Nice Try! is a great name for a podcast, and it perfectly captures the tone of this series about utopias—from the Oneida Community to Biosphere 2 to the suburban developments of Levittown. The host, Avery Trufelman, manages to strike a balance between genuine admiration for the gumption of her subjects and cheerful resignation about their utterly predictable failure to remake society.
Many of the episodes have an understated rubber-meets-the-road moment when the utopias start to falter: In “Herland,” it’s when the older revolutionary female separatists realize that younger women no longer want to join them. In “Oneida,” it’s right about the time the eugenics kick in.
Trufelman, whose voice you might recognize from the popular podcast 99 Percent Invisible, brings a straightforward sensibility to her storytelling, employing the explainery tone you’d expect from this collaboration between Curbed and Vox.
Founded in 1968, Reason is the magazine of free minds and free markets. We produce hard-hitting independent journalism on civil liberties, politics, technology, culture, policy, and commerce. Reason exists outside of the left/right echo chamber. Our goal is to deliver fresh, unbiased information and insights to our readers, viewers, and listeners every day. Visit https://reason.com