Our Changing World
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Our Changing World
Dr Claire Concannon follows scientists into the bush, over rivers, back to their labs and many places in-between to cover the most fascinating research being done in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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When the fame fades
Two years ago, the Australasian crested grebe, the pūteketeke, took out the title of New Zealand’s Bird of the Century. But when the Paris billboard g...
Putting AI to use in Aotearoa
From the public service sector to businesses to individuals, AI’s uptake across New Zealand has been rapid. And it’s not just large language models. C...
The Lough Hyne sponge mystery
This week, an underwater mystery connecting New Zealand and Ireland - the puzzle of the disappearing sponges of Lough Hyne. In the late 1990s/early 20...
Now on Wild Sounds: Voices from Antarctica
Need a nature fix? RNZ now has a podcast feed dedicated to our beautifully produced series telling stories from te taiao nature. Check out the Wild So...
Detecting cow burps from space
In March 2024, a satellite built to detect the potent greenhouse gas methane launched into orbit – backed by New Zealand to a final total of $32 milli...
New Zealand science in space
In March 2024, a rocket launched from Florida carrying New Zealand’s first science payload to the International Space Station. The small cube, named L...
The I-spy carbon mobile
An elaborate game of carbon ‘I spy’ is happening on the streets of Wellington. With their brand-new mobile carbon lab, Earth Sciences New Zealand (for...
The comeback bird
Takahē were believed to be extinct not once, but twice. Today their population is just over 500 – still not a huge number, but big enough that new hom...
Powering New Zealand
Gas shortages, a reversal of the ban of offshore oil and gas exploration, and a government plan to double geothermal energy in the next 15 years… Ther...
New Zealand’s youth vaping rates
New Zealand’s youth vaping rates are among the highest in the world. How did we get here and what will this mean for the future of our rangatahi? A 20...
The science of non-alcoholic beer
More and more of us are reaching for low or no-alcohol beers. As the market grows, the options are also expanding – but brewing beer without alcohol f...
Turning Taupō green
Project Tongariro was established as a living memorial for five people who died in a tragic helicopter accident. Last November, the project turned 40...
The willows and the wetland
The battle on the frontlines of conservation continues around the motu. This week we head to the central North Island to join some of the staff and vo...
The dance of the lanternfish
During World War II, sonar operators discovered a ‘false seabed’ that appeared to move upwards during the nighttime. In fact, the sound waves were bou...
A New Zealand approach to nuclear fusion
For a long time, nuclear fusion was viewed as a powerful, but unachievable, energy source, because the technological challenges were just too great. B...
Tauranga's living sea wall
In May 2024, 100 strange rocky structures were installed along Tauranga's harbour shoreline. These flower-shaped artificial rockpools, nicknamed 'sea...
Protecting ‘Jaws’ – Aotearoa’s rarest freshwater fish
Speckled, pencil-thin and sporting an underbite: the lowland longjaw galaxias is New Zealand’s rarest freshwater fish species. With just seven known p...
New insights from an old vaccine
Since the 1800s, tuberculosis (TB) has been responsible for an estimated 1 billion deaths. In New Zealand today, we don’t get many cases of TB, but wo...
Getting ready for H5N1 bird flu
2020 saw the start of two global pandemics. Covid-19, of course, but also H5N1 bird flu. The latter has swept around the world leaving millions of dea...
Wild Sounds: The new podcast feed for nature
If you like Our Changing World, you should find and follow Wild Sounds: RNZ's new podcast feed dedicated to incredible natural science stories from Ne...
Tracking turtles
In late 2024 a cluster of sick green sea turtles washed up around the Rangaunu Harbour on the east coast of the Far North. It was just another mystery...
The Chatham Island tūī translocation
One from the archives! By the 1990s Chatham Island tūī had all but disappeared from the main island. Slightly different to their mainland counterparts...
Wildfire science heats up
Smoke explosions. Fire tornadoes. Burning couches. It all happens in the fire lab: a purpose-built facility where researchers can safely set stuff on...
Dissecting the world's rarest whale
How do you go about dissecting the world’s rarest whale? In December 2024, images from a concrete room in Mosgiel, just south of Dunedin, spread aroun...
The missing black petrels of Great Barrier Island
For nearly 30 years, researchers have been banding black petrel fledglings before they make their maiden migration to Ecuador. Only a handful of birds...
The 2024 Prime Minister’s Science Prize winners
Each year, five Prime Minister’s Science Prizes are awarded in the most prestigious New Zealand science awards. We explore the AgResearch science that...
Fiordland's underwater world
With its steep sides, forested slopes and heavy rainfall, Fiordland has interesting ecosystems both above and below the water. Below the surface of th...
Helping New Zealand’s understated orchids
Cooper’s orchid is New Zealand’s rarest and most elusive, with fewer than 250 plants left in the wild. It belongs to the group of potato orchids, whic...
Keeping up with the kākahi
Kākahi are a keystone species in lake and river ecosystems, keeping the water clean by filtering one litre of water every hour. These native mussels o...
Bonus: RNZ climate correspondent Eloise Gibson
Claire Concannon spoke to RNZ's climate correspondent Eloise Gibson for the last episode of the Voice of the Sea Ice series. Listen to the full interv...
Voice of the Sea Ice 06 | Where to?
Human-induced climate change is impacting Earth’s global systems, including ice melt in Antarctica. What is the world doing to combat it? Signed in 20...
Voice of the Sea Ice 05 | Changing times
In February 2025, the world hit a new low for global sea ice extent. Arctic sea ice has been declining for several decades now, but Antarctic sea ice...
Voice of the Sea Ice 04 | More life!
Penguins that return to the ice in the middle of winter to lay their eggs. Seals that use cracks in the ice to keep their pups safe. And fish that hav...
Voice of the Sea Ice 03 | Life!
What’s it like to live and work on the frozen ocean? A team of researchers is camping out on the sea ice to investigate the small critters that live o...
Voice of the Sea Ice 02 | Antarctica's heartbeat
Step out on the sea ice just outside New Zealand’s Scott Base with researchers studying the physics of its annual cycle. Each year a massive patch of...
Voice of the Sea Ice 01 | A land of ice and ambition
Welcome to Antarctica - a land of ice, extremes, and ambition. From historic expeditions to modern day science projects, Antarctic exploration is a un...
Keeping tabs on Fiordland’s sharks and researching our deep-sea realm
Using acoustic tags and a network of receivers attached to the seafloor, researchers are tracking the movements of sevengill sharks in Fiordland. They...
Recruiting the birds to help reforestation, and investigating ADHD and fidgeting
People with ADHD often fidget more than those without. Why might this be? Does it help them focus? Or distract them further? An Auckland Bioengineerin...
Trapping to help whio and searching for extreme life
The Eastern Whio Link project has been working to restore the whio or blue duck population in the rivers of the Waioeka Gorge. Sam Gibson, aka Sam the...
Your friendly local environment centre
All around New Zealand, people are trying to make things just a little bit better for their communities. The 22 Environment Centres, or Hubs, found th...