Ideal Human Environment

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

WANTED: families to volunteer to live for six months in the Australian outback “to advance the frontiers of social science.” Be part of a cutting edge research project to test the ideal human environment.

In a country known for a population that loves to travel, the write-ups appealed to plenty of adventurous spirits. Little did they know the reality of what they would be getting themselves into.

EPISODE LINKS

• A snake in the grass — by Andrew Burrell, The Weekend Australian Magazine, 24 August 2019
• The Utopia Project — by Andrew Burrell, The Weekend Australian Magazine, 8 August 2015
• Cult friction — by Frank Robson, Good Weekend, 6 November 1999
• Cult leader James 'Taipan' Salerno jailed for repeated sexual abuse of teenage girl — by Rebecca Opie, ABC News, 29 July 2019
• Leader of Adelaide Cult the ‘Ideal Human Environment’ Has Been Jailed for Sexual Abuse — by Gavin Butler, VICE, 30 July 2019
• Salute to Adelaide Hills cult leader inspired by Gladiator movie, court told — by Rebecca Opie, ABC News, 19 October 2018
• This Aussie Cult Boss Was Allegedly Inspired by Russell Crowe in Gladiator — by Gavin Butler, VICE, 19 October 2018
• 'I felt like a piece of meat': Victim of cult leader James Salerno tells court of continued trauma — by Candice Prosser, ABC News, 8 July 2019
• Adelaide Hills cult members had to call their leader 'Taipan', court details reveal — by Rebecca Opie, ABC News, 19 June 2018
• Adelaide Hills cult leader James Salerno found guilty of unlawful sexual intercourse — by Claire Campbell & Rebecca Opie, ABC News, 24 May 2019
• Old Downer mansion goes for $4m — by Russell Emmerson, The Adelaide Advertiser, 24 January 2008
• Achieving harmony — by Marlborough Express, 17 January 2015
• Study and Prevention of Psychological Diseases Foundation v Commissioner of Taxation [2015] FCA 1117 — judgement of Justice J Greenwood, Federal Court of Australia, 21 October 2015
• Ideal Human Environment Foundation Incorporated — Australian Charities & Not-for-Profits Commission Charity Register entry
• Salerno Pastoral Company at home on the range — by Matt Brann, ABC News, 22 July 2012
• SA cult leader jailed for abusing teen girl — by Tim Dornin, AAP, 9 News, 29 July 2019
• 'Happiness' guru arrested on child-sex allegations — by Andrew Burrell, The Australian, 25 November 2015
• Inbox / Letters to the Editor — includes letter by Robert D. Moore, The Weekend Australian Magazine, 7 September 2019
• Inside the Cult of Taipan — by Mitch Mott, The Adelaide Advertiser, 3 August 2019
• Human nature sullies the perfect society — by Martin Daly, The Sunday Age, 3 October 1999
• Nationals unable to make a finding in Barnaby Joyce sexual harassment case launched by Catherine Marriott — by Louise Yaxley, ABC News, 7 September 2018
• For Emma Salerno her family is her business — by Ann Wason Moore, The Gold Coast Bulletin, 23 March 2019
• Inside James Salerno's cult and its quest to create the 'ideal human environment' — by Claire Campbell, Rebecca Opie & Daniel Keane, 1 August 2019
• Kimberley cult leader James Gino Salerno sexually abused young follower — by John Flint & Sean Fewster, The West Australian, 26 May 2019
• Tycoon beats evil in desert utopia — by David Reardon, The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 September 1999
• Searching for Outback Utopia — Illawarra Mercury, 22 March 1999
• Families go outback for the ultimate test — by Chloe Saltau, The Age, 24 May 1999
• BRIEFS — The Age, 27 April 1999
• WANTED - three Canberra families to brave six months in the outback “to advance the frontiers of social science” — The Canberra Times, 7 April 1999
• The Medical Bulletin, Volume 6 — United States Veterans Administration, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1929
• Delusions of Gender — by Cordelia Fine, Icon Books, 1 February 2005