This 3-hour Elizabeth Holmes doc broke our brains

Episode of My First Million · October 20, 2026 · 56 min

Shaan Puri, Sam Parr and team members Ben and Diego dissect Nathan Fielder's Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything and debate whether Holmes knowingly committed fraud.

Summary

In this spoiler-filled episode, Shaan Puri recapped Nathan Fielder's three-hour documentary You Can See Everything, in which Fielder lived with Elizabeth Holmes for the 34 days before she reported to prison and then pursued the story in secrecy for three years. Sam Parr, who had not seen the film, asked to be spoiled, while team members Ben and Diego, who had seen it, added their reactions. Puri described the film's extreme close-ups and argued that viewers leave knowing less about Holmes than when they started, effectively experiencing her 'reality distortion field.'

The group reviewed the Theranos background, including the Edison machine and Holmes's continued denial of wrongdoing, and Puri criticized Fielder for not raising evidence such as her admission that she added Pfizer logos to reports. Much of the discussion centered on Holmes's partner Billy, whom Diego and Puri portrayed as controlling, and whom the film paralleled with her former partner Sunny Balwani. They also discussed Fielder's use of reenactments, the inclusion of The Dropout actress Amanda Seyfried, an AI recreation of Holmes, and Parr's account of receiving a DM apparently from the Holmes account. Parr introduced Roy Cohn's reputed rules of power, and Puri described Holmes's persuasive style as disarming rather than charismatic.

The hosts ranked Fielder and Holmes as the film's biggest winners and Billy as the biggest loser. Puri rated the film a 10 as 'astonishing' though not satisfying, Ben called it perhaps the most entertaining film he had seen, and Parr resolved to watch it. In closing, Ben and Puri agreed that Holmes knew about and was complicit in the fraud but likely did not see it as fraud, framing it as fake-it-till-you-make-it hustle.

Chapters

0:00
Spoiler warning and setup
Shaan Puri introduces the discussion of You Can See Everything and Sam Parr asks to be spoiled.
1:31
The film's premise
Puri explains how Nathan Fielder lived with Elizabeth Holmes for 34 days before prison and kept the project secret for three years.
6:33
Theranos and Holmes's denials
The group recaps the Theranos fraud and Holmes's refusal in the film to admit lying or wrongdoing.
11:41
Two readings of Holmes and the role of Billy
Puri contrasts the fake-it-till-you-make-it and knowing-fraud interpretations while Diego and Puri describe Billy as controlling.
19:05
Roy Cohn's rules and Holmes's disarming style
Parr outlines Roy Cohn's reputed rules of power and Puri describes Holmes's persuasion as disarming.
Linked moment · 22:16Skip to 22:16 using a listen link in the info box.
22:16
Everyone is guilty: reenactments and Amanda Seyfried
Puri describes Fielder's reenactment methods and how actress Amanda Seyfried and the media are implicated.
27:05
Prison, AI Holmes and Billy's control
The group discusses Holmes's departure for prison, Billy's AI recreation of her and tweeting on her behalf, and Parr's DM exchange.
30:40
The damning evidence
Puri reads a ChatGPT summary of the strongest evidence that Holmes committed fraud.
33:14
Winners and losers
The hosts rank Fielder and Holmes as winners and Billy and the actress as losers.
37:29
Strange realities and founder psychology
Parr reflects on how differently some people live and Ben argues such extremity comes with building huge companies.
41:33
Favorite moments
Diego, Ben and Puri highlight the reenactments, Fielder's awkward questioning, the who's-on-first scene and the trailer.
51:00
Rating and final verdict on Holmes
Puri rates the film a 10 and Ben and Puri conclude Holmes was complicit but did not view her actions as fraud.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Shaan Puri
Puri said that despite the film's extreme close-ups of Holmes, he came away knowing less about her than before.
“It's like I saw everything, and I know less than I knew at the beginning”
Listen from 4:27 · You Can See Everything
Shaan Puri
Puri framed one interpretation of Holmes as a founder doing the Silicon Valley fake-it-till-you-make-it routine who got caught before succeeding.
“did she just do the Silicon Valley kind of fake it till you make it thing, except for she got kind of caught before she could make it”
Listen from 11:50 · Fake it till you make it
Shaan Puri
Puri criticized the film for not confronting Holmes with her sworn admission that she added Pfizer logos to documents.
“Which kind of breaks the whole premise of she doesn't really know, she doesn't lie. She admitted to that under oath”
Listen from 16:46 · You Can See Everything
Sam Parr
Parr relayed a Roy Cohn biographer's list of power rules, starting with never apologizing and always counterattacking harder.
“The first rule. was never apologize or admit wrongdoing ever. Always counterattack and always with greater force than you received”
Listen from 19:09 · Roy Cohn's rules of power
Shaan Puri
Puri argued that Holmes's persuasive power comes from being disarming rather than charismatic.
“She's completely disarming is her style. So she doesn't try to convince you of anything”
Listen from 21:08 · You Can See Everything
Sam Parr
Parr judged the film a major reputational win for Holmes because it moved public opinion from 'monster' to 'complicated.'
“It sounds like a huge, huge win for Holmes. Because before, everyone thought this woman's evil”
Listen from 33:14 · You Can See Everything
Shaan Puri
Puri named Holmes the film's biggest winner and Billy its biggest loser.
“So I think she's the biggest winner. I think biggest loser is Billie. Has to be Billie”
Listen from 34:21 · You Can See Everything
Sam Parr
Parr suggested interviewing investor Tim Draper, an early champion of Holmes who he believed lost heavily.
“And he was one of the original champions of Elizabeth Holmes. It'd be interesting to hear his perspective”
Listen from 44:39 · Theranos
Shaan Puri
Puri said Fielder's years of practicing reenactments made them the ideal tool for a documentary about someone in prison.
“That was actually the perfect tool for doing a documentary about somebody who's in jail and you can't show them or see them”
Listen from 48:24 · Reenactment in documentary filmmaking
Shaan Puri
Puri rated the film a 10, calling it astonishing though not the most enjoyable or satisfying.
“It was not the most entertaining or most enjoyable thing to watch. It's not the most satisfying movie. But it's an astonishing movie”
Listen from 51:21 · You Can See Everything
Shaan Puri
Puri remarked that in the startup world the line between crime and hustle is thinner than people think.
“It's kind of like the line between crime and hustle is thinner than people think in the startup world”
Listen from 53:33 · Fake it till you make it
Shaan Puri
Puri concluded that Holmes knew what was happening and was complicit but did not see it as fraud or harmful.
“She knew what was going on and was complicit in it. She didn't see it as fraud or illegal or harming anybody”
Listen from 53:53 · United States v. Elizabeth Holmes

People

In the conversation

Shaan PuriEntrepreneur and investor, co-host of My First Million, former Twitch executive
Sam ParrEntrepreneur, founder of The Hustle and Hampton, co-host of My First Million
BenMy First Million team member and Nathan Fielder fan who joined the discussion
DiegoMy First Million team member who saw the film with Shaan Puri

Discussed

Elizabeth HolmesTheranos founder, subject of the series The Dropout
Nathan FielderComedian and co-creator of The Curse, praised by Kaling
Billy EvansElizabeth Holmes's partner and father of her children
Sunny BalwaniFormer Theranos president and Holmes's former romantic partner
Amanda SeyfriedActress who played Holmes in The Dropout
Roy CohnNew York lawyer and early mentor to Donald Trump
Donald TrumpPresident of the United States whose conduct of the Iran war is the episode's main subject
Tim DraperVenture capitalist and early Theranos backer
Bryan JohnsonTech entrepreneur known for anti-aging efforts

Topics

From the publisher

Sam's database on how long it takes to become a millionaire: https://clickhubspot.com/ekvd Episode 874: Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) and Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) are breaking down the best documentary of the year. — Check Out Sam's Stuff: • Hampton (joinhampton.com): My community for founders. Average member does $25m/year. Many of the guests are members. Get after it...apply: http://joinhampton.com/mfm — Check Out Shaan's Stuff: • Shaan's weekly email - https://www.shaanpuri.com • Visit https://www.somewhere.com/mfm to hire worldwide talent like Shaan and get $500 off for being an MFM listener. Hire developers, assistants, marketing pros, sales teams and more for 80% less than US equivalents. • Mercury - Shaan uses Mercury across all of his companies. you can too: http://mercury.com/ Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., Members FDIC • I run all my newsletters on Beehiiv and you should too + we're giving away $10k to our favorite newsletter, check it out: beehiiv.com/mfm-challenge My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano /

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 31, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Film Reviews·Entrepreneurship