500 years ago, Thomas Moore wrote a novel about an idyllic society on an island.

An island where private property had been abolished, families made their own clothes, and there

were no lawyers.

He called the island Utopia, which could be traced to the Greek roots Utopia, meaning

a good place, or Utopia, no place.

It's a brilliant etymology, encapsulating somewhere that is perfect and does not exist.

But that hasn't stopped people from trying to create their own Utopias.

I mean, it's enticing, isn't it?

What if you could rewrite laws and change the government?

What if you could choose who gets to live in your world and who's in charge?

Throughout history, many people have tried to turn their Utopian dreams into reality.

Our motivations vary, but these projects share one thing in common.

In one way or another, they all fail.

I'm Avery Treffelman and I'm hosting a new podcast called Nice Try.

Our first season, Utopian, chronicles the perpetual search for a perfect place.

From the first permanent English settlement in North America to a modernist city in India,

an erratially integrated suburb in 1950s, Pennsylvania.

It's an ongoing story that spans centuries and continents.

All the children here, we lived in a bubble.

We thought this was the most wonderful thing.

We had everything in our fingertips.

About visionaries with the best laid plans.

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