Listen Live
Donate
 on air
    Schedule

    KCRW

    Read & Explore

    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Food
    • Culture
    • Events

    Listen

    • Live Radio
    • Music
    • Podcasts
    • Full Schedule

    Information

    • About
    • Careers
    • Help / FAQ
    • Newsletters
    • Contact

    Support

    • Become a Member
    • Become a VIP
    • Ways to Give
    • Shop
    • Member Perks

    Become a Member

    Donate to KCRW to support this cultural hub for music discovery, in-depth journalism, community storytelling, and free events. You'll become a KCRW Member and get a year of exclusive benefits.

    DonateGive Monthly

    Copyright 2026 KCRW. All rights reserved.

    Report a Bug|Privacy Policy|Terms of Service|
    Cookie Policy
    |FCC Public Files|

    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Downtown Utopia Hits A Snag

    A utopian village for tech entrepreneurs in downtown Las Vegas is turning out to be not so utopian. Tony Hsieh, the enigmatic CEO of Zappos, put up $350 million last year to buy and develop about 60 acres of property in downtown Vegas. It’s called the Downtown Project.

    • rss
    • apple-podcasts
    • spotify
    • Share
    By Madeleine Brand • Oct 1, 2014 • 1 min read

    A utopian village for tech entrepreneurs in downtown Las Vegas is turning out to be not so utopian. Tony Hsieh, the enigmatic CEO of Zappos, put up $350 million last year to buy and develop about 60 acres of property in downtown Vegas. It’s called the Downtown Project. It’s a community for tech entrepreneurs complete with a school, communal living quarters, bars and restaurants. But now it’s being reported that there are big problems with the Downtown Project... and it might be on the verge of collapsing.

    The full episode

    2 of 5
    The Great Cooking Debate of 2014
    1. 0:00Inside the Secret Service
    2. 8:03Downtown Utopia Hits A SnagYou’re reading this
    3. 16:49“Yes Means Yes” App
    4. 27:19The Great Cooking Debate of 2014
    5. 42:40Why is Today National Kale Day?
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Andrew Walsh

      Too Beautiful to Live

    • KCRW placeholder

      Christian Bordal

      Managing Producer, Greater LA

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Matt Holzman

      Producer, 'The Document'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Nellie Bowles

      covers tech and internet culture from San Francisco for The New York Times

      News

    The full episode

    2 of 5
    The Great Cooking Debate of 2014
    1. 0:00Inside the Secret Service
    2. 8:03Downtown Utopia Hits A SnagYou’re reading this
    3. 16:49“Yes Means Yes” App
    4. 27:19The Great Cooking Debate of 2014
    5. 42:40Why is Today National Kale Day?
    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand