Does connecting to a planet require seeing it? And at what cost to the environment,  the wildlife, and people? Join us for an Earth Day special on Talking Apes Podcast as we chat with Ben Bressler, founder of Natural Habitat Adventures, about the transformative power of purposeful travel. 'We're passionate about conservation, and we're passionate about travel, so we use travel to affect conservation.' A Conservation Journey: From humble beginnings in the late 1980s, Natural Habitat...

Greetings, troop! Welcome back to Talking Apes Season 3. We're kicking off 2024 with a thought-provoking episode featuring Kathayoon Khalil, conservation psychologist and education professional with a rich background spanning zoos, aquariums, museums, and nature centers. This week, our chat explores: The Power of Empathy  – How it shapes our attitudes towards animals and influences our actions. Kathayoon helps us understand how empathy can be a dynamic tool for positive conservation action....

Evolution - Who are we, where did we begin? The evolution of us and apes like us - gorillas, chimps, bonobos, and orangutans - likely began long before any of us resembled the apes of today. For Dr. Sergio Almécija that journey begins in the Miocene some 5-23 million years ago. Dr. Sergio Almécija studies the evolution of humans alongside that of our living closest relatives, the apes. Modern apes and humans constitute a relict of a once highly diversified group. During the Miocene in...

Beyond Biology: Primate Pelage, Racism, and Academic Triumphs Colour and pattern of hair and skin play a powerful role in how primates interpret and interact with others and the world.  Primates are the most colourful and pelage-diverse of all mammals. In this episode, we dive into the vibrant world of non-human primate hair and skin colour with passionate Ph.D. student at the University of of Massachusetts Amherst, Thomas Wilson. Thomas explores the still-emerging and complex field of...

On this week's episode of Talking Apes Podcast, we're joined by two extraordinary scientists, Dr Cleve Hicks and Toni Romani, as they lead us into the enigmatic world of the Bili-Ape and beyond. Few people have ventured as far and deep into the Congo's dark and secretive forests as Dr Cleve Hicks. Primatologist and associate professor at the University of Warsaw, Cleve takes us back to his thrilling early 2000s expedition in search of the mysterious Bili-Ape; a creature once rumoured to be...

 Unraveling the Meaty Mysteries of Human Evolution with Dr. Briana Pobiner This week on Talking Apes we journey back in time to explore our ancestral roots with Dr. Briana Pobiner. As a distinguished paleoanthropologist, Dr. Pobiner delves deep into the evolution of the human diet and the pivotal role meat played in our development as a species. Briana, who leads the Smithsonian Human Origins education and outreach initiatives, offers a unique perspective on our shared history with other...

A World Gorilla Day Special Exploring the Fate of the Colossal Grauer's Gorillas Situated on the eastern edge of the expansive Congo Basin in the Democratic Republic of Congo, GRACE  holds the unique distinction of being the world's sole sanctuary for Grauer's gorillas. The largest primates on our planet, yet the least known of the gorilla species, these giants are facing a dire crisis as their numbers have plummeted drastically over the past two decades. Only 6,800 individuals now remain....

Diana Kanweri closes not only our special Making of Chimp Empire series, but Season 2 of Talking Apes. The talented Ugandan chimpanzee field guide and camera operator was the first ever Ugandan woman to work on the Ngogo Chimp Project and made an invaluable contribution to the Netflix docuseries. Diana's expertise in navigating the Ugandan wilderness and her keen eye for capturing stunning shots made her an integral part of the filmmaking team behind Chimp Empire. During her appearance on the...

‘When I arrived at Ngogo, it didn’t take me long to figure out this place was unusual.’  For the second installment of our Making of Chimp Empire Series, we were privileged to have the esteemed Professor John Mitani as a guest on Talking Apes. John shared intimate stories about his extraordinary lifetime of work studying the Ngogo chimpanzees and his latest adventure serving as a scientific adviser to the team of filmmakers working on the  hit Netflix docuseries.  ‘The Ngogo chimps have been...

‘Chimpanzees are just incredibly special animals and I think what makes them so unique is their individuality. It’s such a privilege to be able to spend so much time with them.’ The third installation going behind-the-scenes of Chimp Empire in our four-part series celebrating World Chimp Day 2023, featuring immensely talented Director of Photography, Benjamin Sadd. Ben played a crucial role in the creation of the remarkable Netflix docuseries. His passion for wildlife filmmaking and his love...

‘We didn’t decide what we wanted the story to be. We wanted the chimps to tell their story, and document that with the highest level of authenticity.’  Director James Reed is a visionary filmmaker whose work has captivated audiences around the world. His 2023 Netflix docuseries, Chimp Empire, showcases his remarkable storytelling abilities and his dedication to shedding light on the lives of chimpanzees. This groundbreaking series provides a rare and intimate glimpse into the complex social...

In recent years, podcasts have emerged as an innovative and accessible medium for science education. With their ability to engage, inform, and entertain listeners, podcasts have become an invaluable tool for disseminating knowledge about various scientific disciplines...including the best one of all, primatology  ;) It probably won't come as a surprise that  - apart from, of course, our own -  Andrew MacIntosh's, podcast, The PrimateCast,  run out of Kyoto University's Wildlife Research...

Held captive as pets, dressed in human clothes, forced to perform tricks, and in some cases, even brutally tortured and killed. These are just some of the despicable ways that primates and other wildlife are being exploited online for likes, shares, and cash.  The rise of social media has unfortunately made it easier for people to share photos and videos of animal cruelty. And according to research, primates make up an overwhelming majority of the abuse cases we find online.  What’s perhaps...

Did tool-use lead to talking? Dr. Gilly Forrester’s groundbreaking research has contributed significantly to our understanding of the evolution of language in humans. Her work, focused on the cognitive abilities of great apes, has highlighted fascinating discoveries about their use of tools and problem solving abilities. "We share an incredible evolutionary history with other great apes." One of Gilly's observations has been that apes can modify tools to make them more effective,...

Gadget Recycler-Ape Lover.  This is how Eric Ronay signs off on all his emails. From his warehouse in Louisville, Kentucky, Eric works diligently to not only save gorillas and their habitats, but also to save our precious environment while enacting lasting culture change. Eric, whose vision is clearly seen through the work that Eco-Cell does, wants to empower people, especially teenagers and young adults, to demand sustainable changes within the technology world. 'What we do is a labour...

Mountain gorilla tourism owes its legacy to one man - Praveen Moman.  A visionary conservationist and entrepreneur, Praveen is also called the father of great ape ecotourism in Rwanda's  Virunga Mountains and the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest of Uganda. Born in Uganda in 1969, Praveen grew up surrounded by the country’s natural beauty. His passion for conservation was sparked at an early age, and he pursued a degree in ecology and conservation biology at the University of Bristol in the UK....

"Viruses are the dark angels of evolution, terrific and terrible, without which, the immense biological diversity gracing our planet would collapse." In 2013 veteran science writer David Quammen wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times titled, The Next Pandemic: Not if, but When?  Seven years later he found himself writing about the horrors of the very thing he had foretold, as the Covid-19 virus surged throughout our world. This week, continuing our special Zoonotic Disease In the...

Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is a vet, conservationist, and founder of Conservation through Public Health. Join  us this week on Talking Apes where she tells us about her new book Walking with Gorillas, which chronicles her journey towards becoming Uganda's first-ever wildlife veterinarian, and details her innovative approach to gorilla conservation.  Gladys's work has been revolutionary in the field of gorilla protection. She recognized early on that the health of the local human populations...

IN THE SPOTLIGHT is a quarterly feature where we revisit past Talking Apes episodes that focus on highly critical issues. For our March 2023 instalment we're featuring our Season 1 episode with disease detective Dr Tony Goldberg, accompanied by three brand new podcasts exploring disease ecology and the links between animal health, human health, and the environment.  Zoonotic diseases occur when viruses, bacteria, or parasites jump between humans and animals. Dr Goldberg explores how these...

"Twelve years ago I heard a phrase that changed my life. I was sitting at a campfire in central Africa and heard, 'thirteen dead gorillas'.  I didn't know it at the time, but that phrase was launching me on a long quest to understand the ecology and evolutionary biology of scary viruses." Join us this week on Talking Apes when we talk to science author David Quammen about his years long mission to understand zoonoses - diseases that pass between humans and animals. David's books, SPILLOVER...

This week we're going HOST TO HOST as Gerry is  joined by fellow wildlife podcaster Jack Baker. Jack is creator and host of Pangolin: The Conservation Podcast  which features over 100 episodes highlighting pioneering conservationists at the forefront of wildlife protection. Pangolins are Jack's starting point for celebrating under-appreciated species and conservation stories – no matter how small, strange, or unexpected!   Tune in to hear Jack tell us about his undying passion for the...

Carl Safina is an American ecologist and author. He writes about our relationship with the natural world and the other beings that share it. ‘In my writing I explore our relationship with the living world—and how it could be better. My more recent work also probes how free-living animals experience life. What drives my work is a devotion to free-living things and wild places. And what drives that devotion is my deep love and wonder for the living world. ’  (from Carlsafina.org). During our...

Jo-Anne McArthur is a multiple award winning photojournalist who has spent over two decades travelling the world to document and bring to light the disturbing truth about our relationship with the other sentient beings that share our planet. Her unflinching photography has been acknowledged with multiple awards including Wildlife Photographer of the Year and The Global Peace Award. She is the author of  three books: We Animals (2014), Captive (2017), and HIDDEN: Animals in the Anthropocene...

Great apes — gorillas, chimps, orangutans and bonobos — have been Talking Apes host Gerry Ellis's life long passion. Discover where it started and how it's evolved as guest host Eric Cain explores the world of Talking Apes with photographer, film-maker and podcast host, Gerry Ellis. Long before creating the Talking Apes podcast, Gerry had built an award-winning career as an international wildlife film-maker, photographer, and writer spans three-decades and features work appearing in National...