By Anna Roberts
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 f
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The podcast currently has 54 episodes available.
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 panned out the way they hoped, and why they’ll probably never let this one go no matter how bad an idea it was.
Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website.
Written and produced by Anna Roberts
Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez
Intro music by Elliot Middleton
Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop
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 Violence Helpline: 1-800-799-7233
VictimConnect, a referral helpline for victims of crime: 1-855-484-2846
For veterans, Make The Connection
Written and produced by Anna Roberts
Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez
Intro music by Elliot Middleton
Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop
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
Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez
Intro music by Elliot Middleton
Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop
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 for centuries they continued to emigrate and settle, driven by utopian projections of what their new lives would be like. Today we talk about one of the first colonies in the New World and how it all went wrong.
Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website.
Links & Resources
Written and produced by Anna Roberts
Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez
Intro music by Elliot Middleton
Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop
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.
Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website.
Written and produced by Anna Roberts
Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez
Intro music by Elliot Middleton
Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop
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
For veterans, Make The Connection
Written and produced by Anna Roberts
Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez
Intro music by Elliot Middleton
Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop
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.
Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website.
Links & Resources
Written and produced by Anna Roberts
Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez
Intro music by Elliot Middleton
Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop
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.
Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website.
Links & Resources
Written and produced by Anna Roberts
Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez
Intro music by Elliot Middleton
Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop
The Farm was once the largest hippie commune in U.S. history, and it still exists today albeit in a somewhat different form.
Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website.
Links & Resources
Written and produced by Anna Roberts
Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez
Intro music by Elliot Middleton
Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop
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.
Written and produced by Anna Roberts
Burning palm tree artwork by Perry Vasquez
Intro music by Elliot Middleton
Merchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop
The podcast currently has 54 episodes available.
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