Episodes

  • Trailer

    Trailer
    Aug 25 2022
    Koko the gorilla was the defining animal celebrity of the '80s and '90s. But behind the fame of this sign-language-using ape lay a grim reality. On Fine Gorilla Person, host Lauren Ober unpacks the rise and fall of the world’s most famous gorilla, from her early days as a Stanford University science experiment to the failed schemes to make Koko a mother to the decades-long boondoggle to build a sanctuary for signing gorillas in Hawaii. Oh, and a lot of weird sexual stuff. An Audible Original produced by Topic Studios. The production company is Rowhome Productions.
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    1 min
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  • Episode 1

    Episode 1
    Aug 25 2022
    In the pantheon of famous animals—Rin Tin Tin, Mr. Ed, Grumpy Cat, to name a few—there was none more famous (at least for a time) than Koko the gorilla. She knew sign language, she befriended tiny kittens, she was both science experiment and cultural icon. As her reputation grew, Koko was touted as our missing link, our entreé into the soul of the animal kingdom. And for a strident, stubborn little ape, that was a lot to live up to.
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    33 mins
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  • Episode 2

    Episode 2
    Aug 25 2022
    Koko was born in the San Francisco Zoo on the Fourth of July, 1971. And Koko would have remained there with the rest of her gorilla troop if it weren’t for one woman—Francine (Penny) Patterson, a young psychology PhD. student looking for an ape for her doctoral project. Penny wanted to know: “Could gorillas learn sign language?” Koko would soon answer that for her. And in the brief but distressing history of ape language studies, Koko grew to become the most famous speaking ape of them all.
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    30 mins
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  • Episode 3

    Episode 3
    Aug 25 2022
    Dr. Penny Patterson doesn’t exactly cut the figure of a rogue scientist. But over the years, that’s exactly what the lithe blond from Minnesota became. Penny bucked all conventions when it came to her career—she was a small woman working with a giant gorilla; she was a female scientist in a male-dominated profession; and she was afraid of nothing when it came to protecting her work, or her gorilla. But how did she do it? And why?
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    31 mins
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  • Episode 4

    Episode 4
    Aug 25 2022
    When Dr. Penny Patterson finished her PhD., she was at a crossroads. Koko had become more than just a science experiment. Koko was Penny’s baby and Penny was effectively Koko’s mom. Mother and child would not be separated. So Penny launched a campaign to save Koko from the reach of the San Francisco Zoo, which was desperately trying to reclaim her. And against all odds, Penny succeeded. Koko became all hers. But at what cost to Penny? And Koko?
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    31 mins
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  • Episode 5

    Episode 5
    Aug 25 2022
    Dr. Penny Patterson was nothing if not ambitious. She fought to keep Koko at any cost. But that ambition alienated Penny from the scholarly scientific community. So she had to make her own way. And she did that by turning Koko into a brand. Koko the science experiment had become Koko, Inc., complete with movies, books, and plush dolls. And what do all brands want? Celebrity endorsements. Koko got those in spades. Everyone from William Shatner to Betty White to Mister Rogers wanted an audience with Koko. But what did the gorilla want?
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    33 mins
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  • Episode 6

    Episode 6
    Aug 25 2022
    For an animal lover, working with a famous creature like Koko seemed like the dream of a lifetime. But the reality at The Gorilla Foundation was far from dreamy. Employees were nitpicked and micromanaged, Koko’s trailer was a tumbledown wreck, and the project’s “scientific” data was contained in stacks and stacks of indecipherable handwritten notebooks. Not to mention most people who worked with Koko had zero prior experience with gorillas. Plus, Koko was on so many drugs and supplements, she was barely a gorilla anymore. The dream quickly became a nightmare.
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    32 mins
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  • Episode 7

    Episode 7
    Aug 25 2022
    Every famous person knows that the more well-known you become, the more you get dogged by rumors. So as a bona fide celebrity, Koko was not immune to gossip. But in Koko’s case, most of it was true. From Koko’s infatuation with nipples to sexual harassment lawsuits to unorthodox sexual contact with the gorilla, there was a lot of dubious and disturbing stuff happening behind the scenes at The Gorilla Foundation. And none of it helped promote a safe and healthy environment for Koko or her caretakers.
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    33 mins
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