John Mitani's guest appearances

John Mitani

The PrimateCast

Talking Apes

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‘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 filmed many times by many people - but nothing like this.’During our chat, John spoke passionately about his deep connection with the Ngogo chimps owed to his decades-spanning research efforts. His extensive knowledge and expertise in the field of primatology added a profound layer of understanding to the documentary series. As the scientific adviser to the filmmakers, he played a pivotal role in ensuring accuracy and authenticity in the portrayal of chimpanzee behavior and social dynamics.One remarkable aspect of Professor Mitani's relationship with the director, James Reed, was their blossoming friendship. Through their shared passion for chimpanzees, a bond was formed that transcended the boundaries of their respective disciplines. James recognized the importance of including the scientific community in the filmmaking process and, in doing so, granted Professor Mitani unprecedented levels of creative access. This collaboration between a scientist and a filmmaker brought a unique perspective to Chimp Empire, combining scientific rigor with compelling storytelling. ‘The chimps accept our presence. I have a hard time wrapping my head around why, but I'm grateful for it.’ By granting Professor Mitani a significant role in the making of Chimp Empire, James elevated the documentary series beyond a mere visual spectacle. The integration of scientific expertise added depth and credibility to the project, ensuring that the behaviors and social dynamics of the Ngogo chimpanzees were accurately portrayed. John told us that this level of collaboration between scientists and filmmakers at Ngogo is not commonplace, making Chimp Empire a truly exceptional exploration of chimp life. John will be joining us again on Season 3 of Talking Apes Podcast to talk about his astounding career studying chimpanzee society with the Ngogo Chimpanzee Project. Coming Autumn 2023. Click HERE to read more about how the chimps are doing NOW, which was put together with John’s help. Click HERE to watch a short behind-the-scenes video of Chimp Empire featuring John.This podcast contains spoilers and we recommend that listeners watch the series on Netflix beSupport the showTalking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit GLOBIO. Official website: talkingapes.orgInstagram: @talkingapes_podcastTwitter: @talking_apes Click here to support the show. BUY OUR MERCH

‘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 <a href="https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/mitani/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Professor John Mitani</a> 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 filmed many times by many people - but nothing like this.’During our chat, John spoke passionately about his deep connection with the Ngogo chimps owed to his decades-spanning research efforts. His extensive knowledge and expertise in the field of <a href="https://www.cwu.edu/primate/what-primatology" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">primatology</a> added a profound layer of understanding to the documentary series. As the scientific adviser to the filmmakers, he played a pivotal role in ensuring accuracy and authenticity in the portrayal of chimpanzee behavior and <a href="https://news.janegoodall.org/2018/07/10/top-bottom-chimpanzee-social-hierarchy-amazing/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">social dynamics</a>.One remarkable aspect of Professor Mitani's relationship with the director, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1624755/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">James Reed</a>, was their blossoming friendship. Through their shared passion for chimpanzees, a bond was formed that transcended the boundaries of their respective disciplines. James recognized the importance of including the scientific community in the filmmaking process and, in doing so, granted Professor Mitani unprecedented levels of creative access. This collaboration between a scientist and a filmmaker brought a unique perspective to Chimp Empire, combining scientific rigor with compelling storytelling. ‘The chimps accept our presence. I have a hard time wrapping my head around why, but I'm grateful for it.’ By granting Professor Mitani a significant role in the making of Chimp Empire, James elevated the documentary series beyond a mere visual spectacle. The integration of scientific expertise added depth and credibility to the project, ensuring that the behaviors and social dynamics of the Ngogo chimpanzees were accurately portrayed. John told us that this level of collaboration between scientists and filmmakers at Ngogo is not commonplace, making Chimp Empire a truly exceptional exploration of chimp life. John will be joining us again on Season 3 of <a href="https://talkingapes.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Talking Apes Podcast</a> to talk about his astounding career studying chimpanzee society with the <a href="http://ngogochimpanzeeproject.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ngogo Chimpanzee Project</a>. Coming Autumn 2023. <a href="https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/chimp-empire-status-update" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click HERE to read more about how the chimps are doing NOW, which was put together with John’s help.</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZal12H2YNY" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click HERE to watch a short behind-the-scenes video of Chimp Empire featuring John.</a> This podcast contains spoilers and we recommend that listeners watch the series on Netflix be<a href="https://globio.org/donate" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>Talking Apes is an initiative of the nonprofit <a href="https://apeslikeus.globio.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">GLOBIO</a>. Official website: <a href="https://www.talkingapes.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">talkingapes.org</a> Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/talkingapes_podcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@talkingapes_podcast </a>Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/talking_apes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@talking_apes</a> <a href="https://patreon.com/talkingapes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click here</a> to support the show. <a href="https://www.bonfire.com/store/globio/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BUY OUR MERCH</a>

CHIMP EMPIRE: The Making of, with Primatologist John Mitani Behind the Scenes | S2E44

This episode of The PrimateCast: Origins is taken from CICASP's International Primatology Lecture Series: Past, Present and Future Perspectives of the Field. The IPLS is dedicated to providing origin stories told by experienced researchers in primatology and related fields. The lectures are conducted via Zoom within our CICASP Seminar in Science Communication for graduate students of our program at Kyoto University. We are releasing the audio from these lectures right here on The PrimateCast: Origins.For anyone interested in viewing the video versions of these lectures, head over to the CICASP TV YouTube channel, where you can also watch them live as we stream our Zoom feeds there. For the 8th international primatology lecture we invited Dr. John Mitani to share his origin story with us. This lecture took place on January 27, 2022. -----"If you find good [mentors], lean on them"-John Mitani, 2022-----John Mitani is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan, who has conducted over 40 years of research on gibbons, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos. He is the 2022 recipient of the Charles R. Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association of Biological Anthropologists. And, listening to his lecture really gives one a sense of why! So much of his work found its way into the textbooks.In the lecture, he shares many of the key discoveries he and his colleagues have made about social behavior in primates. These covered topics like:territoriality and indices of home range defensibility how ape vocalizations play a role in territorial defense and spacinghow male orangutans can have hugely different mating strategies that coincide with huge differences in body size and other physical featureshow chimpanzee social behavior and alliances are determined by genetic relationships among malesHe then goes on to provide some sage advice for any up-and-coming scholars out there. He spends a good deal of time acknowledging his mentors, and implores all of us to do the same. He also acknowledges the importance of serendipity, and the need to be opportunistic in the face of new observations. With eloquence and humility, John tells us the story of his career, in the hopes it can provide some inspiration to those of us out there on similar paths. One thing's for sure: I sure felt inspired after hearing him speak!The PrimateCast is hosted and produced by Andrew MacIntosh. Artwork by Chris Martin. Music by Andre Goncalves. Credits by Kasia Majewski.  Connect with us on Facebook or Twitter  Subscribe where you get your podcasts Email theprimatecast@gmail.com with thoughts and comments  A podcast from Kyoto University and CICASP.

This episode of The PrimateCast: Origins is taken from CICASP's International Primatology Lecture Series: Past, Present and Future Perspectives of the Field. The IPLS is dedicated to providing origin stories told by experienced researchers in primatology and related fields. The lectures are conducted via Zoom within our CICASP Seminar in Science Communication for graduate students of our program at Kyoto University. We are releasing the audio from these lectures right here on The PrimateCast: Origins. For anyone interested in viewing the video versions of these lectures, head over to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPxGgKzZTMFpTHRWofLwuwg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CICASP TV YouTube channel</a>, where you can also watch them live as we stream our Zoom feeds there. For the 8th international primatology lecture we invited <a href="https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/mitani/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dr. John Mitani</a> to share his origin story with us. This lecture took place on January 27, 2022. ----- "If you find good [mentors], lean on them" -John Mitani, 2022 ----- John Mitani is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan, who has conducted over 40 years of research on gibbons, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos.  He is the 2022 recipient of the Charles R. Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association of Biological Anthropologists. And, listening to his lecture really gives one a sense of why! So much of his work found its way into the textbooks. In the lecture, he shares many of the key discoveries he and his colleagues have made about social behavior in primates. These covered topics like:<ul><li>territoriality and indices of home range defensibility </li><li>how ape vocalizations play a role in territorial defense and spacing</li><li>how male orangutans can have hugely different mating strategies that coincide with huge differences in body size and other physical features</li><li>how chimpanzee social behavior and alliances are determined by genetic relationships among males</li></ul>He then goes on to provide some sage advice for any up-and-coming scholars out there. He spends a good deal of time acknowledging his mentors, and implores all of us to do the same. He also acknowledges the importance of serendipity, and the need to be opportunistic in the face of new observations.  With eloquence and humility, John tells us the story of his career, in the hopes it can provide some inspiration to those of us out there on similar paths.  One thing's for sure: I sure felt inspired after hearing him speak!<a href="https://www.theprimatecast.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The PrimateCast </a>is hosted and produced by Andrew MacIntosh. Artwork by Chris Martin. Music by Andre Goncalves. Credits by Kasia Majewski. <ul> <li>Connect with us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ThePrimateCast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/theprimatecast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a> </li> <li>Subscribe where you get your podcasts</li> <li>Email theprimatecast@gmail.com with thoughts and comments</li> </ul> A podcast from Kyoto University and CICASP.