this machine actually worked is insane
Not to mention she didn’t even have the credentials for it. She was a chemical engineer drop out and has never trained in health sciences before . Except that short 3 month stint at GIS which was a research lab. As someone who worked in a clinical lab, I got so infuriated while reading bad blood.
I followed this case since ColdFusion talked about her. What sucks is that during Theranos' prime, funding for similar, GENUINE, projects are basically diverted to Theranos. Actual talented scientists would ask for funding only to be told by investors that "Theranos is already doing that and getting progress". Now that Theranos turned out to be a massive scam, investors are suddenly wary of similar projects because they might also be a scam, which is just ridiculous. I honestly have to sympathize with Laree Rhenda from Safeway, she's attracted by the propositions to work with Theranos because her husband was suffering from cancer. My Mom had cancer, so I know first hand how much of a chore it is for nurses to find a vein during her tests and chemos. She's basically taking advantage of sick people. Those who actually got tested with Theranos, some of them could almost die because doctors depend on blood tests to reduce or increase the medicines given to them.
The beginning of her story is always interesting to me since really being a person that has an idea beyond the current scope of our understanding (and that refuses peoples disbelief) is necessary for breakthrough ideas. However obviously the line between genius and irrationally stubborn seem to be quite blurry
I agree. Honestly i think if she would have started smaller (like finding a replacement for needles or developing a needle that you can’t feel etc.) while attempting to develop the science that would make the Edison work, she might have had a successful and revolutionary buisness… but she had to start big and lie… 🥴
If she wasn't so unbelievably stubborn they probably could have developed a larger, more expensive machine that actually worked closer to as promised and people would have been fucking thrilled anyway! "We need to make some adjustments" and then...do that. Don't Magical-Think your way into whatever this is. Damn!
Lawyer here who has also obsessively followed this case. Another reason the fraud claims on behalf of patients weren't successful is that one of the elements of fraud is actual damage. Emotional damage alone isn't often enough. So unless a patient spent, say, thousands of dollars on some kind of treatment in reliance on these test results, which, thankfully, no one seemed to, winning a fraud claim on their behalf is near impossible. On the behalf of investors who can show how many millions they lost however? Easy. That being said, I definitely agree that the true victims here were patients, as well as the former employees that she and Sunny harassed and made miserable.
Genuine question: Is the way a fake blood test could affect their actual health not considered in these cases? I know nothing of the law but I do know some doctors get sued for misdiagnosis and stuff like that, could that not be applied here?
@@pollyflores418 Good question. My understanding (keeping in mind I'm not a criminal lawyer) is that in theory yes but on these facts it would be difficult. I think every one of these patients suffered shall we say emotional distress, but thankfully little by way of harm to their actual health because their doctors flagged these results and sent them for further testing before it became a problem. There just weren't any egregious sets of facts to work with. That being said, the prosecutors were still confident enough to bring those claims which meant that they deemed it important enough to at least try. Re: misdiagnosis, I'm not sure, but I think much of the success of those civil malpractice cases against doctors plays into that idea of how long the patients relied on their doctor's info. The same kind of rules don't really apply to a diagnostic company because there's not the same relationship between doctor and patient.
Yes! Even in criminal situations/ cases, emotional damage alone isn't enough for things to 'move ahead.' That's why rarely if ever is emotional abuse or mistreatment taking to court or interfered with legally. And in some cases that makes it terrible for the person suffering from another person who is mentally abusive, manipulating, controlling, passive aggressive, or narcissistic.
@@pollyflores418 But legally, that would be jumping to too many conclusions. There must be factual, notable connections between each thing that happen with 'theranos'. A lot of the doctors involved with these patients were very short lived relationships or the relationship between the two was simply a clinical trial examination or test. That is something agreed upon by the doctor and the individual seeking treatment to be a test or a different set of expectations than healthcare standards. And just because prosecutors determined to bring these specific claims to court, doesn't of course mean they have a strong bearing. Sometimes in an effort to get $$$$$$$ back from say theranos or Elizabeth, people will try many things.
@@pollyflores418 also there’s the difference between criminal charges and civil cases. A doctor getting sued is a civil case (kind of like the class action lawsuit of patients against theranos already going.) A doctor would have to have malicious intent or be severely criminally negligent and have caused actual damage to ever have criminal charges brought against them - more along the lines of those “angels of death” nurses.
As a disabled person who gets like... 4 sets of several vials of blood taken every year to be tested, I wish she hadn’t been lying and it sucks that the ill or potentially ill weren’t even considered when it came to hold her accountable
Right? This literally could be a world-changing medical breakthrough if it had been true. It’s a fascinating story, but every time I hear about it it’s one of those stories where I’m like “I WISH she could have actually done the things she wanted to do.” And she’s likely going to get off relatively easily for all of this, which is just…ugh. 🙄
There’s a company which is actually building a machine to do what she promised her machine did! Holmes was too early and was waiting for the tech to catch up but the floor fell out from under her before the tech could catch up. But!!!! There is a company that built a working machine that processes off of a drop of blood!! It’s 2 men whom created it. I watched a documentary about it and it was very interesting!!
The saddest outcome for me in all of this is the head scientist took his own life. He must have suffered so much until he couldn't take it anymore, ant the way his family was treated by Theranos after the fact is unforgivable.
I didn’t know anything about this. It’s horrific. He must have carried the weight of all the patients who suffered because of the choices they made. While Holmes just went on her merry way.
As someone who's been a woman in male-dominated fields, it's incredibly common for women to code-switch into deeper voices in order both to be taken more seriously and to get male coworkers to stop harassing them.
I’ve followed this story so closely and one of the things that I find really wild is so many people justified their support of Elizabeth Holmes because it was “in her dna/blood” because she had relatives who were doctors and scientists?!?!? How on earth do you meet a 19 yr-old university dropout (she did like a year so she probably was only in intro classes) and think oh yeah she’ll be able to use incredibly complex medical science and tech/engineering to do something all real experts say is impossible. Its wild to me
It's all about who you know... not what you know. The professor she convinced to join her board, the influential people who joined in after him, it's like in a sect, it's a buildup. From the top, it looks insane, but if you ease into it, you can be turned into a "believer" by these people. There are manipulation tactics, like the not blinking thing, and the deep cracking voice. People responded to her like they responded to a guy like Keith Raniere... authoritative, but mysterious, always putting up a front of confident wisdom and optimism.. they seem deep, but they never let you in deep enough to see the veneer... It happens a lot in Silicon Valley, this cult-ish behavior. Elon Musk is a perhaps more successful example. Equally as shady if you ask me... and many more people are affected by their impunity and grandiose ambition. Theranos was modest, in a way... they didn't pretend they were ushering in a new age of space colonialism... xD But yeah, there's a "Gold Rush" leftover ethos in Silicon Valley, you want to believe you found the next great nugget of tech investment gold, the next great startup... There was a DEFINITE effect of rationalizing the obvious red flags for the sake of "not missing the boat" on the next big "disruptive" thing, I think. And a LOT of myth building. The attention didn't just come, they no-doubt pursued it. The magazine covers, the valuations, it's all part of the aggrandizing, the "it's all for something greater than us" narrative. And that's part of the Silicon Valley sauce, NOT just Theranos... that "fake it till you make it", "get rich or die trying" mentality goes deep into the DNA of American entrepreneurship. So in a way... they weren't wrong, it WAS sort of in her DNA... what they were wrong about was what "it" was... Success, praise, the feeling of having "earned it"... the high merits of a so-called "meritocracy". It leads to an entitled elite who thinks they're above it all and can just "risk things" for the sake of being viewed as power brokers and bold revolutionaries.. and I believe the more they are hailed as "special", they start believing it more and more, surrounding themselves by "yes men" who will just reinforce the echo chamber.
@@katymaloney Great and thorough comment, thank you! Which also might add to the entire dynamic is that people don't want things/Innovations to fail, the entire system benefits from not second guessing - cause you want to be in in case it really works. Same goes for the art market and frauds in there - no one wants a painting to be fake, sort of, cause everyone in the process makes insane amounts of money along the way.
If Elizabeth had just set her ego to the side, she could’ve focused on the few tests the machine could do and it still would’ve been a great product. She could release it as “the first generation” of the Edison, then continue research and possibly add more tests in subsequent versions of the machine. Had she focused on perfecting those 12 tests and getting them FDA approved, instead of lying her ass off and defrauding investors, Theranos could have possibly revolutionized medicine one day just like she thought it would. Even if she told investors it could do 220 tests, I’m sure they would’ve preferred she been honest and said “it can’t do that many yet, but it can do this many which is still a great achievement and will help a lot of people.” As opposed to lying to and defrauding them.
Totally. She could talk the talk but couldn't walk the walk, she wanted all the fame right away and guaranteed rather than having to wait and work and be patient and risk not achieving that fame if it doesn't work 😯
THIS! She had zero patience or foresight (which kinda also makes me want to say she was spoiled too and never grew out of it). She seems to operate in a whole different world. Like, she doesn't see reality for what it actually is. She seems almost afraid of reality so all of this is just some delusion she's fabricated in order to make reality what she wanted it to be.
@@emolyemu89 agreed. She wasn't patient enough and wasn't willing to hunker down and do the actual work. Inventing and innovating takes time. Steve Jobs didn't become who he was overnight. It seems like she was more enamored with the idea of being a successful celebrity than actual accomplishing her goal.
i go to stanford and people make jokes about her all the time, she is the embodiment of stanford grind culture taken to an immoral and unhinged extreme lmaooo
As a Criminology graduate, I kind of have to agree with your hot take on her not going to prison. Prison shouldn’t be the be all and end all for all crime, especially when the system is so warped and disjointed. Having her defunded and blacklisted from the STEM community would be a viable punishment imo.
Punishments can't just be on a case by case basis, there has to be an overriding sense in a community that you will be punished for doing illegal things in a specific way. Jail is a deterrent for committing crime. There is no better punishment than completely loosing your freedom. Even rich people prison means you are stuck in one place. If people knew all they had to do was some community service more people might rip off investors too. You can't just make people be poor, money can be hidden. And there is no such thing as the STEM community. It's too far reaching and brood to have her blacklisted from everywhere. Trust me, if she doesn't go to prison, anything else you can think of doing to her, she can get around.
I disagree. Such a massive case of fraud needs to be punished severely. The conversation about options to prison is important, but nothing is in place at this time that would give her the consequences she deserves.
@@HeatherE303 Okay but if prison truly was a deterrent for crime, 1- there wouldn’t be so many people in there and recidivism wouldn’t be so rampant, and 2- they would set people up to live productive non-criminal lives when they get out, not set them up to fail. Punishments ARE on a case by case basis and it is an incredibly discriminatory system at that. The legal system is about winning regardless of truth/fact, it is never about justice. When you’re a defense attorney and your client is guilty but pleads not to be, your job is to win that case. So when someone has a lot of money and can pay the best lawyer, they can get off on a crime that is under normal circumstances a jail-able offense, with simply probation or community service or whatever. Not everyone’s files and history are looked at the same either. It is picky choosy. It is systemically racist and classist, and it doesn’t work. Humans need mental health attention and proper support from the institutions that are supposed to take care of us, access to healthcare, enough money to live comfortably, job security, etc… not to be locked in an isolated torture box.
@@hes01231 Check recidivism rates for financial crimes. Way lower. You’re comparing the worst of the justice system (systemic racism, abusive guards, and how a conviction can alter job/life opportunities) for someone who has literally been sitting in a $130 million estate instead of in jail.
@@HeatherE303 Thank you Heather, The fact that in prison Holmes has to obey other people's rules. She can not make up her own rules or schedules, The is a punishment that is warranted. Having her freedom striped from her. The fact she was living in a luxury codo with her boyfriend and lacking for no material needs while small investors suffer lost because or her is not punishment.
On the voice thing: as I get older I find that having a higher pitched voice, a "valley girl" accent, and a authoritative attitude really blows in the professional world. There are lots of people who don't take me, my ideas, or even my emotions seriously because of the way I sound. The second I speak with a meticulous controlled deeper toned voice sometimes I face less resistance. Not always, but people at least listen to me more when I'm in a position of authority. It's made me hate the way I sound and the need to take many lengths to hide "how stupid I sound." So even if it isn't a strategic thing she did it makes so much sense to me. Just makes me a lil sad.
ngl it kinda feels like women need to give off a "I can do it/I'm the one in control" to be heard/taken seriously... so I think that's one of the reasons Betty Holmes here did that fake deep voice and wear turtle necks like her idol Steve Jobs
Yup. I find this to be true when working retail as well. And I don’t have a particularly “girly” voice nor valley accent. But just making myself use a deeper/lower tone instantly seems to make me more reliable and believable.
I heard about this story and read the book “Bad Blood” and I’ve been fascinated ever since. I wish you had touched more on how shitty they treated their employees. Especially those that left and/or tried to speak out. The lawyers they sent after them and the threats were outrageous. I love that you’re doing more videos like this!
I used to work in healthcare in a clinical lab and to this day still find it bizarre that none of these investors asked for any form of health regulatory proof or certification . Things such as GCP, ISO 15189 or some form of proficiency testing. Even FDA wasn’t in the picture until the very last moment. Where were the validation reports, quality controls and comparison studies with regards to sensitivity and specificity? Walgreens was dumb too. They should have done their due diligence. or be suspicious the moment GSK pulled their collaboration
It’s my understanding from the news coverage there were quite a few skeptics at Walgreens corporate. Several tried to raise red flags, but the heads of Walgreens had massive fomo on a killer investment (in the chance it was successful) when they saw other “respected” and “experienced” investors dumping money on Theranos.
YES! As a Finn who has no experience from the field of healthcare, it still just seems so obvious to check. Everything is so regulated here, so that everyone can trust the medicines and foods, that this would never happen here. It’s so bizarre that she just got so far cause of ✨flare✨
Honestly where do people find the energy to commit this much fraud and deceit lmao I’m proud of myself if I vacuum my house and do the dishes and people out here creating fake machines and stealing millions of dollars
Greed and Pride. I personally think for her it was more pride. She always strived to be this powerful entrepreneur who was literally going to save people’s lives.
I’d have more sympathy if it weren’t for the fact that SHE KNEW IT DIDN’T WORK. She willingly signed off and promoted the machines and put them in Walgreens. She was focused on being the next Steve Jobs and didn’t care how she got there.
I feel like people don't talk about it enough that the investors avoided asking questions because they didn't want to look stupid in front this much younger woman. She also really played them on the fact that any skeptic would not only have to discredit her, but challenge their entire peer group of old rich investors who already bought in.
Be careful, that is pure speculation supporting the narrative of chauvinism and bad capitalism. The fact is, this woman is a con artist who is a very smooth, commanding, great speaker, and very convincing. Keep in mind this was brand new “technology” and eventually was placed in pharmacy departments in drug stores, which have their own research teams, although I think there was some concerns by advisors. This woman conned EVERYONE in multiple industries. You don’t have to feel bad for the investors but, to say one doesn’t feel bad for the “rich” investors because they didn’t want to ask questions because she is a woman is irresponsible. 1. We don’t know which questions were asked and info given and 2. It deflects the blame from her being a con artist to the investors who lost money and are victims too. This wasn’t a case where people invest and lost money, it’s a case where she knowingly knew her product didn’t work and conned people out of money.
I get really angry when people focus on her voice and that she faked it. Especially news outlets whose stories mainly cover her voice and not the things she did. She stole millions, she hurt people with her lies. But people are concerned that she faked a deep voice for more credibility. It’s just baffling to me. I don’t think her voice matters in the face of everything else she’s done. Love this video, so glad you made it 😁!
I feel like faking a deeper voice should be a "hate the game, not the player," situation. It sucks that people who are feminine presenting often feel like we have to change elements of ourselves in order to seem more serious and authoritative, but that is the society we live in. She did way worse than this, and I know from experience that sometimes it is faster and easier to put on a persona to get people to do the things they need to when a feminine woman is in a position of power.
@@jessicaharrison4719 But it also goes the other way, like actual studies show people perceive “female” voices as more trustworthy, and less threatening. But honestly, I don’t think anyone was ever buying the fake voice. It just sounds so obviously off. So it really sticks out, alongside the Steve Jobs cosplay, as such a memorably funny and weird thing for someone to do.
@@alexbennet4195 Fair enough, and I don't choose to do this anymore. I used to tell myself it was fine to put on this persona, because if someone is the kind of person it makes a difference to, I don't care what they think of me anyway. But if that were true, I wouldn't care what they thought of who I really am. And the game will only be changed as people see more and more feminine women still leading and succeeding, despite what others think of them.
One of my big takeaways from reading Bad Blood was that the true victims of this case were not only members of the public who had to undergo the unnecessary trauma of getting inaccurate health information, but the employees of Theranos. I know from experience that being in such a toxic and hostile work culture is incredibly traumatizing - it can stick with you for the rest of your life. I do believe that Elizabeth Holmes did genuinely believe in her vision, but I have no sympathy for what she and Sunny did. No matter what she thought she was working toward, the whole endeavor was just bizarre and deeply cruel.
Do I know this story? Yes Have I seen every documentary made about it? Yes Have I been keeping up with the court case? Yes Am I excited to hear Smokey Glow talk about it for 45 minutes? Absolutely
I’m 34 and I never felt as old before until you started explaining Enron. And I realized there are adult people who didn’t live through the crash and remember all the adults in their lives panicking about the recession to come.
As a medical laboratory scientist this whole story has always been mind blowing to me. If any of the ppl involved had been ASCP certified MLS it would have been shut down a lot earlier. We know the amount of sample needed to run tests and that the science is just not at the level she claimed.
ID doc here! Couldn’t agree more, but even I have zero say when it comes to the associate business degree kids that run my hospital’s admin(‘: people who have little to no understanding when it comes to basic science or medicine telling healthcare workers what is expected of them…so jacked up. Almost reminiscent of Andrew Wakefield and The Lancet. No actual evidence, despite TL being a peer reviewed scientific journal…
When it comes to her being a role model (before everything collappsed), as a woman in STEM, I don't really find it inspiring that she changed her appearance and voice and basically became a persona. It kind of gave me the impression that the way to succeed in this field is to change yourself to fit the idea of an entrepreneur in tech.
I agree, but she's not the problem - it's the environment that demands women change themselves to gain credibility, rather than being taken for who they are.
What!? I’m so here to hear your take on this insanity! You’re also giving the most GLOWING vibes, so gorgeous! I’ve been getting more interested in her story since her trial had such a mixed bag of verdicts! Perfect late-night listening. Thanks girl!
The one thing that no one ever wants to talk about is her hair. The one time I saw it mentioned it was in the vain of women and unfair beauty standards. What no one was thinking about was how this was such a metaphor for her and her business. Her hair was naturally curly, yet she flat ironed her hair to the point that she had broken hairs all over her black clothes. She wanted her hair to be straight yet she clearly didn’t put any thought into how it was done. This is very much like theranos. She wanted everyone to see a successful startup yet she clearly did put any thought into how it was done. Also in my opinion Elizabeth wasn’t in an abusive relationship with Sunny. I am so annoyed with the fact that when there photoshoots and interviews she was all in the front. Girl boss! Woman revolutionizing the world. Yet when shit hits the fan she was innocent little white girl taken advantage of by the big bad brown man. How could her silly little brain understand? That is why I don’t believe her.
yeah but have u ever considered that maybe she was front and center for photo shoots for marketing purposes..? i’m not trying to deny your claims but her identity as a woman was a massive part of theranos’ marketing
It's interesting too because as far as I understand, the company was founded by HER and she ran it for some time before Sunny came into the picture. So did she suddenly started caring about the product not working after Sunny entered the company and was forced by him to continue? Why didn't she care before, when she built an entire company on the base of an invention that didn't exist? That defense is really difficult to support just looking at the facts
I am livid for the actual victims who got side swiped by this case and by justice. And my petty side is pissed that I can't wear a black turtleneck without feeling like Elizabeth Holmes. 😭💀
I’ve followed this case ever since my life partner and I got a letter in the mail for a class action lawsuit against Theranos for payment owed to us for having bloodwork done by this company. When it was all said and done we got Ike 35$ each. I never understood how people backed a 19yr old Uni dropout with NO MEDICAL BACKGROUND with millions of dollars and believed her dream would come true with no experience or schooling !!! You gotta hand it to her. She pulled the biggest scheme in world history off !!!
one of my favorite genres is business (scam) documentaries. Ive seen the theranos one, enron, fire festivals, lula roe, etc... they're so interesting. always feel bad for the people that got screwed over :(
I always appreciate your thoroughness in covering these topics. I had heard of the story before, but I hadn’t heard much about her background, so that was super interesting. Also that tidbit about her dad is so ironic. The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree.
I agree with you the jail bit! I’m a lawyer-not barred attorney-and during law school, I really started to realize that prison/jail is not the best solution for most crimes. I also think the consequences should be more tailored and specific to what you’re found guilty of, like your suggestion for her to remedy the issues of patients.
Yes! This is a basic psychological principle too, like sometimes it works better to make a reward consistent wth the behavior to increase a behavior and a punishment consistent with the crime to decrease a behavior.
This woman should be locked up. The way she terrorized employees and whistleblowers, her attempts to ruin them financially, and the danger she put patients in....I don't know what fantasy world you are coming from...she may have been only found guilty of fraud against investors but the rest of the people she hurt are getting justice by proxy via those guilty verdicts.
Hi! Just wanna say I know you said you were nervous about branching out. You’re doing great and you look awesome! That last sentence goes for everyone reading this.
The Whistleblower, Tyler Shultz, actually spoke at my University my sophomore year. It was so cool being a biomedical engineering student and hear his inside perspective plus fear that she really managed to instill in him. You covered the story exactly as he did minus some of his own personal details. Great breakdown and video!❤️
SO stoked that you’re covering this topic! I first heard about the Elizabeth Holmes case on the TMG podcast. Please keep talking about the topics that interest you, you really shine and make great content especially when it’s topics you really care about!
I love that you’re talking about this! I’m an engineering student and I’ve been fascinated and horrified by this case ever since I had to write an ethics essay on Theranos. I think it’s great they made us learn about it
Never forget the syphilis episode...the Edison was so inaccurate that at one point, a bunch of lab employees all ran tests on the Edison and like, an overwhelming amount of them came back positive for syphilis. Few to none actually had syphilis.
this kind of feels like a emperor’s new clothes type situation. elizabeth and all the investors keep saying this machine is amazing but it’s not until the reporter pointed out the truth that people realize it’s a fraud
Smokey, I think she wasn't convicted of defrauding patients because in the eyes of the legal system there are many "middlemen" between Elizabeth herself and the patients. For instance patients had to get prescriptions from doctors to get blood tests, so possibly the doctors are at fault. Or because the blood tests were conducted at Walgreens, perhaps Walgreens as a company was at fault. Or maybe the executive who decided to put Theranos machines in Walgreens stores is at fault. Basically I completely agree that there is a lot of trauma that these patients went through but legally the "blame" can go onto a number of people who were down the chain from Elizabeth herself...like I agree that morally she is responsible yes but moral responsibility and legal responsibility are (unfortunately) two different things
I can tell how enthusiastic you are about this topic lol! I remember listening to a bunch of podcasts about this a couple years ago. I'd love to hear you cover more "lighter" crime stories tbh (ie not murder)
The thing about the actual Edison device that makes it so enticing is that it’s very similar to something that actually DOES exist and work: an allergy testing panel. There are instruments that will take a small amount of blood and test it against hundreds of common antigens, all at the push of a button to see what a person is allergic to with extreme specificity. I’d like to think that something similar to the Edison (perhaps for a more narrow scope of diseases such as metabolic disorders with a genetic component) is in our near future.
I've also been super interested in Elizabeth Holmes for years. I went super down the rabbit hole too! But it all worked out for me when during one of my last classes in my MBA (a business and law class), we actually discussed her and the Theranos case! Our first case was actually on Urban Decay and how the company was created (which was a super interesting case involving how much having an idea, but not acting on that idea, is worth)
Ooo that sounds cool, I always thought about doing a MBA degree but never did, but that urban decay case sounds neat too, I will have to go down that rabbit hole now 👌 Especially now as a professional makeup artist lol.
I currently work in a clinical laboratory and knew nothing about this case. It's really wild that I was in school and finishing my degree in Biology when this was happening and it just flew by me haha When you said all the testing with a single drop of blood, I actually laughed out loud.. big yikes.
That's pretty much the same reaction I got from my two friends in healthcare whenever I explain this case to them. It blows my mind that Elizabeth Holmes got as far as she did.
Same! I don't have a medical background in the slightest, but from what I have learned, not only was her "idea" highly unlikely based on current medical practices and research but what she was proposing that a machine could do with a single drop of blood, defies the laws of physics. Like, literally impossible! It is no wonder that she filled her board with politicians and military generals who didn't have any expertise in medicine or diagnostics. I actually surprised no one around that board table asked, "wait...shouldn't we ask a doctor or something to join us?"
The thing was…. The machine COULD do 220+ tests (LMFAO we now know it’s Bullshit) but it was only 1drop could only do 1 or 2 tests. So you’d have to give multiple drops of blood for multiple tests.
I am LOVING that you are extending your commentary beyond UA-cam and Make Up topics! Stuff like this fascinates me, so if you want to make more videos like these, I'd definitely watch. Also your make up, hair, and outfit looked fantastic in this video!
Once you fall into the Enron hole, its hard to climb out. Im obsessed with this case. Im shocked she made it as far as she did. But its because she was a “beautiful “ white woman. I truly think she thought the technology would catch up eventually. Unfortunately the whole thing was built on fraud. Im not sympathetic to investors. No one did their due diligence. Even Walgreens (?) refused to listen to their own advisor. Im more angry that she was able to test on dying seniors and had access to soldiers overseas, although that never panned out. Its scary someone can make it so far without anything.
"At the end of the day it's just a bunch of really really rich people with really really rich people problems and at the centre of it is a woman who wears turtlenecks and doesn't blink" AHHAHA goddamn, if that ain't the truth. This was super interesting, and I agree on your comments about jail. She should have to actually come face to face with the trauma she caused. Pls do more like this!
This was insanely well done Hannah. You are so amazing at the content you make, I am always invested 1000% whether it’s a makeup video or a more serious video. You are so well-spoken and an amazing woman inside and out. I would love love love to see more of these types of videos, this was very refreshing and intriguing to watch. Thank you for all that you do! I discovered your channel in 2020 during quarantine and have been a consistent fan ever since
I would argue that it’s far more damaging for people getting a false negative than people getting a false positive, but either way it’s harmful. It’s also so sad because she could have been such a role model for women in STEM and could have still turned things around at any moment if she had admitted that it wasn’t working.
Many people have came forward saying they got false positives!! There was a man who got a false positive for diabetes and his Theranos results gave a BUNCH of pre-generated information saying he had early onset diabetes and he had a family history of it so he was very concerned and was given a prescription to start a medicine regimen to help avoid getting diabetes…. luckily his doctor was like something isn’t right here and made them get actual bloodwork before starting medication and he was totally fine… Once he started that medication he wouldn’t have been able to stop so Holmes did a lot of harm!!
I literally do not care the subject matter on what Hannah talk abt, I just like hearing her talk and I love hearing what she has to say. I could listen to her for hours 😭
I would say the callous way that the employees were treated was some of the hardest parts of the case for me, like one of the top scientists at Theranos unaliving himself and management not even acknowledging it
Really the sentencing and the whole legal aspect of this is about the fact that we value money over so much. During the trial (law and press) the defense talked about how Elizabeth didn’t really live up a lavish life on the money so she wasn’t really trying to defraud people. I think Hannah is right about Theranos being about Elizabeth’s ego so of course she didn’t want the money for extravagance: she wanted it to keep the company going and keep getting the prestige. She loved being “the youngest woman” or whatever titles she was given.
Thanks for doing something that you are interested in, it shows and I enjoyed your insight! I appreciate your channel and your thoughts and views. Your voice is powerful and I appreciate how you use it.
Hi Hannah, this is off topic but could you please look into the Juvia's Place racist situation? you could find the info on twitter if you just search the brand's name. As an asian person, I really don't want this to quietly go away as JP wishes ( they're deleting comments.).
IMO this fits very well into your channel content and I am here for it! I have not heard of her but interestingly enough have heard of Enron, big time. And I do imagine that did indeed lead you down a huge rabbit hole all by itself? Thanks Hannah, you have a real gift for this with your research and you are a great storyteller as well! 💗
Absolutely agree with your sentencing suggestions. Strip her of her money and status, and make her do a substantial (3-5 yrs) amount of community service for the ones who were hurt by her actions. Maybe take the money she has left and donate it to the real victims. Also, I think she should be banned from the medical industry for life, and have the crimes committed to following her for the rest of her life on a background check. Something that doesn’t allow her to have it expunged from the record. That may sound harsh, but I’m of the mind that it takes a specific type of person to commit such crimes. One that doesn’t care about others' medical well-being, and that is some of the lowest ish IMO. Another fantastic video, bb! 💜💜💜
God I love the growth of this channel. Was always a background subscriber bc you remind me of an old friend of mine but more so you’re one of the very few commentary channels I can actually stand listening to. Keep up the good work and have a fab 2022
Amen, Hannah. The rich never get more than what is to them a slap on the wrist, compared to the extent that poorer people's arrests/fines impact their lives. The way to punish the richest people should 100% be to ACTUALLY redistribute a large portion of their wealth into the communities they've hurt - rather than putting them away in a comfortable facility for a short amount of time and taking the tiniest fraction of their fortune to pay back to other rich people. But that kind of punishment would truly threaten the 1% into not committing crimes. And we can't have that, when they can make so much money bending and breaking laws instead 🙄
I've watched interviews and a documentary on this story and still was unsure of what it was all about. Until your video. I understand now. You really would be a great teacher. I guess she grifted people who grift the average person everyday. But I do think she should face consequences.
Yh but it’s not just the investors, it’s also the innocent people who just wanted blood tests done and got wildly inaccurate results, which could have been literally fatal and meant they wouldn’t have the right diagnosis or medication
That's true. I just wonder how she can be punished and the people she harmed can get justice. I remember Enron and how some people lost everything and took their life's because it was too much. In the end I want her to feel shame for what she did not how it affected her. But I don't think she has the ability to feel shame.
The reason she was found guilty of the investor counts and not the patient harm is because they couldn't find a direct link between her and the lying to patients. They did find her directly lying to investors, so they convicted her on what they felt was justified and would survive appeal. I find it ignorant at best to say that regular people are the most important but then to call it a miscarriage of justice when a jury of regular people make a verdict. Additionally, a lot of patient harm evidence was excluded at trial so the verdict could survive appeal. I think it's worse because Smokey Glow said she's listened to every podcast on the subject, and every podcast has talked in depth about how and why the jury reached its decision. The justice system is deeply flawed but context should be fully understood and disclosed before making pronouncements. Pronouncements without education is just disinformation.
For some reason, the story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos seems very similar to the story of the Fyre festival for me. Both involve a white narcissist who thought they could just BS their way into becoming "legends", and when things began to unravel, their whole bubble bursted
Speaking in a lower voice and overall tuning down "feminine" qualities when wanting to be taken seriously by men is proven to work. When I was doing my maths degree I always put on men's deodorant for oral exams 😅
About the voice thing, I mean…she could just be a mezzo, whose vocal range is very wide and can go both high and low. I’m a mezzo too. I naturally sound higher and more “girly” either when I’m happy and excited (eg. when talking with close friends) or when I’m angry and having an intense argument. Meanwhile, I sound much deeper and more “masculine” when I’m either very calm or very serious, such as when I’m in the “work mode” and talking about my work. It just depends on the mood. So it makes a lot of sense for Elizabeth to always sound very deep in situations where she talks about her business, and only “slip” into a much higher pitch when there’s intense fluctuation in her emotions - which may not happen a lot if she naturally has a very calm and calculated personality.
Hannah: [talking about a topic I can never hear enough about] Gold ball in the background: [wiggle wiggle wiggle] Me: [gets distracted by wiggling gold decor]
I would love a video of you covering the crazy stuff happening at Activision/blizzard. I know you don't talk about gaming but boy those workplace violations definitely deserve all the coverage just from the sheer insanity of it.
I had the displeasure of knowing about her and this whole case back in like 2019 when I had a "critical issue" class that talk only about this topic for a week and I thought that she was pretty skeevy and insecure person and that doesn't seem to have changed
Don't know why this story fascinates me so much-- I got really into it when watching Cold Fusion and also consumed a ton about it, so I'm SO GLAD to see you cover it! I love your nuanced and insightful commentary xx
Hey Smokey, I hope you're aware of what's going on with Juvia's Place right now. Needless to say, I'm appalled by their blatant racism and the fact that it's going unnoticed by a majority of the internet. Either that, or people simply are unfazed by racism against Asians. It's been disheartening to see
@@SodaPopJX they had a video of someone saying "ch*nky" up on their ig page for 4 days until too many ppl got mad. Now they're deleting comments calling them out.
How have I never heard of this story before?? I’m so glad you covered it! And also I couldn’t agree more on the comment about how fake net worths are. Truly how did we come up with a net worth of $4 billion for a person who owns a company with one fake product? It’s just as hilarious as it is scary.
I’d just like to point something out about that “patch” theory. I actually have a patch on my arm right now that releases 20 micrograms of a pain relief every hour. How it works I have no idea but it does exist.
Current antibiotics use IVs because they're extremely low in potency. Other medications don't work subdermally for a number of reasons (I'm pretty sure some are dangerous hanging in your bloodstream like that), she'd have to discover many new drug classes that could work that way. Additionally, there are some things that work like that, for example a continuous glucometer and a new similar insulin product. However, instead of getting her education and establishing a company to research and refine real products, she chose fraud.
@@biguattipoptropica I agree 100% what she done was disgusting and harmful and she had absolutely no idea what she was talking about but I just wanted to clear up that the patch idea wasn’t impossible like Hannah/professors said it was. Definitely not to the scale she was thinking but possible. I hope that makes sense.
@@biguattipoptropica I never said it was possible for all drugs. I’m saying that the idea is possible because there are patches (specifically for pain relief) available now. I have one on my arm.
@@taylorpain9095 "the idea" has nothing to do with the current state of reality. The professor isn't dismissive because she doesn't think microfluiditics exist, she dismissed it because why would IVs exist if drugs were potent and safe enough for patches?
😂😂 about the not blinking, you just reminded me of the time when I was in junior high and my bff then was telling me a movie she saw, and in the middle of her story she would tell me, ok stop! I was like, What? She’d tell me, your eyes are so wide open and you’re hardly blinking, you’re scaring me. 😂😂😂😂 and we’d laugh about and she would finish her story telling. But after the first time she’d constantly remind me to blink. 😂 but just on her story times. I catch myself doing it when I’m so entertained with a talk. 😂😂😂
Honestly if she had put this energy into writing a series of Sci-fi books she would have done really well. This would've been a great premise for some speculative fiction that would INSPIRE the future of science. The route she chose is deplorable. To give people false hope while pocketing money is horrible.
Seriously, the amount of people who could have achieved so much more and with much better, positive results had they just decided to be ethical or sensible... It's gut-wrenching.
She should’ve modified her idea to creating custom made portable blood test machines that can run tests that require the same reagents and/or techniques to achieve results. A one size fits all blood testing machine is just not possible.
My biggest red flag: no people in the medical field were on the board. Also for a woman who claims to care so much about women in STEM, she had no women in STEM on her board and bullied and harassed any competent women who called her out.
(Petty: Everyone talks about Elizabeth’s “alluring” baritone and I just...she literally sounds like a 12 year old boy purposely deepening his voice to impress his crush. That’s my take, don’t at me)
I think shed be a good example of a pick me maybe 😭
That’s my thing .. I’m just an RN and I know we need certain amounts of blood to test levels and same goes with administration of antibiotics, a patch would never would due to the concentration of medication having to be very specific.. it makes me think she didn’t even bother to learn the basics , well I know she didn’t or she would have never tried this.. I don’t understand how these tremendously wealthy people fell for this .. like can we get a demonstration? She must have been a good shit talker .
Honestly I think the alluring-ness was in the eyes, her eyes _really_ draw you in (whether positively or negatively). And I agree she reminds me of my 15 year old cousin trying to have a deep voice to impress my friends lol
@@shelikestuff bingo. ID doc, used to work in pharm r&d in grad school, before Med school. Novel drug development to combat abx resistance. So hearing about her abx patch idea literally sent me into orbit…..so many variables….pt MPH/Med allergies, shelf life of meds, route of delivery, course of abx, pathogen sensitivity, pt weight vs dosage???
I am having an existential crisis, I cannot.
PETTY 😭😭😭💀💀💀💀
Oh this is going to be a good one. I need a "People who girl-bossed too close to the sun" series or playlist.
Yes, I need a video about Nasty Gal.
This!!!
Yes please !!
Yesss please 🥺
YES
As being a woman in STEM I understand having to feel you have to put on a sort of facade so that men take you seriously. So that part I do sympathize. However the fact that no one asked for RESEARCH or EVIDENCE that this machine actually worked is insane
Right? That’s the most mind blowing part to me. I would NEVER hand over that much money without evidence
Not to mention she didn’t even have the credentials for it. She was a chemical engineer drop out and has never trained in health sciences before . Except that short 3 month stint at GIS which was a research lab. As someone who worked in a clinical lab, I got so infuriated while reading bad blood.
@@madisonbutler3874 ]p
Very telling that she emulated everything masculine on her rise and resorted to everything feminine to avoid facing the music.
Just saying she didn't get no women higher ups or investors cause women will see through that BS lol
I followed this case since ColdFusion talked about her. What sucks is that during Theranos' prime, funding for similar, GENUINE, projects are basically diverted to Theranos. Actual talented scientists would ask for funding only to be told by investors that "Theranos is already doing that and getting progress". Now that Theranos turned out to be a massive scam, investors are suddenly wary of similar projects because they might also be a scam, which is just ridiculous. I honestly have to sympathize with Laree Rhenda from Safeway, she's attracted by the propositions to work with Theranos because her husband was suffering from cancer. My Mom had cancer, so I know first hand how much of a chore it is for nurses to find a vein during her tests and chemos. She's basically taking advantage of sick people. Those who actually got tested with Theranos, some of them could almost die because doctors depend on blood tests to reduce or increase the medicines given to them.
Yeah would all be fun and scam, but she 1. tested her bullshit on real sick people and 2. destroyed it for other start ups and woman in the field....
I love cold fusion!!
The beginning of her story is always interesting to me since really being a person that has an idea beyond the current scope of our understanding (and that refuses peoples disbelief) is necessary for breakthrough ideas. However obviously the line between genius and irrationally stubborn seem to be quite blurry
People think having an idea is the same as actually making that idea real and functional 😭
- A
I agree. It wouldn't have been out of line to pursue exploratory research into any of these ideas imo, but she had to go all in with a whole product.
I agree. Honestly i think if she would have started smaller (like finding a replacement for needles or developing a needle that you can’t feel etc.) while attempting to develop the science that would make the Edison work, she might have had a successful and revolutionary buisness… but she had to start big and lie… 🥴
If she wasn't so unbelievably stubborn they probably could have developed a larger, more expensive machine that actually worked closer to as promised and people would have been fucking thrilled anyway!
"We need to make some adjustments" and then...do that. Don't Magical-Think your way into whatever this is. Damn!
Lawyer here who has also obsessively followed this case. Another reason the fraud claims on behalf of patients weren't successful is that one of the elements of fraud is actual damage. Emotional damage alone isn't often enough. So unless a patient spent, say, thousands of dollars on some kind of treatment in reliance on these test results, which, thankfully, no one seemed to, winning a fraud claim on their behalf is near impossible. On the behalf of investors who can show how many millions they lost however? Easy. That being said, I definitely agree that the true victims here were patients, as well as the former employees that she and Sunny harassed and made miserable.
Genuine question: Is the way a fake blood test could affect their actual health not considered in these cases? I know nothing of the law but I do know some doctors get sued for misdiagnosis and stuff like that, could that not be applied here?
@@pollyflores418 Good question. My understanding (keeping in mind I'm not a criminal lawyer) is that in theory yes but on these facts it would be difficult. I think every one of these patients suffered shall we say emotional distress, but thankfully little by way of harm to their actual health because their doctors flagged these results and sent them for further testing before it became a problem. There just weren't any egregious sets of facts to work with. That being said, the prosecutors were still confident enough to bring those claims which meant that they deemed it important enough to at least try. Re: misdiagnosis, I'm not sure, but I think much of the success of those civil malpractice cases against doctors plays into that idea of how long the patients relied on their doctor's info. The same kind of rules don't really apply to a diagnostic company because there's not the same relationship between doctor and patient.
Yes! Even in criminal situations/ cases, emotional damage alone isn't enough for things to 'move ahead.' That's why rarely if ever is emotional abuse or mistreatment taking to court or interfered with legally. And in some cases that makes it terrible for the person suffering from another person who is mentally abusive, manipulating, controlling, passive aggressive, or narcissistic.
@@pollyflores418 But legally, that would be jumping to too many conclusions. There must be factual, notable connections between each thing that happen with 'theranos'. A lot of the doctors involved with these patients were very short lived relationships or the relationship between the two was simply a clinical trial examination or test. That is something agreed upon by the doctor and the individual seeking treatment to be a test or a different set of expectations than healthcare standards. And just because prosecutors determined to bring these specific claims to court, doesn't of course mean they have a strong bearing. Sometimes in an effort to get $$$$$$$ back from say theranos or Elizabeth, people will try many things.
@@pollyflores418 also there’s the difference between criminal charges and civil cases. A doctor getting sued is a civil case (kind of like the class action lawsuit of patients against theranos already going.) A doctor would have to have malicious intent or be severely criminally negligent and have caused actual damage to ever have criminal charges brought against them - more along the lines of those “angels of death” nurses.
As a disabled person who gets like... 4 sets of several vials of blood taken every year to be tested, I wish she hadn’t been lying and it sucks that the ill or potentially ill weren’t even considered when it came to hold her accountable
Right?!? The ‘Justice system’ didn’t even hold her accountable for the pain she caused them. It’s fucked up.
Right? This literally could be a world-changing medical breakthrough if it had been true. It’s a fascinating story, but every time I hear about it it’s one of those stories where I’m like “I WISH she could have actually done the things she wanted to do.” And she’s likely going to get off relatively easily for all of this, which is just…ugh. 🙄
There’s a company which is actually building a machine to do what she promised her machine did! Holmes was too early and was waiting for the tech to catch up but the floor fell out from under her before the tech could catch up. But!!!! There is a company that built a working machine that processes off of a drop of blood!! It’s 2 men whom created it. I watched a documentary about it and it was very interesting!!
The saddest outcome for me in all of this is the head scientist took his own life. He must have suffered so much until he couldn't take it anymore, ant the way his family was treated by Theranos after the fact is unforgivable.
and the fact that Theranos didn’t send any condolences 🤮🤮🤮🤮
Oh wow, I never even heard about that, how sad!!
I didn’t know anything about this. It’s horrific. He must have carried the weight of all the patients who suffered because of the choices they made. While Holmes just went on her merry way.
As someone who's been a woman in male-dominated fields, it's incredibly common for women to code-switch into deeper voices in order both to be taken more seriously and to get male coworkers to stop harassing them.
I’ve followed this story so closely and one of the things that I find really wild is so many people justified their support of Elizabeth Holmes because it was “in her dna/blood” because she had relatives who were doctors and scientists?!?!? How on earth do you meet a 19 yr-old university dropout (she did like a year so she probably was only in intro classes) and think oh yeah she’ll be able to use incredibly complex medical science and tech/engineering to do something all real experts say is impossible. Its wild to me
Yea like, my grandpa is trillingual and was a language teacher. Doesn't mean I automatically acquire a third language.
It's all about who you know... not what you know. The professor she convinced to join her board, the influential people who joined in after him, it's like in a sect, it's a buildup. From the top, it looks insane, but if you ease into it, you can be turned into a "believer" by these people. There are manipulation tactics, like the not blinking thing, and the deep cracking voice. People responded to her like they responded to a guy like Keith Raniere... authoritative, but mysterious, always putting up a front of confident wisdom and optimism.. they seem deep, but they never let you in deep enough to see the veneer... It happens a lot in Silicon Valley, this cult-ish behavior. Elon Musk is a perhaps more successful example. Equally as shady if you ask me... and many more people are affected by their impunity and grandiose ambition. Theranos was modest, in a way... they didn't pretend they were ushering in a new age of space colonialism... xD But yeah, there's a "Gold Rush" leftover ethos in Silicon Valley, you want to believe you found the next great nugget of tech investment gold, the next great startup... There was a DEFINITE effect of rationalizing the obvious red flags for the sake of "not missing the boat" on the next big "disruptive" thing, I think. And a LOT of myth building. The attention didn't just come, they no-doubt pursued it. The magazine covers, the valuations, it's all part of the aggrandizing, the "it's all for something greater than us" narrative. And that's part of the Silicon Valley sauce, NOT just Theranos... that "fake it till you make it", "get rich or die trying" mentality goes deep into the DNA of American entrepreneurship. So in a way... they weren't wrong, it WAS sort of in her DNA... what they were wrong about was what "it" was... Success, praise, the feeling of having "earned it"... the high merits of a so-called "meritocracy". It leads to an entitled elite who thinks they're above it all and can just "risk things" for the sake of being viewed as power brokers and bold revolutionaries.. and I believe the more they are hailed as "special", they start believing it more and more, surrounding themselves by "yes men" who will just reinforce the echo chamber.
@@katymaloney Great and thorough comment, thank you! Which also might add to the entire dynamic is that people don't want things/Innovations to fail, the entire system benefits from not second guessing - cause you want to be in in case it really works. Same goes for the art market and frauds in there - no one wants a painting to be fake, sort of, cause everyone in the process makes insane amounts of money along the way.
apparently she did inherit from her father how to be a financial failure
They were probably just hoping she’d blink and stop with the wide eyed dead stare.
If Elizabeth had just set her ego to the side, she could’ve focused on the few tests the machine could do and it still would’ve been a great product. She could release it as “the first generation” of the Edison, then continue research and possibly add more tests in subsequent versions of the machine. Had she focused on perfecting those 12 tests and getting them FDA approved, instead of lying her ass off and defrauding investors, Theranos could have possibly revolutionized medicine one day just like she thought it would. Even if she told investors it could do 220 tests, I’m sure they would’ve preferred she been honest and said “it can’t do that many yet, but it can do this many which is still a great achievement and will help a lot of people.” As opposed to lying to and defrauding them.
Totally. She could talk the talk but couldn't walk the walk, she wanted all the fame right away and guaranteed rather than having to wait and work and be patient and risk not achieving that fame if it doesn't work 😯
THIS! She had zero patience or foresight (which kinda also makes me want to say she was spoiled too and never grew out of it). She seems to operate in a whole different world. Like, she doesn't see reality for what it actually is. She seems almost afraid of reality so all of this is just some delusion she's fabricated in order to make reality what she wanted it to be.
@@emolyemu89 agreed. She wasn't patient enough and wasn't willing to hunker down and do the actual work. Inventing and innovating takes time. Steve Jobs didn't become who he was overnight. It seems like she was more enamored with the idea of being a successful celebrity than actual accomplishing her goal.
@@emolyemu89 well her parents were pretty rich, so I guess she just kept being a spoiled kid even when she became an adult
I feel like you missed the part where she said the 12 tests had false results (except for 1-herpes) lol. The whole machine was faulty.
she really took gatekeep, gaslight, girlboss to a whole new level huh
i go to stanford and people make jokes about her all the time, she is the embodiment of stanford grind culture taken to an immoral and unhinged extreme lmaooo
💀
To me the saddest thing about this case is that one of her employees literally killed himself because of her
Really?
Facts! One of the craziest things that no one ever talks about. Read the book Bad Blood ya'll...it will blow your minds.
Oh damn I never heard that smh
As a Criminology graduate, I kind of have to agree with your hot take on her not going to prison. Prison shouldn’t be the be all and end all for all crime, especially when the system is so warped and disjointed. Having her defunded and blacklisted from the STEM community would be a viable punishment imo.
Punishments can't just be on a case by case basis, there has to be an overriding sense in a community that you will be punished for doing illegal things in a specific way. Jail is a deterrent for committing crime. There is no better punishment than completely loosing your freedom. Even rich people prison means you are stuck in one place. If people knew all they had to do was some community service more people might rip off investors too. You can't just make people be poor, money can be hidden. And there is no such thing as the STEM community. It's too far reaching and brood to have her blacklisted from everywhere. Trust me, if she doesn't go to prison, anything else you can think of doing to her, she can get around.
I disagree. Such a massive case of fraud needs to be punished severely. The conversation about options to prison is important, but nothing is in place at this time that would give her the consequences she deserves.
@@HeatherE303 Okay but if prison truly was a deterrent for crime, 1- there wouldn’t be so many people in there and recidivism wouldn’t be so rampant, and 2- they would set people up to live productive non-criminal lives when they get out, not set them up to fail. Punishments ARE on a case by case basis and it is an incredibly discriminatory system at that. The legal system is about winning regardless of truth/fact, it is never about justice. When you’re a defense attorney and your client is guilty but pleads not to be, your job is to win that case. So when someone has a lot of money and can pay the best lawyer, they can get off on a crime that is under normal circumstances a jail-able offense, with simply probation or community service or whatever. Not everyone’s files and history are looked at the same either. It is picky choosy. It is systemically racist and classist, and it doesn’t work. Humans need mental health attention and proper support from the institutions that are supposed to take care of us, access to healthcare, enough money to live comfortably, job security, etc… not to be locked in an isolated torture box.
@@hes01231 Check recidivism rates for financial crimes. Way lower. You’re comparing the worst of the justice system (systemic racism, abusive guards, and how a conviction can alter job/life opportunities) for someone who has literally been sitting in a $130 million estate instead of in jail.
@@HeatherE303 Thank you Heather, The fact that in prison Holmes has to obey other people's rules. She can not make up her own rules or schedules, The is a punishment that is warranted. Having her freedom striped from her. The fact she was living in a luxury codo with her boyfriend and lacking for no material needs while small investors suffer lost because or her is not punishment.
On the voice thing: as I get older I find that having a higher pitched voice, a "valley girl" accent, and a authoritative attitude really blows in the professional world. There are lots of people who don't take me, my ideas, or even my emotions seriously because of the way I sound. The second I speak with a meticulous controlled deeper toned voice sometimes I face less resistance. Not always, but people at least listen to me more when I'm in a position of authority. It's made me hate the way I sound and the need to take many lengths to hide "how stupid I sound." So even if it isn't a strategic thing she did it makes so much sense to me. Just makes me a lil sad.
Ps. Love this kinda content! Love your content! Keep up the amazing work and you look incredible. 👏
ngl it kinda feels like women need to give off a "I can do it/I'm the one in control" to be heard/taken seriously... so I think that's one of the reasons Betty Holmes here did that fake deep voice and wear turtle necks like her idol Steve Jobs
I have the same experience with having a very “girly” voice.
Yup. I find this to be true when working retail as well. And I don’t have a particularly “girly” voice nor valley accent. But just making myself use a deeper/lower tone instantly seems to make me more reliable and believable.
100% agree with this, except when I'm talking to people outside of the U.S. Then my normal higher pitched casual voice plays well. lol
I heard about this story and read the book “Bad Blood” and I’ve been fascinated ever since. I wish you had touched more on how shitty they treated their employees. Especially those that left and/or tried to speak out. The lawyers they sent after them and the threats were outrageous. I love that you’re doing more videos like this!
I used to work in healthcare in a clinical lab and to this day still find it bizarre that none of these investors asked for any form of health regulatory proof or certification . Things such as GCP, ISO 15189 or some form of proficiency testing. Even FDA wasn’t in the picture until the very last moment. Where were the validation reports, quality controls and comparison studies with regards to sensitivity and specificity? Walgreens was dumb too. They should have done their due diligence. or be suspicious the moment GSK pulled their collaboration
Right??? I guess it was just credibility by word if mouth or something!
Right!. I truly believe there’s something else we are not seeing
It’s my understanding from the news coverage there were quite a few skeptics at Walgreens corporate. Several tried to raise red flags, but the heads of Walgreens had massive fomo on a killer investment (in the chance it was successful) when they saw other “respected” and “experienced” investors dumping money on Theranos.
WATCH Cruel World Happy Mind, so much MLM fraud content
YES! As a Finn who has no experience from the field of healthcare, it still just seems so obvious to check. Everything is so regulated here, so that everyone can trust the medicines and foods, that this would never happen here. It’s so bizarre that she just got so far cause of ✨flare✨
Honestly where do people find the energy to commit this much fraud and deceit lmao I’m proud of myself if I vacuum my house and do the dishes and people out here creating fake machines and stealing millions of dollars
LITERALLY like wouldn’t she get bored or tired keeping that up every single day?
Greed and Pride. I personally think for her it was more pride. She always strived to be this powerful entrepreneur who was literally going to save people’s lives.
I think they have to have a certain level of delusion. She probably kept saying the lie so much, she convinced herself as well
Right? 😂 Where do people find the drive to do this kind of thing? SMH
LOL, totally agree, came here to say the same thing!
I’d have more sympathy if it weren’t for the fact that SHE KNEW IT DIDN’T WORK. She willingly signed off and promoted the machines and put them in Walgreens. She was focused on being the next Steve Jobs and didn’t care how she got there.
Yup a true narcissist!!! Does anything and everything and Dgaf who they step on or destroy to get to the top!
But welcome to the Federal Department of Corrections! 👋🏻
I feel like people don't talk about it enough that the investors avoided asking questions because they didn't want to look stupid in front this much younger woman. She also really played them on the fact that any skeptic would not only have to discredit her, but challenge their entire peer group of old rich investors who already bought in.
Be careful, that is pure speculation supporting the narrative of chauvinism and bad capitalism. The fact is, this woman is a con artist who is a very smooth, commanding, great speaker, and very convincing.
Keep in mind this was brand new “technology” and eventually was placed in pharmacy departments in drug stores, which have their own research teams, although I think there was some concerns by advisors. This woman conned EVERYONE in multiple industries.
You don’t have to feel bad for the investors but, to say one doesn’t feel bad for the “rich” investors because they didn’t want to ask questions because she is a woman is irresponsible. 1. We don’t know which questions were asked and info given and 2. It deflects the blame from her being a con artist to the investors who lost money and are victims too. This wasn’t a case where people invest and lost money, it’s a case where she knowingly knew her product didn’t work and conned people out of money.
This is absolutely not true. She doctored evidence and data to seem legitimate to investors.
I get really angry when people focus on her voice and that she faked it. Especially news outlets whose stories mainly cover her voice and not the things she did. She stole millions, she hurt people with her lies. But people are concerned that she faked a deep voice for more credibility. It’s just baffling to me. I don’t think her voice matters in the face of everything else she’s done. Love this video, so glad you made it 😁!
It's just because that stands out as particularly bizarre.
It speaks to her pathology, it was a manipulative tactic to lure people in.
I feel like faking a deeper voice should be a "hate the game, not the player," situation. It sucks that people who are feminine presenting often feel like we have to change elements of ourselves in order to seem more serious and authoritative, but that is the society we live in. She did way worse than this, and I know from experience that sometimes it is faster and easier to put on a persona to get people to do the things they need to when a feminine woman is in a position of power.
@@jessicaharrison4719 But it also goes the other way, like actual studies show people perceive “female” voices as more trustworthy, and less threatening. But honestly, I don’t think anyone was ever buying the fake voice. It just sounds so obviously off. So it really sticks out, alongside the Steve Jobs cosplay, as such a memorably funny and weird thing for someone to do.
@@alexbennet4195 Fair enough, and I don't choose to do this anymore. I used to tell myself it was fine to put on this persona, because if someone is the kind of person it makes a difference to, I don't care what they think of me anyway. But if that were true, I wouldn't care what they thought of who I really am. And the game will only be changed as people see more and more feminine women still leading and succeeding, despite what others think of them.
One of my big takeaways from reading Bad Blood was that the true victims of this case were not only members of the public who had to undergo the unnecessary trauma of getting inaccurate health information, but the employees of Theranos. I know from experience that being in such a toxic and hostile work culture is incredibly traumatizing - it can stick with you for the rest of your life. I do believe that Elizabeth Holmes did genuinely believe in her vision, but I have no sympathy for what she and Sunny did. No matter what she thought she was working toward, the whole endeavor was just bizarre and deeply cruel.
Do I know this story? Yes
Have I seen every documentary made about it? Yes
Have I been keeping up with the court case? Yes
Am I excited to hear Smokey Glow talk about it for 45 minutes? Absolutely
Lol same
Where i can see documentaries about this???
same lmao
Sameeeee
I’m 34 and I never felt as old before until you started explaining Enron. And I realized there are adult people who didn’t live through the crash and remember all the adults in their lives panicking about the recession to come.
I'm having this kind of experience more and more... I feel Egyptian mummy-level old.
As a medical laboratory scientist this whole story has always been mind blowing to me. If any of the ppl involved had been ASCP certified MLS it would have been shut down a lot earlier. We know the amount of sample needed to run tests and that the science is just not at the level she claimed.
Just thinking about the sad amount of serum or plasma from a single drop of blood to run any chemistry test is laughable!!!
@@shannaaly49823 that’s why most blood tests and plasmas were cut with a lot of water… like u diluted people’s blood with freaking tap water 😡
ID doc here! Couldn’t agree more, but even I have zero say when it comes to the associate business degree kids that run my hospital’s admin(‘: people who have little to no understanding when it comes to basic science or medicine telling healthcare workers what is expected of them…so jacked up. Almost reminiscent of Andrew Wakefield and The Lancet. No actual evidence, despite TL being a peer reviewed scientific journal…
When it comes to her being a role model (before everything collappsed), as a woman in STEM, I don't really find it inspiring that she changed her appearance and voice and basically became a persona. It kind of gave me the impression that the way to succeed in this field is to change yourself to fit the idea of an entrepreneur in tech.
this this this
And change yourself to be more "masculine" or what people perceive to be masculine.
I completely agree. I was in a male dominated career for 7 years and refused to change myself to be accepted by the men.
I agree, but she's not the problem - it's the environment that demands women change themselves to gain credibility, rather than being taken for who they are.
What!? I’m so here to hear your take on this insanity! You’re also giving the most GLOWING vibes, so gorgeous! I’ve been getting more interested in her story since her trial had such a mixed bag of verdicts! Perfect late-night listening. Thanks girl!
The one thing that no one ever wants to talk about is her hair. The one time I saw it mentioned it was in the vain of women and unfair beauty standards. What no one was thinking about was how this was such a metaphor for her and her business. Her hair was naturally curly, yet she flat ironed her hair to the point that she had broken hairs all over her black clothes. She wanted her hair to be straight yet she clearly didn’t put any thought into how it was done. This is very much like theranos. She wanted everyone to see a successful startup yet she clearly did put any thought into how it was done.
Also in my opinion Elizabeth wasn’t in an abusive relationship with Sunny. I am so annoyed with the fact that when there photoshoots and interviews she was all in the front. Girl boss! Woman revolutionizing the world. Yet when shit hits the fan she was innocent little white girl taken advantage of by the big bad brown man. How could her silly little brain understand? That is why I don’t believe her.
yeah but have u ever considered that maybe she was front and center for photo shoots for marketing purposes..? i’m not trying to deny your claims but her identity as a woman was a massive part of theranos’ marketing
honestly felt the same way, as soon as i heard ramesh’s name i knew he’d be scapegoated whether fairly or not lawlz
It's interesting too because as far as I understand, the company was founded by HER and she ran it for some time before Sunny came into the picture. So did she suddenly started caring about the product not working after Sunny entered the company and was forced by him to continue? Why didn't she care before, when she built an entire company on the base of an invention that didn't exist? That defense is really difficult to support just looking at the facts
@@vaibh4vi lmao you and me both. heard his name and realized that this wasn't gonna end well for him
Hairstyle analysis does not exist for men. Just food for thought.
I am livid for the actual victims who got side swiped by this case and by justice. And my petty side is pissed that I can't wear a black turtleneck without feeling like Elizabeth Holmes. 😭💀
Best.comment.ever. And WHY were the clothes always so ill-fitted?
I’ve followed this case ever since my life partner and I got a letter in the mail for a class action lawsuit against Theranos for payment owed to us for having bloodwork done by this company. When it was all said and done we got Ike 35$ each. I never understood how people backed a 19yr old Uni dropout with NO MEDICAL BACKGROUND with millions of dollars and believed her dream would come true with no experience or schooling !!! You gotta hand it to her. She pulled the biggest scheme in world history off !!!
one of my favorite genres is business (scam) documentaries. Ive seen the theranos one, enron, fire festivals, lula roe, etc... they're so interesting. always feel bad for the people that got screwed over :(
General life rule for any situation ever: if Henry Kissinger is involved, it is a cursed endeavor and should be avoided like the plague
I was genuinely like 'what? That ghoul was/is still alive?'
I always appreciate your thoroughness in covering these topics. I had heard of the story before, but I hadn’t heard much about her background, so that was super interesting. Also that tidbit about her dad is so ironic. The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree.
I agree with you the jail bit! I’m a lawyer-not barred attorney-and during law school, I really started to realize that prison/jail is not the best solution for most crimes. I also think the consequences should be more tailored and specific to what you’re found guilty of, like your suggestion for her to remedy the issues of patients.
Yes! This is a basic psychological principle too, like sometimes it works better to make a reward consistent wth the behavior to increase a behavior and a punishment consistent with the crime to decrease a behavior.
This woman should be locked up. The way she terrorized employees and whistleblowers, her attempts to ruin them financially, and the danger she put patients in....I don't know what fantasy world you are coming from...she may have been only found guilty of fraud against investors but the rest of the people she hurt are getting justice by proxy via those guilty verdicts.
Hi! Just wanna say I know you said you were nervous about branching out. You’re doing great and you look awesome! That last sentence goes for everyone reading this.
The Whistleblower, Tyler Shultz, actually spoke at my University my sophomore year. It was so cool being a biomedical engineering student and hear his inside perspective plus fear that she really managed to instill in him. You covered the story exactly as he did minus some of his own personal details. Great breakdown and video!❤️
SO stoked that you’re covering this topic! I first heard about the Elizabeth Holmes case on the TMG podcast. Please keep talking about the topics that interest you, you really shine and make great content especially when it’s topics you really care about!
Omg love the background, it’s so cozy! 😭
I love that you’re talking about this! I’m an engineering student and I’ve been fascinated and horrified by this case ever since I had to write an ethics essay on Theranos. I think it’s great they made us learn about it
Keep making videos on what you like!! As long as you’re excited I’m excited
Never forget the syphilis episode...the Edison was so inaccurate that at one point, a bunch of lab employees all ran tests on the Edison and like, an overwhelming amount of them came back positive for syphilis. Few to none actually had syphilis.
this kind of feels like a emperor’s new clothes type situation. elizabeth and all the investors keep saying this machine is amazing but it’s not until the reporter pointed out the truth that people realize it’s a fraud
Smokey, I think she wasn't convicted of defrauding patients because in the eyes of the legal system there are many "middlemen" between Elizabeth herself and the patients. For instance patients had to get prescriptions from doctors to get blood tests, so possibly the doctors are at fault. Or because the blood tests were conducted at Walgreens, perhaps Walgreens as a company was at fault. Or maybe the executive who decided to put Theranos machines in Walgreens stores is at fault. Basically I completely agree that there is a lot of trauma that these patients went through but legally the "blame" can go onto a number of people who were down the chain from Elizabeth herself...like I agree that morally she is responsible yes but moral responsibility and legal responsibility are (unfortunately) two different things
Yes! found this in a legal eagle video - I thought it made a lot of sense
As a biomed engineering major, I'm excited to hear this! We've actually covered it in a class before while learning about patents & FDA regulations
I can tell how enthusiastic you are about this topic lol! I remember listening to a bunch of podcasts about this a couple years ago. I'd love to hear you cover more "lighter" crime stories tbh (ie not murder)
The thing about the actual Edison device that makes it so enticing is that it’s very similar to something that actually DOES exist and work: an allergy testing panel. There are instruments that will take a small amount of blood and test it against hundreds of common antigens, all at the push of a button to see what a person is allergic to with extreme specificity. I’d like to think that something similar to the Edison (perhaps for a more narrow scope of diseases such as metabolic disorders with a genetic component) is in our near future.
I've also been super interested in Elizabeth Holmes for years. I went super down the rabbit hole too! But it all worked out for me when during one of my last classes in my MBA (a business and law class), we actually discussed her and the Theranos case! Our first case was actually on Urban Decay and how the company was created (which was a super interesting case involving how much having an idea, but not acting on that idea, is worth)
Ooo that sounds cool, I always thought about doing a MBA degree but never did, but that urban decay case sounds neat too, I will have to go down that rabbit hole now 👌 Especially now as a professional makeup artist lol.
I’m so excited that you did a video on this story because I’ve been obsessed with this story.
I currently work in a clinical laboratory and knew nothing about this case. It's really wild that I was in school and finishing my degree in Biology when this was happening and it just flew by me haha When you said all the testing with a single drop of blood, I actually laughed out loud.. big yikes.
That's pretty much the same reaction I got from my two friends in healthcare whenever I explain this case to them. It blows my mind that Elizabeth Holmes got as far as she did.
Same! I don't have a medical background in the slightest, but from what I have learned, not only was her "idea" highly unlikely based on current medical practices and research but what she was proposing that a machine could do with a single drop of blood, defies the laws of physics. Like, literally impossible! It is no wonder that she filled her board with politicians and military generals who didn't have any expertise in medicine or diagnostics. I actually surprised no one around that board table asked, "wait...shouldn't we ask a doctor or something to join us?"
The thing was…. The machine COULD do 220+ tests (LMFAO we now know it’s Bullshit) but it was only 1drop could only do 1 or 2 tests. So you’d have to give multiple drops of blood for multiple tests.
I am LOVING that you are extending your commentary beyond UA-cam and Make Up topics! Stuff like this fascinates me, so if you want to make more videos like these, I'd definitely watch. Also your make up, hair, and outfit looked fantastic in this video!
Perfect timing queen! Can't wait to watch this
More vids like this please! I love your deep dives
Once you fall into the Enron hole, its hard to climb out.
Im obsessed with this case. Im shocked she made it as far as she did. But its because she was a “beautiful “ white woman. I truly think she thought the technology would catch up eventually. Unfortunately the whole thing was built on fraud.
Im not sympathetic to investors. No one did their due diligence. Even Walgreens (?) refused to listen to their own advisor. Im more angry that she was able to test on dying seniors and had access to soldiers overseas, although that never panned out. Its scary someone can make it so far without anything.
I’ve literally never heard of this but so glad you did a video! It was so interesting!!
"At the end of the day it's just a bunch of really really rich people with really really rich people problems and at the centre of it is a woman who wears turtlenecks and doesn't blink" AHHAHA goddamn, if that ain't the truth. This was super interesting, and I agree on your comments about jail. She should have to actually come face to face with the trauma she caused. Pls do more like this!
Loved this video! Please feel encouragers to do more! I never knew about this case and it was interesting to hear it.
This was insanely well done Hannah. You are so amazing at the content you make, I am always invested 1000% whether it’s a makeup video or a more serious video. You are so well-spoken and an amazing woman inside and out. I would love love love to see more of these types of videos, this was very refreshing and intriguing to watch. Thank you for all that you do! I discovered your channel in 2020 during quarantine and have been a consistent fan ever since
I would argue that it’s far more damaging for people getting a false negative than people getting a false positive, but either way it’s harmful.
It’s also so sad because she could have been such a role model for women in STEM and could have still turned things around at any moment if she had admitted that it wasn’t working.
I think the psychological aspects of it would be devastating in both cases, you are so right.
Many people have came forward saying they got false positives!! There was a man who got a false positive for diabetes and his Theranos results gave a BUNCH of pre-generated information saying he had early onset diabetes and he had a family history of it so he was very concerned and was given a prescription to start a medicine regimen to help avoid getting diabetes…. luckily his doctor was like something isn’t right here and made them get actual bloodwork before starting medication and he was totally fine…
Once he started that medication he wouldn’t have been able to stop so Holmes did a lot of harm!!
I literally do not care the subject matter on what Hannah talk abt, I just like hearing her talk and I love hearing what she has to say. I could listen to her for hours 😭
I’m so late, but you should cover the Fyre festival scam!! I love these kinds of videos.
I would say the callous way that the employees were treated was some of the hardest parts of the case for me, like one of the top scientists at Theranos unaliving himself and management not even acknowledging it
I could literally listen to you talk about anything! I love how thoroughly you cover topics 💗
I’m so excited for this! I’ve been obsessed with this case for the last few months and can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
so happy you made this video because i’ve been following this case for years as well and was starting to run out of media about it!
Really the sentencing and the whole legal aspect of this is about the fact that we value money over so much. During the trial (law and press) the defense talked about how Elizabeth didn’t really live up a lavish life on the money so she wasn’t really trying to defraud people. I think Hannah is right about Theranos being about Elizabeth’s ego so of course she didn’t want the money for extravagance: she wanted it to keep the company going and keep getting the prestige. She loved being “the youngest woman” or whatever titles she was given.
ooooo hella excited for this one! I like that you are covering different types of people on your channel!
“buncha mega rich billionaires that i don’t feel bad for”
😚👌🏻
i’m so glad you did this video! ❤️ as an elizabeth we don’t claim her
Thanks for doing something that you are interested in, it shows and I enjoyed your insight! I appreciate your channel and your thoughts and views. Your voice is powerful and I appreciate how you use it.
The Theranos scandal is one of my favorite sagas in the history of everything. Absolutely wild!
i was hoping u would make this!!!!! ❤ i fully support the direction u have been wanting to go with ur channel :) all the love to u hannah!
Hi Hannah, this is off topic but could you please look into the Juvia's Place racist situation? you could find the info on twitter if you just search the brand's name. As an asian person, I really don't want this to quietly go away as JP wishes ( they're deleting comments.).
IMO this fits very well into your channel content and I am here for it! I have not heard of her but interestingly enough have heard of Enron, big time. And I do imagine that did indeed lead you down a huge rabbit hole all by itself? Thanks Hannah, you have a real gift for this with your research and you are a great storyteller as well! 💗
Absolutely agree with your sentencing suggestions. Strip her of her money and status, and make her do a substantial (3-5 yrs) amount of community service for the ones who were hurt by her actions. Maybe take the money she has left and donate it to the real victims. Also, I think she should be banned from the medical industry for life, and have the crimes committed to following her for the rest of her life on a background check. Something that doesn’t allow her to have it expunged from the record. That may sound harsh, but I’m of the mind that it takes a specific type of person to commit such crimes. One that doesn’t care about others' medical well-being, and that is some of the lowest ish IMO. Another fantastic video, bb! 💜💜💜
God I love the growth of this channel. Was always a background subscriber bc you remind me of an old friend of mine but more so you’re one of the very few commentary channels I can actually stand listening to. Keep up the good work and have a fab 2022
Amen, Hannah. The rich never get more than what is to them a slap on the wrist, compared to the extent that poorer people's arrests/fines impact their lives.
The way to punish the richest people should 100% be to ACTUALLY redistribute a large portion of their wealth into the communities they've hurt - rather than putting them away in a comfortable facility for a short amount of time and taking the tiniest fraction of their fortune to pay back to other rich people.
But that kind of punishment would truly threaten the 1% into not committing crimes. And we can't have that, when they can make so much money bending and breaking laws instead 🙄
This story fascinates me I can’t get enough of it and I’m so glad recently there’s a huge influx of content about theranos
It'd be great seeing you discuss this topics outside of UA-cam controveries!
I have never heard of these people before now but I love when you do content like this! I learned something new today
I've watched interviews and a documentary on this story and still was unsure of what it was all about. Until your video. I understand now. You really would be a great teacher. I guess she grifted people who grift the average person everyday. But I do think she should face consequences.
Yh but it’s not just the investors, it’s also the innocent people who just wanted blood tests done and got wildly inaccurate results, which could have been literally fatal and meant they wouldn’t have the right diagnosis or medication
That's true. I just wonder how she can be punished and the people she harmed can get justice. I remember Enron and how some people lost everything and took their life's because it was too much. In the end I want her to feel shame for what she did not how it affected her. But I don't think she has the ability to feel shame.
The reason she was found guilty of the investor counts and not the patient harm is because they couldn't find a direct link between her and the lying to patients. They did find her directly lying to investors, so they convicted her on what they felt was justified and would survive appeal. I find it ignorant at best to say that regular people are the most important but then to call it a miscarriage of justice when a jury of regular people make a verdict. Additionally, a lot of patient harm evidence was excluded at trial so the verdict could survive appeal. I think it's worse because Smokey Glow said she's listened to every podcast on the subject, and every podcast has talked in depth about how and why the jury reached its decision. The justice system is deeply flawed but context should be fully understood and disclosed before making pronouncements. Pronouncements without education is just disinformation.
I’ve been interested in this case for such a long time and I’m beyond grateful my favourite youtuber is reviewing it
For some reason, the story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos seems very similar to the story of the Fyre festival for me.
Both involve a white narcissist who thought they could just BS their way into becoming "legends", and when things began to unravel, their whole bubble bursted
Yay since you brought this up on your podcast I've been hoping you would make this a video!
Speaking in a lower voice and overall tuning down "feminine" qualities when wanting to be taken seriously by men is proven to work. When I was doing my maths degree I always put on men's deodorant for oral exams 😅
I haven’t watched a main channel video in quite some time and let me say you look amazing! And your set up❤️❤️💪🏼🥺 proud of you!!
About the voice thing, I mean…she could just be a mezzo, whose vocal range is very wide and can go both high and low. I’m a mezzo too. I naturally sound higher and more “girly” either when I’m happy and excited (eg. when talking with close friends) or when I’m angry and having an intense argument.
Meanwhile, I sound much deeper and more “masculine” when I’m either very calm or very serious, such as when I’m in the “work mode” and talking about my work.
It just depends on the mood. So it makes a lot of sense for Elizabeth to always sound very deep in situations where she talks about her business, and only “slip” into a much higher pitch when there’s intense fluctuation in her emotions - which may not happen a lot if she naturally has a very calm and calculated personality.
I could listen to you talk about anything for hours. I always love your cerebral takes on subjects like this.
Hannah: [talking about a topic I can never hear enough about]
Gold ball in the background: [wiggle wiggle wiggle]
Me: [gets distracted by wiggling gold decor]
Omgosh whyyy did you have to tell me?! Now it's all I can see 😆😆
@@belindarocky961 I refuse to suffer alone. 😉
Love that you’re expanding these commentary video subjects!! Always love hearing your thoughts 🤍
I would love a video of you covering the crazy stuff happening at Activision/blizzard. I know you don't talk about gaming but boy those workplace violations definitely deserve all the coverage just from the sheer insanity of it.
Your content is getting more and more interesting. I mean both actual subjects and your commentary. Way to go!
I had the displeasure of knowing about her and this whole case back in like 2019 when I had a "critical issue" class that talk only about this topic for a week and I thought that she was pretty skeevy and insecure person and that doesn't seem to have changed
Don't know why this story fascinates me so much-- I got really into it when watching Cold Fusion and also consumed a ton about it, so I'm SO GLAD to see you cover it! I love your nuanced and insightful commentary xx
Hey Smokey, I hope you're aware of what's going on with Juvia's Place right now. Needless to say, I'm appalled by their blatant racism and the fact that it's going unnoticed by a majority of the internet. Either that, or people simply are unfazed by racism against Asians. It's been disheartening to see
What's happened with Juvia's Place? I haven't heard anything
@@SodaPopJX they had a video of someone saying "ch*nky" up on their ig page for 4 days until too many ppl got mad. Now they're deleting comments calling them out.
@@witch3498 what the hell!! that’s horrible
Do you have any links?
I haven't noticed anything on their ig account. They are very inclusive and promote diversity, do you have any sort of link or proof?
Hannah, thank you for always putting out such good videos. It’s my go to content that I listen to when I’m getting ready and it’s my favorite!
How have I never heard of this story before?? I’m so glad you covered it! And also I couldn’t agree more on the comment about how fake net worths are. Truly how did we come up with a net worth of $4 billion for a person who owns a company with one fake product? It’s just as hilarious as it is scary.
i’ve heard about this but i’m still PUMPED to see your take!! ❤️💕
I’d just like to point something out about that “patch” theory. I actually have a patch on my arm right now that releases 20 micrograms of a pain relief every hour. How it works I have no idea but it does exist.
Current antibiotics use IVs because they're extremely low in potency. Other medications don't work subdermally for a number of reasons (I'm pretty sure some are dangerous hanging in your bloodstream like that), she'd have to discover many new drug classes that could work that way. Additionally, there are some things that work like that, for example a continuous glucometer and a new similar insulin product. However, instead of getting her education and establishing a company to research and refine real products, she chose fraud.
@@biguattipoptropica I agree 100% what she done was disgusting and harmful and she had absolutely no idea what she was talking about but I just wanted to clear up that the patch idea wasn’t impossible like Hannah/professors said it was. Definitely not to the scale she was thinking but possible.
I hope that makes sense.
@@taylorpain9095 the professors were correct, and it's not possible for most current drugs (if it is someone is already working on it).
@@biguattipoptropica I never said it was possible for all drugs. I’m saying that the idea is possible because there are patches (specifically for pain relief) available now. I have one on my arm.
@@taylorpain9095 "the idea" has nothing to do with the current state of reality. The professor isn't dismissive because she doesn't think microfluiditics exist, she dismissed it because why would IVs exist if drugs were potent and safe enough for patches?
😂😂 about the not blinking, you just reminded me of the time when I was in junior high and my bff then was telling me a movie she saw, and in the middle of her story she would tell me, ok stop! I was like, What? She’d tell me, your eyes are so wide open and you’re hardly blinking, you’re scaring me. 😂😂😂😂 and we’d laugh about and she would finish her story telling. But after the first time she’d constantly remind me to blink. 😂 but just on her story times. I catch myself doing it when I’m so entertained with a talk. 😂😂😂