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Reclaiming Pepe, my cartoon frog

When cartoonist Matt Furie created the chilled-out character Pepe the Frog, he never expected it to be adopted by far-right groups.

How does a frog cartoon become a hate symbol? Matt Furie is a comic book illustrator who created Pepe the Frog, a chilled-out character that ended up becoming a hugely popular internet meme. But this frog took on a sinister life of its own as it was adopted by far-right groups in the US. Neal Razzell finds out how this unexpected turn affected Matt and how he鈥檚 fought to reclaim his frog.

Fabio Zaffagnini loves various types of rock. He鈥檚 an Italian geologist and is also obsessed with the band Foo Fighters. He knew they wouldn't perform in his small Italian city so instead he organised a concert where 1,000 musicians played one of their songs. This attracted the attention of the band鈥檚 frontman Dave Grohl, who went on to make Fabio鈥檚 dreams come true鈥

Dubliner Derek McGuire gives guided walking tours in his home city in Ireland. But it鈥檚 not just standard tourist sights on his tour. He was once homeless in Dublin so he shows his customers a different side to the city鈥檚 streets. Outlook's 脕ine Gallagher joins Derek's audience to find out more.

Image: Pepe the Frog
Credit: Matt Furie

Available now

53 minutes

Last on

Wed 10 Jul 2019 03:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 9 Jul 2019 11:06GMT
  • Tue 9 Jul 2019 15:06GMT
  • Tue 9 Jul 2019 17:06GMT
  • Tue 9 Jul 2019 20:06GMT
  • Wed 10 Jul 2019 02:06GMT
  • Wed 10 Jul 2019 03:06GMT

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Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Step into someone else鈥檚 life and expect the unexpected