Failed Utopia
This is a podcast about utopian ideas and paradise lost. We look at utopian concepts from the past, present and future, as well as utopian societies and communes, which promise the world to eager followers but inevitably fail when it all starts to unravel. Some of these utopias just fall apart, while others devolve into true horrors and even brutal cults. I’ll break down what these groups’ leaders were thinking, what attracted their devotees in the first place, and how it all went wrong.
Episodes
Over twenty years ago, Dubai began constructing the world's largest artificial archipelago of islands, designed to be a lavish oasis for the super-rich. Today, the islands stand mostly empty and some are sinking back into the sea, but the developers and government of Dubai refuse to give up on the mind boggling mega-project. Let me tell you about this astonishing feat of engineering, how it did work--kind of, but also hasn’t pa...
Why most New Year’s resolutions fail, the Babylonians and Romans, putting our hands on a peacock, setting and getting goals, habit formation, motivation vs. discipline, believing you deserve to have what you want, and what procrastination really is (you’re not lazy).
Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website.
Links & Resources
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988
Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741 741
Domestic Violenc...
The Theranos saga continues. Updates on Elizabeth Holmes' sentencing and Sunny Balwani's trial and verdict.
Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website.
Links & Resources
Theranos Full Explainer: https://failedutopia.com/theranos/
Holmes Trial & Verdict Updates:
YouTube https://youtu.be/P9xR6jn84kU
Audio only https://failedutopia.com/theranos-update/
Written and produced by Anna Roberts
Colonialism and utopianism, as Thomas More coined the term, have been linked since the early sixteenth century when European explorers began taking stock of newly accessible lands that would later become colonies. Colonists had the expectation of achieving a much better life by settling in "new" lands, while producing a dystopia for the original inhabitants. Optimistic colonists didn’t always find what they expected, but fo...
Let’s talk about an environmental catastrophe that turned a tourism and wildlife paradise into a toxic wasteland. This is something that we’re starting to see happening all over the world and that’s only going to become more of a problem in the future thanks to climate change.
The Church of Love: Chonda-Za, Love Angels, lonely hearts, and a whole lot of questionable love letters. Plus, self-delusion and seeing things for what they are.
Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website.
Links & Resources
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988
Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741 741
Domestic Violence Helpline: 1-800-799-7233
VictimConnect, a referral helpline for victims of crime: 1-855-484-2846
In Part 2, hopefully we’re gonna have a little more fun talking not about techno-utopia, but actual physical utopian communes based around the love of crypto. Cryptoland, Cryptopia, Satoshi Island, Bitcoin Beach, Bitcoin City, and actually, the entire country of El Salvador.
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Links & Resources
Cryptocurrency is one of the most buzzy techno-utopian ideas out there. Is it really a disruptive technology of the future? Or a bunch of esoteric, elitist, crypto-bro BS? Even a scam? Let's talk about what crypto is and what it's good for... or not.
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Links & Resources
The Farm was once the largest hippie commune in U.S. history, and it still exists today albeit in a somewhat different form.
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Links & Resources
- https://thefarmcommunity.com
- https://www.thefarm.org
- What life is like when you’re born on a commune Erika Anderson
- Stephen Gaskin obituary
- “40 Years on the Farm” documentary
Written and produced by Anna Roberts
A spiritual Indian utopia that’s over 50 years old, but still very much a work in progress.
Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website.
- Better to Have Gone: Love, Death, and the Quest for Utopia in Auroville by Akash Kapur
- Bulldozing a dream? Auroville’s importance as an experiment in alternative living
- Bulldozers, violence and politics crack an Indian dream of utopia
Written and produced by Anna Roberts
On this episode, the fascinating story of Biosphere 2, the largest closed ecological system ever created… or, how eight people went nuts and almost starved in a vivarium for humans.
Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website.
Links & Resources
- https://biosphere2.org
- Mark Nelson’s 2018 article Biosphere 2: What Really Happened?
- Spaceship Earth
Written and produced by Anna Roberts
Burning palm tree artwork by Perry...
The Helicon Home Colony was the brainchild of the renowned author and muckraking journalist Upton Sinclair. It lasted less than 6 months and went down in a literal blaze. "We stood in the snow and watched our beautiful utopia flame and roar, until it crashed in and died away to a dull glow."
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Links & Resources
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/P9xR6jn84kU
Updates on the verdict in the trial of former Theranos founder and CEO, Elizabeth Holmes, including charges, sentencing, appeal, Ramesh Sunny Balwani's upcoming trial on the same charges, and more.
Full Theranos explainer episode: https://failedutopia.com/theranos/
Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website.
Links & Resources
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-...
In this replay from 2020, find out about the secretive alternative community that only gets talked about once a year.
Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website.
Links & Resources
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741 741
Domestic Violence Helpline: 1-800-799-7233
VictimConnect, a referral helpline for victims of crime: 1-855-484-2846
For veterans, Make The Connection
Writt...
Picture a chain of tropical islands with white sand beaches, turquoise blue waters, breathtaking sunsets, palm trees swaying in a tropical breeze, and a culturally rich population of native people fishing the bountiful waters of their homeland as they have for generations. Sounds pretty ideal, right? Maybe even the closest we’ve ever gotten to an actual utopia. But there are a couple of problems.
Connect on Facebook or at the Failed...
Today, Elizabeth Holmes testifies in her own defense in a trial for criminal charges stemming from the collapse of the company she infamously founded, Theranos. The startup claiming to revolutionize the medical industry, and at one point valued at $9 billion, went down in a blaze of allegations of fraud as one of the worst disasters in Silicon Valley history. What went wrong?
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Links...
VIDEO VERSION on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZYtpBV2EfUU
This is my results update on my etheric surgery with Mother God in the 5th dimension and the 5D full disclosure team, also known as psychic surgery from a cult leader who’s been deceased for several months.
Previous Love Has Won & 5D Full Disclosure episodes:
https://failedutopia.com/love-has-won/
https://failedutopia.com/love-has-won-updates-5d-full-disclosure/
Connect on Faceb...
This is an update about Love Has Won, now known as 5D Full Disclosure. I have a bunch of new information for you guys, and there have been some developments in this case. Today I’ll be updating you on the criminal cases related to the discovery of Amy Carlson’s body, some things that aired recently in a special on Dateline NBC, what the group is up to now, and my personal experience getting etheric surgery by Mother God from the fi...
Vampire lore has fascinated humans for centuries, starting as far back as the Greeks. From Nosferatu and Dracula to Interview with the Vampire and Twilight, everybody loves a good vampire story. But way before team Edward and team Jacob, a much less attractive teen was taking the vampire thing way too far.
Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website.
Links & Resources
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
Cri...
This is the continuation of the previous Earth: Climate Crisis episode. Renewable energy, pros and cons of nuclear, geoengineering, why carbon emissions will rise for the foreseeable future, climate vs. economics, and more.
Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website.
Links & Resources
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741 741
Domestic Violence Helpline: 1-800-799-7233
VictimC...
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