Holmes dropped out of Stanford University and founded Theranos, a medical technology company, in 2003 and became the world's youngest female self-made billionaire.

[7][4][8] The podcast was written and reported by Jarvis, along with ABC News senior producer Victoria Thompson and Taylor Dunn.

[10][1] The book Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by journalist and author John Carreyrou formed the basis of research for the podcast.

[16][17] Jarvis gained access to legal deposition tapes of Elizabeth Holmes, and multiple key individuals involved in the Theranos fraud case.

[20][21] Those featured in depositions excerpted in the podcast included Balwani, along with Theranos board members: former Wells Fargo CEO Richard Kovacevich, former US Chief of Naval Operations Gary Roughead, and former US Senator and medical doctor, Bill Frist.

[19][23] Jarvis landed an exclusive interview with the lawyer for Theranos former President and COO Sunny Balwani, Jeff Coopersmith.

[34][4][1] The second season of The Dropout debuted on August 30, 2021 with two new episodes, and was timed to follow the federal criminal fraud case against Elizabeth Holmes: United States v. Elizabeth A. Holmes, et al.[25][18][26] During season two, Jarvis simultaneously reported on the trial for ABC News, Good Morning America, and Nightline.

[18][40] An episode of the podcast was released January 4, 2022, one day after Holmes was found guilty of fraud and conspiracy in the federal case.

[42] On March 4, 2022, ABC News released a special two-hour-long 20/20 episode with reporting by Jarvis, covering the federal fraud trial of Holmes.

[46] ABC News released a bonus episode of the podcast The Dropout: Elizabeth Holmes on Trial, on August 11, 2022 titled: "Amanda and The Other Liz".

[73][74] In a review of the podcast for The Verge, journalist Andrew Liptak commented, "the series has provided a good overview, aided by interviews and audio from the people who worked there.

"[75] Time reporter Hannah Lynn wrote, "While many podcasts have had singular episodes about Elizabeth Holmes, The Dropout is the definitive audio documentary that tracks the rise and fall of Theranos.

Ward, and Alexandra K. Perry noted the work was a good journalistic resource on the topic of Theranos, in their book on Ethical Leadership.

[80] Gerard Cockburn wrote for The Adelaide Advertiser, "Documenting the collapse of Theranos, a prominent medical tech start-up which made CEO Elizabeth Holmes America's youngest female self-made billionaire, The Dropout is a gripping tale of the boom and bust nature of America's tech industry.

"[81] Cockburn concluded, "This podcast is well worth the listen, engrossing you in a tale of lies and deception and rorts in the American tech industry.

"[82] Of the research that went into the podcast series, Sturges wrote that Jarvis: "is fastidious in her approach, exhaustively chasing down Theranos's employees, board members and investors, illustrating how they got drawn in to such a dishonest and doomed enterprise.

[83] Nicol called it: "an assured, well-connected guide to the spectacular fall from grace of 'the world's youngest self-made female billionaire', once hailed as a Silicon Valley visionary.

"[11] Bury concluded: "By the end of it you can’t decide if Holmes is a mad genius or the world’s biggest con artist - but either way, it’s one hell of a story.

"[27] Writing for The Courier-Mail, Sarah Matthews commented, "The Dropout is the result of a three-year investigation by US journalist Rebecca Jarvis, and is a fascinating insight into the pressures of Silicon Valley and how one charismatic visionary managed to fool so many people for so long.

"[84] Writing for The Herald-Sun, journalist Glenn McDonald commented, "In a podcast environment where opinion reigns — and louder is mistaken for better — The Dropout is a rock-solid example of straight, no-nonsense investigative journalism.

"[85] Writing about the quality of the production, Stephens said: "The story is expertly told and left me feeling personally aggrieved by a woman I have never met.

"[85] A review of the second season in The Guardian wrote, "episodes expertly dissect the live-time trial happenings with thrilling exclusive interviews.