Factual America examines America through the lens of documentary filmmaking. Guests include Academy Award, Emmy and Grammy-winning documentary filmmakers and producers, their subjects, as well as experts on the American experience. Find out more about the current and upcoming documentaries on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Sky Documentaries and other platforms directly from the creators. Whether we discuss true crime, music, burning social and political topics, history, or arts, Factual America is your #1 documentary film podcast. Factual America is produced by Alamo Pictures, a London- and Austin-based production company that makes documentaries about the US from a European perspective for international audiences.
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episode 3: Alex Gibney's Theranos Scandal Documentary
In Silicon Valley, where “fake it till you make it” is a mantra, Elizabeth Holmes stood out. Theranos, the company she founded, drew the support and accolades of investors and senior statesmen alike – that is until a Wall Street Journal reporter’s prying questions spelled the beginning of the end. What originally looked like a revolutionary technology in blood sampling quickly became a scandal that swept the nation.
Today we are joined by award-winning business and tech broadcaster, and host of the Gender Knot, Nastaran Tavakoli-Far, as we explore the Theranos saga through the lens of Alex Gibney’s The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019).
We discuss how this fraud was able to happen and to what extent the culture of Silicon
Valley is to blame.
A fantastically made documentary about a dangerous company, it makes us question yet again the cult of charismatic leaders.
“That’s the beauty of America that if you’ve got a big idea you’re not necessarily going to be laughed at. She kept referencing a Thomas Edison quote, that if you fail ten thousand times, that’s so you get it right the ten thousand and first time.” – Nastaran Tavakoli-Far
Time Stamps:01:37 – The film we’re going to be looking at today.
02:08 – Why Nas chose this film.
03:28 – The story of Theranos.
06:11 – Whether Elizabeth was setting out to commit fraud from the beginning.
07:15 – The negative aspects of Silicon Valley culture.
10:09 – The different ways journalists covered the story.
14:25 – Analysing the John Carreyrou clip, and how he was able to see through the fraud.
15:57 – The danger to people’s lives.
18:11 – Elizabeth’s past and what drove her to start Theranos.
19:22 – Why the documentary is so gripping and successful.
25:05 – The way the documentary is edited and presented.
28:58 – How her femininity influenced people to believe her and accept her.
29:44 – Why this could only happen in America.
32:57 – The reasons no one spotted her earlier on.
37:36 – All of the people that were involved with Elizabeth.
39:05 – Nas’s impressions of America when she was younger.
41:08 – What Nas’s impressions of America are now.
The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley
Theranos
The Gender Knot
Alamo Pictures
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