Today we are sharing an episode from one of our newest series -- A Show About Animals. This season, we tell the strange and wonderful story of the wildly famous Koko the “talking” Gorilla. 

In the early 1970s, a grad student named Penny Patterson set out to investigate a big question: is language unique to humans? So she begins an ambitious experiment -- with the help of a young gorilla named Koko. Pretty soon, Penny says Koko is learning sign language. But, of course, that’s not the whole story. 

You can listen to our weekly series, A Show About Animals, in all the places you get your podcasts. 

A Show About Animals is hosted and reported by Arielle Duhaime-Ross and produced by Julia Nutter and Pete Lang-Stanton. Our associate producer is Leily Rezvani. Sound design and original score by Pran Bandi, with additional support from Steve Bone. 

Annie Aviles is our executive editor. Our executive producer and VP of Vice Audio is Kate Osborn. 

Special thanks to Maximo Anderson for fact-checking.

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AJ (Abdullah Jabbar) grew up in East London hanging out in barber shops. But when he was thirteen, he and his family moved to Syria, right into the middle of a civil war. AJ started vlogging his daily life growing up in a warzone. Now after seven years, AJ has documented a rare side of the Syrian civil war.

Source Material is a multimedia project that takes you behind the headlines and straight to the source. Every episode is also a short film. Watch here for the original episode: http://vice.video/SourceMaterialYT

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Hurricane Maria touched down in Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. It knocked out power for months and killed nearly 3,000. Years later, the island still bears the storm’s scars. Laura Marrero, a college student in San Juan, vlogged the storm and its aftermath.

Source Material is a multimedia project that takes you behind the headlines and straight to the source. Every episode is also a short film. Watch here for the original episode: http://vice.video/SourceMaterialYT

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Cori Langdon was driving a taxi on the Vegas Strip the night of the deadliest mass shooting in American history. When she heard gunfire, she turned on her video and drove towards the massacre, filming her rescue of victims fleeing the scene.

Source Material is a multimedia project that takes you behind the headlines and straight to the source. Ever episode is also a short film. Watch on VICE.com for original episodes: http://vice.video/SourceMaterialYT

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Source Material will be back on Friday, December 18th with a brand new episode. In the meantime, we are presenting an episode of VICE News' The Distance: Coronavirus Dispatches. 

During the pandemic Nicole’s politics have changed; she recently helped get a mandatory mask order rescinded in Orange County, California. Listen to more episodes of The Distance here.

Source Material is a multimedia project that takes you behind the headlines and straight to the source. Every episode is also a short film. Watch on VICE.com for original episodes: http://vice.video/SourceMaterialYT

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On August 1st, Riley Brown, a teenager in Georgia saw three Facebook and Tik Tok videos from inside the prison near her house. The live streamed videos, taken on inmates’ contraband cell phones, showed an uprising which left several inmates and correctional officers at Ware State Prison wounded. Then the livestreams went dead. We hear about what happened that day through the recordings and the accounts of those who watched it in real time -- an inmate’s wife, a correctional officer, and a local teenager who aggregated the videos.

Source Material is a multimedia project that takes you behind the headlines and straight to the source. Every episode is also a short film. Watch on VICE.com for original episodes: http://vice.video/SourceMaterialYT

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On September 8, 2020, a fire ignited on Almeda Drive, a quiet street in Ashland, Oregon. Dry air and fierce winds sent the fire ripping up the valley towards the towns of Talent and Phoenix. Thousands were evacuated including Bow DeBey, who lives in Talent. That night, with fires still burning and little information about the destruction, Bow decided to sneak back into town and livestream the Almeda Fire to his friends and neighbors.

Source Material is a multimedia project that takes you behind the headlines and straight to the source. Every episode is also a short film. Watch on VICE.com for original episodes: http://vice.video/SourceMaterialYT

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On June 14, 2017, an emergency call from London council housing Grenfell Tower reported a small fire on the fourth floor of the building. Hours later, all 24 stories of the building were on fire and 72 residents were stuck inside. While residents called for help from the roof and from their windows, family members and neighbors watched in horror from the street. Many recorded the event. 

Nabil Choucair was there. Six members of his family were unable to escape. 

As the government investigation into the event continues, many argue this was not a random event: https://www.vice.com/en/article/7kpagd/a-list-of-every-government-delay-to-the-grenfell-tower-inquiry

Source Material is a multimedia project that takes you behind the headlines and straight to the source. Every episode is also a short film. Watch on VICE.com for original episodes: http://vice.video/SourceMaterialYT

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The death of George Floyd ignited protests and riots across the U.S. In Louisville, Kris Smith joined protestors who took to the streets to say George Floyd’s name, and livestream the public uproar. When the Kentucky National Guard came to enforce a curfew on Louisville, Kris would end up live streaming the shooting death of his friend, David McAtee, at YaYa’s BBQ.

Source Material is a multimedia project that takes you behind the headlines and straight to the source. Every episode is also a short film. Watch on VICE.com for original episodes: http://vice.video/SourceMaterialYT

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a global pandemic forced most of the world into lockdown, Cass and Riley were working onboard cruise ships. Then ports closed to tourists and they were trapped at sea. Cass was stuck in the Caribbean, confined to her room, while Riley’s boat lingered off the coast of Southeast Asia. For Riley, who once dreamed of working on a cruise ship, it was a once in a lifetime experience. For Cass, it was a nightmare. Through their YouTube channels, they both document life in a floating hotel when all the guests are gone.

Source Material is a multimedia project that takes you behind the headlines and straight to the source. Check out the Source Material video series on VICE.com for a whole other experience of this story: http://vice.video/SourceMaterialYT

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.