Communes USA

by Christian Goodwillie

An engaging look at communes throughout American history. Intentional communities have always been testing grounds for radical innovations in family structure, sexuality, and property. This series features in-depth interviews with communitarians and historians, leavened with a healthy dose of humor. Hosted by Christian Goodwillie, Hamilton College, and Dan Greenstone and Travis Chandler, of the Francis W. Parker School. 

Podcast episodes

  • Season 1

  • S01 E07 - Camphill Communities- Villagers and Co-Workers

    S01 E07 - Camphill Communities- Villagers and Co-Workers

    The Camphill Movement is a worldwide network of communities designed to include people with and without intellectual disabilities: Villagers and Co-Workers. Based on the Anthroposophical teachings of Rudolf Steiner, Camphill seeks...

    01:13:33
  • S01 E06 - The New Motor- Spiritualist John Murray Spear

    S01 E06 - The New Motor- Spiritualist John Murray Spear

    This week we have a fantastically weird-yet true-story that rivals Frankenstein. Spiritualist John Murray Spear and his followers constructed a "New Motor," or "Electrical Infant," under the direction of the spirits of Benjamin Fr...

    57:29
  • S01 E05 - Zendik Farm- Mating in Captivity, part 2

    S01 E05 - Zendik Farm- Mating in Captivity, part 2

    On this second episode of a two-part look at the Zendik Farm Arts Cooperative we speak with former member Helen Zuman. With roots in the Beat and hippie movements of late 1960s southern California, Zendik's message evolved to prop...

    50:20
  • S01 E04 - Zendik Farm- Escape from the Death Culture, part 1

    S01 E04 - Zendik Farm- Escape from the Death Culture, part 1

    On this first episode of a two-part look at the Zendik Farm Arts Cooperative we speak with former members Jeanne Nolan and Verd Nolan. With roots in the Beat and hippie movements of late 1960s southern California, Zendik's message...

    01:05:52
  • S01 E03 - The Vitellus of the Cosmogonic Egg: The Koreshan Unity, part 2

    S01 E03 - The Vitellus of the Cosmogonic Egg: The Koreshan Unity, part 2

    Take a trip inside!!! Cyrus Reed Teed, aka Koresh, posited that the earth was a hollow sphere and all the cosmos were contained therein. His followers believed this messiah would lead them into androgynous immortality as they jour...

    46:53