The Gorilla’s Project’s primary aim is to create a feature film highlighting issues surrounding the preservation of gorillas.  We’re converting ideas from research papers and newspaper articles into a storytelling format. Instead of making a nature documentary, we intend to write a narrative film with interesting characters who get themselves into exciting adventures.  Making podcasts is a low-cost way to see which stories are compelling enough to include in the film. This week’s episode has a full cast of characters and a story that spans two continents and two centuries.  

During our research, we discovered a New York Times article by Ruth Maclean and Dionne Searcey titled “Congo to Auction Land to Oil Companies: ‘Our Priority Is Not to Save the Planet'”.  This article led us down the rabbit hole where we found another New York Times article by Ruth Maclean titled: “What Do The Protectors of Congo’s Peatlands Get In Return?” These articles are the primary inspiration for this podcast.   We also drew ideas from other articles and research papers we noted in this episode’s blog post on The Gorilla Project website.