Our Changing World

Fascinating fungi and pesky pathogens

07 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In a room in the Manaaki Whenua building in Auckland are rows and rows of shelves, with cardboard boxes containing an array of weird and wonderful dri...

Bringing back nature to Nelson

31 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alison Ballance visits the Brook Waimārama sanctuary, and discovers that the old saying "many hands make light work" is particularly true when it com...

Plasma jet technology and encouraging Pacific students in science

24 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Claire Concannon catches up with Dr. Taniela Lolohea of Auckland University of Technology. He is researching in the relatively new field of low temper...

Investigating the virosphere

17 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

While we might have heard all we ever want to know about viruses in the last few years, the truth is, known viruses represent less than zero point one...

For the love of seabirds

10 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Edin Whitehead inherited a love of birds from her father and became captivated by the majesty of seabirds on a trip to the Subantarctic Islands. Now a...

The Living Laboratories project

03 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Auckland University of Technology Living Laboratories project is all about investigating how best to grow back native forest. At Pourewa creek, th...

Secrets of Antarctic microbes

27 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The most extreme places in Antarctica give rise to the toughest and weirdest types of life. From creatures living a very different chemical life to ou...

Why the Tongan volcano triggered a worldwide tsunami

20 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The eruption of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai in January triggered a tsunami of unprecedented proportions, impacting the entire Pacific. How did this volc...

The battling beetle

13 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

With their antler-like mandibles, Helm's stag beetles often get stuck in to one another. But they are fighting a bigger battle too - against predators...

Machine learning for environmental data and needle free injections

06 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The New Zealand data science programme, Taiao, aims to help researchers make sense of environmental data so they can make useful predictions to guide ...

The resilience of crayfish in Tauranga Harbour

29 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

PhD student Kiamaia Ellis describes crayfish as a vulnerable taonga species. Local iwi in Tauranga believe the crayfish population is decreasing becau...

Helping seabirds return to Karioi

22 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Working with the community and local schools, the Karioi Project aims to turn the tide on biodiversity loss in their area. In recent years they've ral...

The promises and perils of chemistry research

15 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Two stories about the promise and perils of chemistry research. From a team recreating Renaissance beauty recipes in the hopes of rediscovering a 'mir...

Digging into the past of sleeping giant faults

08 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Nevis Fault is a sleeping giant fault, one that awakens only every 10,000 years or so. This week, a team of geologists use paleoseismic trenching ...

The 2021 Prime Minister's Science Prizes

01 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's Prime Minister's Science Prize time! We meet some of the people awarded the 2021 prizes for their mahi. The annual Prime Minister's Science ...

Biodiversity and the city

25 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers from the University of Waikato are tackling the tricky question of how to restore native biodiversity in our urban areas. For her Masters ...

The red seaweed of Otago Harbour

18 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We join Marine Science PhD student Namrata Chand on her Autumn field work collecting seaweed samples to learn more about this 'underdog of the ocean'....

Business not as usual for heart health

11 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Pūtahi Manawa / Healthy Hearts for Aotearoa has an ambitious goal - to close the inequity gaps in heart health. Researchers in this Centre of Researc...

Naturally rare and threatened

04 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Claire Concannon meets with some of the people working to protect New Zealand's naturally rare ecosytems and the endangered plants found within them.A...

Frozen in time

20 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A visit to Scott's Terra Nova hut to learn about the care given to the objects by Antarctic Heritage Trust conservators. This is an edit of the Antarc...

Researching best care for the smallest of patients

13 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Justin Gregory finds out about a study investigating how pre-term babies are fed during their first few weeks, and whether there is a better way. Busy...

Getting ready for our warmer future

06 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Stories about looking our warming world in the eye, and preparing for what is coming next. Collecting data about extreme temperatures in estuaries to ...

The future of cancer treatment

30 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

At the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research a team of scientists are working on what they believe will be the future of cancer treatment in New Zeal...

The energy problem

23 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Two stories on addressing our energy problem - using AI to maximise locally produced renewable energy and reducing the carbon footprint of ammonia pro...

The first glance

16 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A story of a community taking the lead to investigate their own history. Near the small fishing village of Moeraki, whānau members are doing the work...

When good science takes time

09 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This sea week Our Changing World joins Dr. Kim Currie on the Munida transect time-series - a long running investigation of how the chemistry of the oc...

Conservation benefits

02 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Creating safe spaces for wildlife to thrive means benefit for the local community too. This week, two stories on that theme. We know humans benefit wh...

Finding faults and eavesdropping on earthquakes

23 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alison Ballance catches up with two earthquake researchers. Geologist Carolyn Boulton is a "fault finder", interested in how faults slide. And geophys...

Multi-talented macroalgae

16 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Claire visits a macroalgae research facility in Tauranga to learn how and why the team there are growing large quantities of seaweed and freshwater ma...

Honey fingerprints and plant powers

09 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Claire learns about honey fingerprinting while Katy Gosset meets a scientist studying the anti-microbial properties of some native plants. Honey is bi...

Hunting for meteorites

02 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Claire Concannon joins a meteorite hunt on the South Island's West Coast and learns what these rocks from space can tell us about the early formation ...

Tuning in to nature

26 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The story of titipounamu, New Zealand's smallest bird, on Otago Peninsula, told by Karthic SS, a wildlife film maker and podcast producer based in Dun...

Summer Science: Voices - To spray or not to spray

19 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Summer science continues with a play of a science related episode from RNZ's Voices podcast. In 'To spray or not to spray' we meet Tim Vandervoet as h...

Summer Science: What's in the water? All about the Pb in our H2

12 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Centre for Science Communication student Laura McDonald speaks to Dr. Mike Palin about lead contamination in the environment. Laura McDonald learns th...

Summer Science: Black Sheep - Invasive: the story of Stewart Sm

05 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Summer science continues with a play of a science related episode from RNZ's Black Sheep podcast. Invasive tells the story of one man who released tho...

Summer Science: There's something in the water

29 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Centre for Science Communication student William Bowden speaks to Dr. Mike Joy & Dr. Tim Chambers about the issue of nitrates in New Zealand's waterwa...

Unwelcome visitors

22 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How to deal with unwelcome visitors. Katy Gosset learns about a native fungus that might help in the battle against wilding pines. And two national re...

Using chemistry to uncover the past

15 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Chemical isotope analysis is a powerful technique - Dr. Charlotte King explains to Claire how she uses it to reconstruct past lives of forgotten peopl...

Introducing Sci Fi Sci Fact

09 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Sci Fi / Sci Fact is a new podcast series in which scientists from New Zealand's MacDiarmid Institute talk to RNZ host Bryan Crump about whether some ...

Keeping an eye on river flow

08 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Two stories on keeping an eye on river flow - helping fish to migrate back upstream, and development of a national river flow forecasting tool. Fish f...

Listening to the hum of the Alpine Fault

01 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A team of scientists are installing an array of seismic sensors along the South Island's Alpine Fault. Claire Concannon joins them to find out how and...

Restoration - battling predators and planting trees

24 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Katy Gosset speaks to a PhD student designing new tech to catch predators and Claire Concannon meets the team who are working to restore a unique land...

100 years of radio and the spectrum of light

17 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On the 100th anniversary of radio in Aotearoa, Claire Concannon learns about the very first broadcast, explores how radio works, and finds out about c...

Sniffing out cancer

10 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Claire visits the team at K9 Medical Detection Charitable Trust to learn how their dogs are being trained to detect bowel and prostate cancer. Levi lo...

Totara treasure hunt

03 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Claire Concannon hits the Central Otago hills with Botany PhD student Ben Teele to imagine the landscape as it use to be, and to follow the clues to f...

Favourite plants

27 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Claire Concannon hears how the the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network's favourite plant competition is shaping up, while Katy Gosset learns about ...

The details behind the data

20 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Our Changing World, Aotearoa Science Agency's Damian Christie speaks to three scientists about the world of data. As we approach the end ...

The New Zealand genetic frontotemporal dementia study

13 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Claire Concannon hears from Dr. Brigid Ryan of the University of Auckland about the New Zealand genetic frontotemporal dementia study and speaks to so...

Using bioengineering to enhance healthcare

06 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Stories about the potential of bioengineering to transform health care. A new tracheostomy kit design that has halved the time for emergency operation...

Physics on ice

29 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Stories of physics research in Antarctica - into, under, and from within the ice. Claire finds out about measuring sea ice thickness and supercooling....

Brain stories - Parkinsons disease & perceiving masked emotions

22 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Claire Concannon learns about experiments aimed at slowing Parkinson's Disease progression. Sonia Yee explores research into our perception of emotion...

The kaka's return

15 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The return of South Island kākā to the the Ōtepoti Dunedin area has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. Claire Concannon hears about the tragedies ...

Wading into mangrove research

08 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Native mangroves in Aotearoa are expanding, putting them in conflict with some local communities & councils. A wade into the research about the value ...

Caring for the forest

01 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Katy Gosset finds out how researchers investigate the plant penetration powers of myrtle rust. Claire Concannon speaks with the caretaker of a tropica...

Surveying the skies

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Two stories of looking to the skies. Claire Concannon joins a hunt for planets outside of our solar system. Katy Gosset reveals the results of the ann...

A new way to make vaccines

18 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week, how information flows in the cell from DNA to proteins, and how scientists have tapped into this to enable a new way to make vaccines using...

Forty feathered needles in a forest haystack

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How do you find a tiny robin in a whole lot of forest? Researchers have been tracking the movements of forty North Island robins, or toutouwai, that h...

Mind Games

04 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How do you get in the zone to achieve your very best in an activity? And does a cheering crowd help? This week, two stories about the psychology of pe...

Running low on energy

28 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers from the University of Waikato talk about Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) - a condition in which athletes don't take in the ri...

The spectrum of research

21 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Scientific research can be thought as on a spectrum from blue sky to applied - this week, two stories that span this. Claire Concannon learns about a ...

Breaking down bird song

14 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On this week's Our Changing World - how songbirds learn their song, and how researchers in the Southern Hemisphere are trying to correct a long-standi...

Crafty Mathematics

07 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Mathematical equations can help us get new perspectives, but sometimes can be difficult to understand. This week, one story about how maths has helped...

Designing a pressure sensor for the brain

30 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute are working on what they hope will be the first New Zealand designed Class 3 medical device - a p...

Conservation communities

23 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Two stories of Aotearoa New Zealand conservation communities who are caring for the flora and fauna in their backyards. Claire learns about the Catlin...

When disease research gets personal

16 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Claire Concannon meets a group of researchers who are determined to do the best science they can, to try to help the people they love. Emeritus Profe...

The winding paths of science

09 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Two stories about science pathways - Katy Gosset heads to the University of Canterbury STEM careers fair to find out what the future might be for scie...

Our Changing World for 6 May 2021

06 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In her final trawl through the audio archives, Alison Ballance heads to Putauhinu Island, a southern sanctuary for rare birds. Go to this episode on r...

Alison Ballance retrospective 6: southern island sanctuary

05 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alison Ballance revisits a favourite story from the archives: southern island sanctuary for rare birds.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more detail...

Alison Ballance retrospective 5: kauri dieback disease

29 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alison Ballance revisits a 2013 feature on kauri dieback disease and talks to Nick Waipara to find out how the northern kauri forests are coping with ...

Our Changing World for 29 April 2021

29 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alison Ballance revisits a 2013 story about kauri dieback disease and gets an update of the disease's impact in 2021. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz ...

Our Changing World for 22 April 2021

22 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's retrospective, Alison Ballance revisits an ocean acidification special feature called The Acid Test.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for...

Alison Ballance retrospective 4: ocean acidification

22 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alison Ballance's foray into the vaults finds a feature on ocean acidification, The Acid Test and adds a 2021 update.Alison Ballance revisits a story ...

Our Changing World for 15 April 2021

13 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

2020 Prime Minister's Science Prize winners talk about their research and teaching.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

2020 Prime Minister's Science Prize winners

13 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There are some familiar names as well as some new faces among the winners of the 2020 Prime Minister's Science Prizes.There are some familiar faces as...

Our Changing World for 8 April 2021

07 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alison Ballance digs into the Our Changing World archives for an Antarctic blast from the past with Voice of the Iceberg 2: Revelation. Go to this epi...

Alison Ballance retrospective 3: Voice of the Iceberg

07 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alison Ballance digs into Our Changing World's Antarctic treasure chest and finds part 2 of Voice of the Iceberg.Alison Ballance made two trips to Ant...

Alison Ballance retrospective 2: Kaikōura earthquake science

30 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alsion Ballance revisits a story looking at the complexity of the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake.After more than 12 years as host of Our Changing World, Al...

Our Changing World for 1 April 2021

30 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's retrospective, Alison Ballance looks at the 'big ones': a big earthquake in Kaikōura in 2016 and a big science effort to understand it...

Science journalist Alison Ballance hangs up her boots

25 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With more than a thousand conservation stories under her waterproof parka, science journalist Alison Ballance is retiring from RNZ's Our Changing Worl...

Alison Ballance retrospective 1: shags & eagle rays

25 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alison Ballance looks back at the 1,000+ stories she has made, and revisits stone-eating spotted shags and urban eagle raysAs Alison Ballance prepares...

Our Changing World for 25 March 2021

24 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alison Ballance plays favourites from the archives - stone-eating spotted shags and urban eagle rays.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Our Changing World for 18 March 2021

18 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Seabird species are being reintroduced to Mana Island to help restore the ecology of the island. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

More seabirds for Mana Island

17 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The story of a seabird translocation to Mana Island, involving fluffy white-faced storm petrel chicks, artificial burrows and sardine smoothies.'...

Our Changing World for 11 March 2021

11 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rare dolphins and whales were among the discoveries when the Far Out Ocean Research Collective surveyed the seas off Northland. Go to this episode on ...

In search of what is out there

10 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Far Out Ocean Research Collective has been surveying for whales and dolphins in the seas off Northland.The offshore ocean may seem a flat featurel...

Glaciers as barometers of climate change

04 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Shaun Eaves talks about glaciers in the North Island and how evidence left behind by glaciers can help reconstruct past climates.Talk about glaciers i...

Our Changing World for 4 March 2021

04 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Developing a new test for detecting IVF embryos carrying too many chromosomes, and what past and present glaciers can tell us about climate. Go to thi...

A new test for IVF embryos

04 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fertility researchers are developing a new way of testing IVF embryos that have too many chromosomes.Researchers at Victoria University of Wellington ...

Collaborating to move freshwater species

01 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

University of Canterbury freshwater biologists are using a joint mātauranga Māori and western conservation science framework for their work transloc...

Mapping NZ's underground water

25 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Much of New Zealand's freshwater flows underground, and a team from GNS Science is in the process of mapping it.GNS Science researchers are mapping wh...

Our Changing World for 25 February 2021

25 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Mapping the hidden reservoirs of underground water across New Zealand and a mātauranga Māori view on moving freshwater species.Go to this episode on...

Our Changing World for 18 February 2021

17 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The natural history of Marlborough's weka and disaster law: what it is and its role in disaster resilience.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more de...

Disaster law

17 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

University of Canterbury's John Hopkins and Toni Collins explain disaster law and shortcomings in NZ's legal system highlighted by the Canterbury eart...

Weka: a wily but wary bird

17 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ornithologist and author Ralph Powlesland is intimately acquainted with the weka families on the regenerating Marlborough Sounds farm where he lives.T...

Our Changing World for 11 February 2021

10 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Liquefaction lessons from the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, and biotechnologists doing interesting things with plants.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz ...

Fixing environmental problems one plant at a time

10 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Biotechnologist David Leung finds ways to make plants solve environmental issues.David Leung finds ways to make plants solve environmental issues.Subs...

Liquefaction: lessons from the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes

10 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Misko Cubrinovski is interested how the ground and the structures on - and in - it behave during an earthquake.Misko Cubrinovski has spent his profess...

Our Changing World for 4 February 2021

04 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Designing a new kind of filter to treat wastewater and how to encourage people to behave in a more environmentally friendly way.Designing a new kind o...

How to behave better towards the environment

04 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Victoria University of Wellington's Wokje Abrahamse talks about environmental behaviour change, and projects to get people to save energy and use thei...

Engineering new ways to treat dirty water

03 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

University of Canterbury engineers plan to 3D print the next generation of wastewater treatment filters.Researchers have $3 million and three years to...