Life Examined
Searching for Utopia, Part 2: Utopian societies, sects, and cults in America
This is the second in a two-part series about utopian societies, exploring community living and America’s history with utopian ideas, sects, and cults. What was the appeal back then, and how do they operate today?
By Jonathan Bastian • • 52m ListenThis is the second in a two-part series about utopian societies, exploring community living and America’s history with utopian ideas, sects, and cults. What was the appeal back then, and how do they operate today? This week, KCRW’s Jonathan Bastian talks with religion professor Ben Zeller about the characteristics of utopian societies, including sects and cults. We also hear from Chris Jennings, author of “Paradise Now: The Story of American Utopianism,” about the utopian communities of 18th and 19th century America. And Anna Newcomb, founder and resident of a co-housing community, describes her life and the appeal of living in Blueberry Hill.
Read more:Searching for Utopia, Part 1: The freedoms and failures of of an intentional community in India
In this episode
2 storiesHow ‘60s and ‘70s America gave rise to cult leaders
In our previous episode, author Akash Kapur talked about his experience growing up in the utopian Indian community of Auroville.
Read the story18 minThe past and present of American utopianism
Well before the counterculture years of the ‘60s and ‘70s , 17th and 18th century America offered fertile grounds for those with utopian impulses.
Read the story34 min
