Our Changing World
RNZ
300 episodes
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.
Episodes page 1 of 6
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Saving tara-iti, shell by shell
In the dunes of Bream Bay, DOC workers and volunteers are shifting shells by hand to build safer nesting habitat for tara-iti. With only about 45 birds left, every nest matters. Producer Liz Garton tags along on this…
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The PINK1 clue in Parkinson's disease
A genetic form of Parkinson’s disease is found at unusually high rates in some Pasifika communities. It affects people who are much younger than the typical Parkinson's patient. Researchers are working with patients to…
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Are GLP1 drugs worth the hype?
GLP1 - RA weight loss drugs get the Our Changing World treatment! What are they? How do they work? And what does the science say about the benefits, and the risks? Plus, beyond health outcomes, how might things change…
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Black robin: From the brink to Bird of the Year
In September, the Chatham Island black robin was crowned Bird of the Year 2026. This small, round and feisty manu has a remarkable comeback story, from just five birds in 1979 to about 400 today. They are found on just…
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The science quest for a green ammonia catalyst
Over a hundred years ago Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch discovered a way to produce ammonia that revolutionised farming. It changed the world. But today this way of making ammonia uses between 1-2% of the world's global…
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Searching sand dunes for lizards
Over 80% of our coastal dune ecosystems have been lost. So, what about the native species living with them? Ayana Piper-Healion steps into Bream Bay’s sand dunes with a monitoring team to see what lizards can tell us…
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Ireland's experience of H5/N1 bird flu: A conversation with Niall Hatch
Highly pathogenic H5/N1 bird flu strain has been detected in New Zealand, but it's still early days. There are lots of unknowns about when it will start spreading here, and how our wildlife will react to the virus. But…
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H5/N1 bird flu is here, what does this mean for our wildlife?
After years of watching it move closer, the highly pathogenic H5/N1 strain of bird flu has arrived on our shores. It has left a trail of devastation, causing mass mortality events in many birds and mammal species. What…
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OCW Recommends: All in Her Head
Our Changing World listeners might like to check out All In Her Head, a podcast by investigative journalist Anusha Bradley exploring a complex medical syndrome, and the grey areas where medicine, belief and scientific…
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Should we de-extinct the moa?
Our Changing World takes a deep dive into controversial plans by US company Colossal Biosciences, backed by filmmaker Peter Jackson, to de-extinct the Moa. In part two of a two-part series, Sharon Brettkelly looks at…
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Could we de-extinct the moa?
Our Changing World takes a deep dive into controversial plans by US company Colossal Biosciences, backed by filmmaker Peter Jackson, to de-extinct the Moa. In part one of a two-part series, Sharon Brettkelly looks at…
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Cold water swimming: panacea or peril?
Cold plunges and cold water swimming are increasingly popular, with big benefit claims being made on social media. But is submerging yourself in frigid water actually good for you? Claire Concannon joins a team of…
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A precious piece of sediment, and what it says about our future
After years of preparation and effort an international team have succeeded in recovering over 200 metres of sediment from below the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Claire Concannon visits the sediment core analysis team in…
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Solar on the go and feeding the world in a catastrophe
There’s a lot of chat about solar panels for our rooftops, but where else might it make sense to put them? Claire Concannon visits the University of Canterbury’s Electric Power Engineering Centre to learn about their…
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High powered magnets, and making steel with hydrogen
At the Robinson Research Institute in Wellington, researchers are developing powerful superconducting magnets for space, fusion and MRI applications. Claire Concannon visits the labs to learn about a small magnet’s…
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Electric motors for future flight
To get electric passenger planes in the skies requires powerful electric motors, but they must also be small and light. Some kiwi scientists think they could have a solution. Claire Concannon heads to a warehouse in…
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An Antarctic adventure, and a book return
Join a group of young explorers as they journey to Antarctica to return a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo to Discovery Hut. Along the way they visit other historic huts to learn about triumphs and tragedies of the…
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New tech aimed at improving heart health at home
Every 90 minutes a New Zealander dies from heart disease. Liz Garton meets the team at the Institute of Biomedical Technologies is developing new products to help monitor heart health in the home to try to change those…
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Building a nation-wide model of landslide risk
Out of all of New Zealand’s natural hazards, landslides have resulted in the greatest loss of life since written records began. Pulling in data from decades of landslide research, a team at Earth Sciences New Zealand…
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Meet the Prime Minister's science prize winners
A team that developed a brain cooling treatment for oxygen-deprived babies, a young scientist who created a helpful backseat driver app, a Māori kaiako encouraging her students to weave traditional design and…
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Analysing ash, and Vanuatu's volcanoes
New Zealand is a land formed by volcanoes, including some still active. Claire Concannon meets a researcher analysing ash deposits to determine if a future eruption might have dangerous levels of hazardous chemicals.…
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The challenges of making our capital city predator free
Phase two of Predator Free Wellington’s groundbreaking project to rid our capital of rats is well underway. They’ve learned a lot from their work on the Miramar Peninsula, but with this new chapter comes new challenges…
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Building New Zealand's RNA capabilities
Scientists had long been exploring RNA technology as a way to make vaccines before it had it’s breakout appearance during the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, interest in the potential uses of RNA to make vaccines and…
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Working towards a pest free Purerua-Mataroa peninsula
One peninsula to the north of the Bay of Islands is home to an estimated three thousand Northland brown kiwi. The Pest Free Purerua-Mataroa project aims to reduce predators numbers on the peninsula and defend its…
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Hydrogen detectives
Could the answer to the current fuel crisis be right under our noses? On Our Changing World this week, Sharon Brettkelly talks to some of the scientists analysing ultramafic rocks in places like Lake Pupuke on…
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How can Aotearoa eliminate cervical cancer?
The World Health Organisation has set an ambitious goal to eliminate cervical cancer. New Zealand health experts are optimistic we can do it, but suggest there are challenges to achieving that aim. Sign up to the Our…
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Looking to a wild future for kākāpō
Today kākāpō breed on three remote islands, each bird wears a transmitter and they are carefully monitored and minded. But the ultimate goal of the kākāpō recovery programme is to restore the mauri of the kākāpō – to…
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A time of change for kākāpō
So far, 2026 has been the biggest kākāpō breeding season of all time, with more chicks hatched than ever before. The current challenge is to keep them all healthy as they grow into juveniles, and get added to the adult…
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A taste for science
The food you see on the supermarket shelves doesn't end up there by accident. It's often been rigorously tested for likeability. This week on Our Changing World, Liz Garton finds out about the science behind those…
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Keeping the South Island Psa-V free
In 2010 the Psa-V bacterial disease was found in a Bay of Plenty kiwifruit orchard. This was the beginning of a terrible ordeal for many kiwifruit growers. It devastated crops, resulting in the loss of hundreds of…
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The unexpected potential of ketamine
Ketamine was first developed as an anaesthetic, and today is taken by some as a party drug. But since 2000, research has emerged showing it is also helpful as a medication for some people with treatment-resistant…
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Building an army to stop a stink bug invasion
In the Auckland suburb of Mt Albert there's a particular brand of doomsday prepping going on. Our Changing World visits the Bioeconomy Science Institute to meet some scientists figuring out how to build an army of…
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Monitoring plastic pollution in Northland, and the elusive bittern
Our Changing Word heads to Whangārei to speak to a Northland Regional Council scientist whose been using stormwater drains to estimate the scale of our plastic pollution problem. Plus, just outside Christchurch, one of…
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The tree keepers
In Dunedin the local tree crop association has been looking after a heritage apple orchard, but some mixed up labels meant they weren’t quite sure what varieties they had. A chance encounter at a public open day sets…
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How to grow a kiwi
Take a (very) large egg, some insects (plus specially developed food), and a safe place to put on weight for a while. This is how you grow a kiwi, and improve wild survival rates from 5% to 65%. With over 2,600 hatches…
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Iwi-led conservation in the Kaimai Mamuku ranges
In the Kaimai Mamuku ranges iwi-led conservation projects are tackling pests, removing weeds and planting natives to restore their whenua. Ngāti Hinerangi’s Wairere Mahi project has been trapping around the Wairere…
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The thorny issue of the long-spined urchin
A native species is taking over a jewel-in-the crown marine reserve. But what can be done? Centrostephanus, the long-spined urchin, is munching its way through the world-renowned rock walls and kelp beds of the Poor…
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The Democratisation of Space?
New Zealand is third in the world for the number of orbital rocket launches from our shores, sitting just behind the US and China. Phil Vine discovers some of the challenges raised by our push into the unknown and how…
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Science for future fashion
We know there are issues with sustainability within the fashion industry - can science help create a better future? Claire Concannon visits the Bioeconomy Science Institute in Rotorua to learn how New Zealand…
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Going for eradication - Predator free South Westland
Since 2018 there's been a massive effort underway to clear over 110,000 hectares of South Westland of possums, rats and stoats. As the pest numbers have dropped the native flora and fauna seem to have flourished. The…
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Insect vibes
Some insects communicate using a secret language that we can’t sense – a language of vibrations. Now researchers at the Bioeconomy Science Institute are starting to decode what insects are saying to each other. They…
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Sight in the womb
When do humans begin to interact with the world, and develop our sense of self? When we are born? Or might it start even earlier than that? Our visual systems are a key way that we perceive the world. New findings from…
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Summer science: Methane-busting seaweed
A Southland company is growing red seaweed as a supplement that’s been shown to significantly reduce methane emissions in beef and dairy cattle. In our last summer science series episode, Cosmo Kentish-Barnes of the…
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Summer science: Why we spend
Why do we spend more than we need to? Is it mood, FOMO, the desire to impress? Or maybe some tricky behavioural triggers we're not even aware of? Our summer science series continues with an episode of the RNZ podcast…
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Summer science: The science of ageing
We’d all like to know how to live long healthy lives, and Kim Hill is no different. In this episode of Kim Hill Wants To Know, she talks to geneticist Dame Linda Partridge about the scientific breakthroughs that could…
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Summer science: Keeping it crisp
We all love a good crunchy apple – but how do they stay like that for months after being picked? The Our Changing World summer science series continues with an episode of Here Now. Kadambari Raghukumar travels to…
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Summer science: Dollars for nature
This week on the summer science series we play an episode of Country Life called Dollars for Nature. Can biodiversity credits fix New Zealand's conservation woes? In June, the government announced they were supporting…
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Tackling feral cats
Nobody knows how many feral cats roam New Zealand, but estimates are in the millions and they’re a major threat to our native species. They've infiltrated almost every landscape, from coasts, to farms, to National…
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The kākāpō files returns and the year in science
On three small predator-free islands off the coasts of Fiordland and Southland, preparations are underway for what many hope will be the biggest breeding season ever for the kākāpō. Alison Ballance returns to report on…
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Restoring Te Awarua o Porirua
The wetlands and surrounding forests of Te Awarua o Porirua, or Porirua Harbour, were once rich food baskets for Ngāti Toa Rangatira. But decades of development throughout the catchment - large-scale deforestation,…
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