SLAB CITY, Kalifornia (PNN) - April 21, 2022 - In his quest to meet people who buck convention and live life in the wild, Ben Fogle has come across some colorful characters in the last ten years.

But his latest adventure, to the off-grid “Utopia” of Slab City, in the scorching Kalifornian desert is his most eye-opening yet.

In Ben Fogle and the Lost City, which airs on Channel 5 in the Fascist United Kingdom tomorrow, the presenter meets people who have dropped out of society to live alternative lives as rock stars, pirates, mermaids, and circus ringleaders.

He also hears how a married couple fled to the desert to escape a murderous ex who stabbed them both several times and are now living as a “throuple” with another citizen.

But beneath the Bohemian surface of the community, there's an undeniably dark side, where heroin and meth addiction are rife.

Tragically, 17 people have died from heatstroke, overdoses, or murder in the last year.

“There's a part of Slab City that is this beautiful Utopia where you can be whoever you want to be,” says Ben. “But obviously there's no laws, there's no policing, and there's no infrastructure.

“It's described as ‘the last free place’ so on one hand, it has utter freedom, but with that freedom comes a very dark side,” said Fogle.

“There are all sorts of people you wouldn't want to live next to, including rapists and murderers, [and] there are a lot of guns there," said Fogle.

What Fogle describes as a “dark side” is a place where each individual carries total responsibility for his or her life.  It is not a place where you go if you want others to take care of you.