Podcasts about our changing world

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 dead wild birds and marine mammals in its wake. It has reached everywhere – except Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. Alison Ballance has been finding out why this strain of bird flu is so deadly, and what we are doing to get ready for its possible arrival on our shores. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Guests:Dr Kate McInnes, Department of ConservationDr Megan Jolly, Wildbase Hospital, Massey UniversityDr Mary van Andel, Ministry for Primary IndustriesRob Schuckard, Birds New ZealandDavid Melville, Birds New ZealandLearn more:Read the article that accompanies this episode: A deadly bird flu strain is coming. Are we ready?Find out about Biosecurity NZ's bird flu surveillance work and what New Zealand is doing to prepare for the possible arrival of avian influenza.The Exotic Pest and Disease Hotline for reporting suspected bird flu is 0800 80 99 66.The Department of Conservation is preparing for the possible arrival of H5N1 bird flu in New Zealand.Claire Concannon spoke about viruses, including H5N1 bird flu, with virologist Professor Jemma Geoghegan, winner of the 2024 Prime Minister's Te Puiaki Whakapā Pūtaiao Science Communication Prize.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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 New Zealand! Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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 in a long line of all the things we don't know about these ocean taonga. But a new telemetry study, using these very turtles, could change all that. The study has officially kicked off with the release of five satellite-tagged honu. Liz Garton finds out what secrets the researchers hope to uncover.From now on Our Changing World will appear on Tuesdays in your podcast feed!Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Guests:Dr Karen Middlemiss, Department of ConservationDr James Chatterton, Auckland ZooCeline Campana, Auckland ZooKim Evans, SEA LIFE Kelly Tarlton'sLearn more:Find out more about the honu that visit our shores.RNZ's Peter de Graaf describes the release of the first lot of satellite-tagged turtles in Northland.Learn more about the international effort to protect leatherback turtlesGo to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Today on Our Changing World – we have a piece from the archives – from 15 years ago. Chatham Island tūī once were common on the main Chatham Island, but from the 1930s their numbers started to decline, and by the 1990s they were all but gone. In 2009 fourteen tūī were transferred from nearby predator free Rangatira island to the main island. They all survived the winter, and some started to breed. Following up on this success, local conservation group the Chatham Island Taiko Trust decided to translocate more in 2010. We join Alison Ballance and the tūī team just after they've caught and contained 40 birds.

One from the archives! By the 1990s Chatham Island tūī had all but disappeared from the main island. Slightly different to their mainland counterparts, these songbirds had survived on nearby Pitt and Rangatira islands. So a local conservation group decided to try bring them back. In this episode from 2010, Alison Ballance joins the ‘tūī team' tasked with moving 40 birds from Rangatira island back to the main island. From now on Our Changing World will arrive in your podcast feed first thing on a Tuesday morning!Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.In this episode:00:00 – 02:30 Introduction and background info02:30 – 12:14 Catching tūī on Rangatira Island12:15 – 12:24 Team has caught 40 birds12:25 – 24:46 Moving the birds to main Chatham Island24:47 – 25:55 Update on the birds…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Smoke explosions. Fire tornadoes. Burning couches. It all happens in the fire lab: a purpose-built facility where researchers can safely set stuff on fire and study how it burns, for science. New Zealand experiences 4,500 wildfires every year, with the risk ramping up due to climate change. We visit the fire lab to watch a large gorse bush go up in flames and learn how this helps us prepare for future wildfires. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.In this episode:01:54–09:39 – Watching a gorse bush burn in the fire lab10:45–12:43 – Burning couches, smoke explosions and fire tornadoes12:44–19:08 – Mini burn experiments and how research is preparing for wildfires of the future19:08–23:32 – Kate's experience as a wildland firefighter in Canada…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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 around the world as a team of people spent a week doing a scientific dissection on a spade-toothed whale that had washed up five months before. Claire Concannon joins them to find out what's involved, what they have learned, and how the arrangements between local iwi and visiting scientists enabled knowledge sharing. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

For nearly 30 years, researchers have been banding black petrel fledglings before they make their maiden migration to Ecuador. Only a handful of birds have ever come back. RNZ's In Depth reporter Kate Newton travels to Aotea-Great Barrier Island to meet the birds, and the dedicated team trying to figure out the mystery of where they go. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Each year, five Prime Minister's Science Prizes are awarded in the most prestigious New Zealand science awards. We explore the AgResearch science that got the top recognition this year and catch up with two of the other winners. Science Communication prizewinner Professor Jemma Geoghegan talks about the hundreds of interviews she's done about viruses, and Future Scientist prizewinner Rena Misra explains her project exploring how a plant-fungus combination could have the potential to help clean up stormwater. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Guests:Professor Jemma Geoghegan, University of OtagoRena Misra, Epsom Girls' Grammar School in AucklandDr Linda Johnson, Endophyte Discovery Team, AgResearchIn this episode:00:06–02:05: The main science prize was awarded to a group who have discovered a way to protect pasture ryegrass from pests.02:06–02:57: The winners of the Science Teacher Prize and the MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize.02:58–19:33: Interview with Science Communication prizewinner Professor Jemma Geoghegan of the University of Otago about viruses and pandemics.19:34–26:10: Interview with Future Scientist prizewinner Rena Misra of Epsom Girls' Grammar School in Auckland about a fungus-plant symbiosis that might help clean up stormwater…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

With its steep sides, forested slopes and heavy rainfall, Fiordland has interesting ecosystems both above and below the water. Below the surface of the inner fiords, a variety of sponges, corals, and other filter-feeding animals cling to the cliff-like reefs. Claire Concannon heads to Doubtful Sound with a research team who are habitat-mapping the fiords to better understand what's there, and how things are changing over time. They are also investigating the resilience of its iconic black corals to local landslides and marine heatwaves. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Guests:Professor James Bell, Victoria University of WellingtonMiriam Pierotti, Victoria University of WellingtonAmber Kirk, Victoria University of Wellington Learn more:Our Changing World visited Professor James Bell at the Coastal Ecology Lab in 2023 to learn more about sponges.The 2022 marine heatwave mentioned here led to one of the largest ever recorded sponge mass bleaching events.In Antarctica giant glass sponges also live in quite shallow waters, under the sea ice.Eva Ramey and Dr Alice Rogers are also involved in a project to study the movement of sharks in Fiordland.Professor James Bell has investigated ‘middle' light zone habitats around Aoteaora. Learn more and check out some videos in his recent article on The Conversation.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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, which grow mostly underground as tubers – except for a brief period every few years when they push out a leafless stick with a few flowers. This largely subterranean lifestyle already presents a challenge, but saving this species is even harder because, like all orchids, the Cooper's orchid can only produce seedlings with the help of the right soil fungus. After years of lab experiments to produce in vitro seedlings, botanists are now ready to boost dwindling wild populations. Guests:Dr Carlos Lehnebach, botany curator, Te Papa TongarewaDr Karin van der Walt, conservation advisor, Ōtari Wilton's BushJennifer Alderton-Moss, plant conservation researcher, Wellington City CouncilLearn more:Read the article that accompanies this episode: Rare orchids reintroduced into the wild.Alison Ballance talked to Carlos Lehnebach about why some orchids smell like mushrooms and how that helps them to fool insects.This Critter of the Week episode focuses on the helmet orchid (Corybas dienemus), another rare native orchid that likes cold, damp and windy places.In this interview, Jesse Mulligan talks to Fred Clarke, a Californian orchid breeder who created the acclaimed black orchid After Dark.This Critter of the Week episode discusses the copper beard orchid (Calochilus herbaceous), which is threatened by habitat loss and climate change.Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Our Changing World joins a group of botanists during their first ever attempt to reintroduce our rarest and most elusive native orchid back to the wild. New Zealand's native orchids are much more modest than the showy plants you can buy in the shops. But this one – a potato orchid known as Cooper's orchid – takes modesty to the extreme. It lives mostly underground as a tuber – a bit like kūmara or dahlias – and only emerges briefly every few years to push out a leafless stick with small brown flowers. Like all orchids, it only survives with a lot of help from a fungus, which means that botanists had to use in vitro propagation methods to produce seedlings.

Emile Donovan is joined by the brain behind Our Changing World, RNZ's premiere science podcast,

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 once blanketed lakebeds across Auckland – but recent surveys found an alarming decline and disappearance across many lakes. A team of scientists and divers have mounted a rescue mission for one of the last remaining kākahi populations, trying to keep the mussels safe from invasive fish through all the steps of their complicated – and fascinating – life cycle. Guests:Madison Jones, Senior Healthy Waters Specialist, Auckland CouncilBelinda Studholme, Senior Biosecurity Advisor – Freshwater, Auckland CouncilEbi Hussain, Submerged Environmental and Aotearoa LakesAndrew Simpson, Global DiveLearn more:Read the article that accompanies this episode: A rescue mission saving rare freshwater mussels.Meet the bullies – the native freshwater fish that host the kākahi in their parasitic stage – in this 2023 episode recorded by Claire at Zealandia, where the fish have been translocated.Alison Ballance covered the translocation of kākahi into Zealandia back in 2018.Wondering how the perch and other pests ended up in Lake Rototoa? Black Sheep has the details in the episode Invasive: the story of Stewart Smith.Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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 interview between Eloise and Claire in which they talk about the Paris Agreement, New Zealand's international climate commitments, and what we can do as individuals. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Guests:Eloise Gibson, RNZ climate correspondentLearn more:Read Eloise's recent analysis about New Zealand's international climate targets, or New Zealand's glacier loss. Eloise has also recently fact checked Winston Peters on climate accord, reported on our 2035 Paris Agreement target and delved into the recent uptake of solar demand in New Zealand.The Climate Action Tracker website keeps tabs on the targets and pledges of different countries and monitors whether they are on track to keep the world below 2 oC of warming (compared to pre-industrial temperatures).Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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 2016, the Paris Agreement is the current global plan to tackle it. Countries pledge different emission reduction targets and then produce their workings and homework about how they are going about it. Where does New Zealand fit in? Are we doing our bit as a nation? And should we be bothering with individual actions or is that simply a bait-and-switch tactic by those who want to delay real change?Guests:Eloise Gibson, RNZ climate correspondentDr Jess Berentson-Saw, Director of Narrative Research and Strategy, The Workshop Learn more:Read Eloise's recent analysis about New Zealand's international climate targets, or listen to this episode of The Detail.Eloise has also recently fact checked Winston Peters on climate accord, reported on our 2035 Paris Agreement target, and delved into the recent uptake of solar demand in New Zealand.The Climate Action Tracker website keeps tabs onthe targets and pledges of different countries and monitors whether they are on track to keep the world below 2 °C of warming (compared to pre-industrial temperatures).The Workshop have published a cheat sheet on ‘How to talk about climate change'.This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme.Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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 had been holding steady, until recently. With low summer sea ice extents for four years in a row, it appears that Earth's warming has kicked Antarctic sea ice into a new regime. Claire Concannon speaks to scientists to understand what this means for Antarctica, what this means for us, and how they feel about it.Guests:Dr Natalie Robinson, NIWA Dr Jacqui Stuart, Victoria University of WellingtonDr Greg Leonard, University of OtagoDr Daniel Price, University of Canterbury and Kea AerospaceDr Inga Smith, University of Otago Dr Michelle LaRue, University of CanterburyLearn more:Read about the recent State of the Global Climate Report.The world's biggest iceberg recently ran aground, but to get up close and personal, listen to the Voice of the Iceberg miniseries.The world is also experiencing ice loss from its glaciers. New Zealand's glaciers have shrunk by 29% since 2000. Listen to The annual snowline survey to learn how our glaciers are monitored.This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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 have antifreeze proteins to survive in the icy cold waters... Antarctic life is tough, and full of surprises. Scientists are keen to piece together the Antarctic food web puzzle to better understand the interconnections, and to enable smart conservation decisions. Guests:Arek Aspinwall, University of CanterburyDr Michelle LaRue, University of CanterburyProfessor Steve Wing, University of OtagoLearn more:Meet other seals and penguins with Peregrin Hyde on his journey to South Georgia Island as part of an Inspiring Explorers expedition.In ‘Best Journey in the World' from the Voices from Antarctica series, Alison Ballance travelled to Cape Crozier with a team from NIWA studying the emperor penguins.This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

We're travelling down to Dunedin to catch up with Claire Concannon, the host of RNZ's science podcast Our Changing World about the government's new Public Research Organisations, and celebrating the (un)charismatic blobfish.

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 on the bottom of the ice, and among the sloshy platelet ice layer just below it. From microalgae to krill, these tiny organisms hold up the big complex food web of Antarctica. Scientists are keen to understand these communities, and how they might shift as the sea ice cycle changes. Guests:Dr Natalie Robinson, NIWA Dr Jacqui Stuart, Victoria University of WellingtonDr Greg Leonard, University of OtagoLizzy Skelton, University of CanterburyDr Aimee van der Reis, University of AucklandSalvatore Campanile, Victoria University of WellingtonLearn more:Read the article that accompanies this episode: What lives in Antarctic sea ice?Dr Natalie Robinson spoke to The Detail in 2023 about the unprecedented sea ice conditions of that yearAlison Ballance's Voices from Antarctica series from 2020 explores what it's like to live and work in Antarctica.This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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 ocean around Antarctica freezes and then melts again come summer – Antarctica's heartbeat. In winter, the ice effectively more than doubles the size of this already massive continent, and it plays a huge role in controlling our planet's climate.Guests:Dr Inga Smith, University of Otago Antonia Radlwimmer, University of OtagoProfessor Wolfgang Rack, University of Canterbury Learn more:Listen to Physics on Ice from 2021 with Emeritus Professor Pat Langhorne and Dr Inga Smith.Alison Ballance's Voices from Antarctica series from 2020 explores what it's like to live and work in Antarctica.This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This week, it's the second episode of Voice of the Sea Ice, the Our Changing World miniseries about Antarctic sea ice.   This vast expanse of ice that grows each winter – effectively doubling the size of Antarctica – then melts each summer is like the heartbeat of our oceans.  And it has a big impact on the planet's climate, via its whiteness, insulating properties (or blanketness) and saltiness.  Dr Inga Smith, a sea ice physics expert from the University of Otago, takes Claire Concannon onto the ice at the front of Scott Base to explain.  

Welcome to Antarctica - a land of ice, extremes, and ambition. From historic expeditions to modern day science projects, Antarctic exploration is a unique, and dangerous, experience. We meet one researcher involved in an epic journey across the largest ice shelf in Antarctica, mapping a safe route through a crevassed landscape for others to follow. Plus, we learn about the different types of ice found in this vast, frozen landscape. Guests:Dr Daniel Price, University of Canterbury and Kea AerospaceNgā Taonga Sound and Vision archival audioLearn more:Read the article that accompanies this episode.Daniel did the route-finding for the SWAIS2C project. Veronika Meduna flew out to the camp in the 2023/2024 season to report on their activities.Daniel has spoken to Morning Report about Kea Aerospace's work developing a solar-powered aircraftHear about other ongoing research in Antarctica from the latest research season, including investigating new methane seeps, and giant glass sponges.Learn more about living, and working, on the ice in the 2020 podcast series – Voices from Antarctica.This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

If you're a regular Afternoons listener you'll be familiar with Claire Concannon, host of RNZ's science podcast Our Changing World. Today Claire joins Jesse to discuss her latest series, 'Voice of the Sea Ice'. In the podcasts, Claire and fellow researchers investigate the future of Antarctica. It launches on the 6th of March wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes will be released weekly.

Using acoustic tags and a network of receivers attached to the seafloor, researchers are tracking the movements of sevengill sharks in Fiordland. They want to understand how these apex predators adjust to changing ocean temperatures, particularly during marine heat waves. Plus, an international collaboration involving a high-tech German research vessel is exploring New Zealand's deep-sea realm.Guests:Eva Ramey, PhD candidate, Victoria University of Wellington Dr Alice Rogers, Victoria University of Wellington Coastal Ecology Lab Dr Kareen Schnabel, NIWA Professor André Freiwald, Senckenberg am Meer Research Institute Dr Cornel de Ronde, GNSLearn more:Read the accompanying article. Listen to this 2016 episode about the Great white sharks of Australia and New Zealand.RNZ journalist Kate Green also hopped aboard the RV Sonne to find out about its technology and capabilities.This is not the first time the RV Sonne has been in New Zealand waters, one previous expedition also involved investigations of underwater volcanoes.Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The host of RNZ podcast Our Changing World joins Emile Donovan to chat about a shake-up in predator-free project funding.

People with ADHD often fidget more than those without. Why might this be? Does it help them focus? Or distract them further? An Auckland Bioengineering Institute researcher has teamed up with the Mātai Medical Institute in Gisborne to investigate this using advanced MRI techniques. And at Waikereru ecosanctuary, local birds are being enlisted in a trial to help speed up the regeneration of native bush.Guests:Professor Justin Fernandez, Auckland Bioengineering InstituteDr Gil Newburn, Mātai Medical Institute Professor Dame Anne Salmond, Waikereru EcosanctuaryLearn more:In 2017 Alison Ballance did a story about The 1769 Gardenwhere she spoke to the garden designer, curator and local botany expert.To learn about the Mātai Medical Institute, listen to The advances in MRI coming out of Gisborne from November 2024.The Mātai Medical Institute is also involved in research into recovery post meth addiction, concussion in teenage rugby players, and muscle development in children with cerebral palsy. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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 Trap Man, explains why he thinks the project has been so successful, and what he loves about these scrappy little ducks. Then, Professor Matthew Stott speaks to Claire Concannon about the complexities working on an active volcano in Antarctica, and what they hope to learn from the microbes they find there.Guests:Sam Gisbon, Eastern Whio LinkProfessor Matthew Stott, University of CanterburyLearn more:Read and see more photos in the accompanying articles: Searching for extreme life and Trapping to help wild whio.Head on to the slopes of Mount Erebus, and into an ice cave with Alison Ballance and Craig Cary in this 2011 episode. Matthew Stott also works with heat-loving microbes in Rotorua, including some that appear to have broken the ‘rule of thumb' and are only found in New Zealand.Sam the Trap Man has also shared some yarns about bush life with RNZ's Saturday Morning.Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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 throughout the country aim to help with this. Claire Concannon visits the Tairāwhiti Environment Centre to learn about their three pou of waste minimisation, education, and biodiversity, and about the environmental projects they support. She also meets their close neighbours – Gizzy Kai Rescue – who are looking to balance the scales of local food waste and food scarcity. Guests:Steph Temple, Hub Coordinator, Tairāwhiti Environment CentreSam Rowland, Manager, Tairāwhiti Environment CentreLauren Beatty, Gizzy Kai RescueDr Sarah Boyle, Wai Connections TairāwhitiLearn more:Visit the websites of Tairāwhiti Environment Centre, Gizzy Kai Rescue, the Every Bite programme, the Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance, and Wai Connections.Learn about other food rescue programmes around the country, including in Hawke's Bay and Porirua.Another conservation project in Tairāwhiti is aimed at bringing a beautiful endangered plant back from the brink.Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Trapping is hard mahi, especially on rugged terrain thick with vegetation. If you need to check a trap frequently to clear it and refresh the lure, the kilometres of bush bashing quickly add up. Plus, in areas where kea are found, trap options are limited by concerns for these curious and intelligent parrots. A team in Queenstown are investigating if the latest ‘smart' traps – equipped with cameras, AI-powered to recognise specific targets, and networked so they can communicate and be operated remotely – might be the answer.Guests:Paul Kavanagh, project director, Southern Lakes SanctuaryPhillip Green, field and technical advisor, Southern Lakes SanctuaryLearn more:Country Life tagged along with the Halo project, part of Predator Free Dunedin, who are also trialling networked AI traps just north of the city.One of the Southern Lakes Sanctuary hubs at Makaroraisfocused on trapping to protect mohua, and they are trialling an AI method to identifyindividual birds by their song.In the Catlins, a team are battling predators and browsing pests to protect taonga there.Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The summer science series continues with an episode from RNZ podcast Country Life. From a block of gorse-infected scrubland on Banks Peninsula, renowned botanist Hugh Wilson has spent half a lifetime growing Hinewai Reserve into a 1600-hectare paradise of regenerated native forest by leaving nature to it. Cosmo Kentish-Barnes visits to learn more.The Country Life podcast takes you all over the motu to hear the extraordinary stories of every day rural New Zealand. Hosted and produced by Sally Round, Cosmo Kentish-Barnes, Duncan Smith and Gianina SchwaneckeListen to more Country Life episodes.Guest:Hugh Wilson, botanistSign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The summer science series continues with an episode from RNZ podcast Black Sheep. Freddie Angell was New Zealand's most notorious wildlife smuggler. His repeated attempts at stealing and exporting native wildlife in the 1990s, including kea and tuatara, made him all but a household name. William Ray speaks to documentary-maker Andy MacDonald about his extraordinary story. Black Sheep is an RNZ podcast produced and presented by William Ray.Listen to more episodes of Black Sheep.Guest:Andy MacDonald, documentary-makerSign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The summer science series continues with an episode from Tune into Nature, a podcast about New Zealand wildlife and wild places, and the people who look after them. Independent producer Karthic SS visits the Mokomoko Dryland Sanctuary Central Otago. Here, a team is working to bring back endangered lizards – Otago skinks and grand skinks – to the drylands wilderness they once lived in. These species are true wildlife underdogs – so rare and out of sight, not many people know they exist.Tune into Nature is a podcast produced and presented by Karthic SS.Listen to more Tune into Nature episodes.Guests:Grant Norbury, ecologist and chairperson, Central Otago Ecological Trust (COET)Anna Yeoman, science communicator and trustee, COETCarey Knox, herpetologist, Southern ScalesKathryn Longstaff, Department of Conservation (DOC) Central OtagoRoss Curtis , senior ranger, DOC Central OtagoJoanna, ranger, DOC Central OtagoThis episode was supported by OAR FM Dunedin, Science Communication at the University of Otago, and the NZ Lottery Grants Environment and Heritage fund, administered by Te Tari Taiwhenua, the Department of Internal Affairs.Learn more:Alison Ballance goes on an urban lizard hunt in this 2017 episode.Anna Yeoman spoke to Nine to Noon about her lizard book.Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The summer science series continues with an episode from RNZ podcast Here Now. A love for tropical plants united Canterbury-based botanists Dr Julie Barcelona and Dr Pieter Pelser in the mid-2000s. The pair are renowned for their work on the large and unusual flower Rafflesia, which smells like a rotting carcass. They have found at least three new species on their adventures in the Philippines. Kadambari Raghukumar learns more about their spectacular discoveries.Featuring:Dr Julie BarcelonaDr Pieter PelserHere Now is an RNZ podcast produced and presented by Kadambari Raghukumar.Listen to more episodes from Here Now.Watch a video about this episode.Learn more:What will happen to plants in a warming world?Naturally rare and threatenedSign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

New methane seeps are being discovered in Antarctica, some now appearing in areas that researchers have been monitoring for years. These are areas on the seafloor where methane gas escapes out from under the ground through fissures or cracks. What is the extent of the seeps? How large is the gas reservoir they are being fed from? How much methane is escaping from the sea into the air? Why now? And does this have implications for further warming the planet? A team of NIWA scientists are racing to find answers.Guests:Dr Sarah Seabrook, NIWADr Leigh Tait, NIWALearn more:You can find all the papers referenced this episode in the write-up that accompanies it. Claire spoke to Sarah about her initial work on seeps and the microbes that are attracted to them in 2022There's currently a massive project underway to investigate whether the West Antarctic Ice Sheet will melt under 2oC of warming. Veronika Meduna joined them on the ice last year.Listen to our recent episode about life on the seafloor under the ice, including mysterious giant glass sponges.Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

New Zealand's tuatara are the last remaining species of an order of reptile that was alive alongside the dinosaurs 240 million years ago. The rest died out about 65 million years ago, but in Aotearoa the tuatara live on, found on 32 offshore islands and in a small number of ecosanctuaries and zoos on the mainland. Now one researcher is investigating the microbial community that lives inside their gut. Are there also bacterial ‘living fossils' to be found? And has their gut microbiome changed as a result of living in captivity on the mainland? Guests:Cam Hoffbeck, PhD candidate, Taylor lab, University of AucklandChye-Mei Huang, Ectotherm ranger, Auckland ZooLearn more:Hear from another researcher who has been exploring the viruses found in tuatara.Cam has also spoken to Emile Donovan on Nights about her research.In 2014 Alison Ballance visited Orokonui Ecosanctuary to learn about the tuatara who had recently made the move to the cold climes of Dunedin.Our own microbiome may affect our brain, moods and behaviour, and changes across our lives.Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Dive under the Antarctic sea ice near Scott Base into the weird world of cold-water life. Pink sea angels, worms that look like intestines, ocean creepy crawlies that get as big as your hand... and mysterious giant glass sponges. These sponges are one of the strangest, and oldest, animals on Earth: surviving without light, eating bacteria and viruses, and making themselves out of silica they absorb from the water. In most parts of the world, they live at depths too deep to dive, making them tricky to study. But in the cold waters of McMurdo Sound, they can be found in shallower waters. Now an international team of scientists are unlocking some of their secrets. Guests:Professor Ian Hawes, University of WaikatoDr Jürgen Laudien, Alfred Wegener Institute, GermanyKatherine Rowe, University of WaikatoDr Erik Wurz, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands,Andreas Schmmider-MartÍnez, Universidad Mayor, ChileLearn more:Read the article that accompanies this episodeListen to The secret life of sea spongesFind out what it takes to live and do science in Antarctica with the award-winning 2020 Voices from Antarctica series by Alison BallanceSign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Our Changing World goes in search of one of Aotearoa's rarest plants – the stunning kakabeak, or ngutukākā.  Its clusters of bright red blooms, each shaped like a parrot's beak, make it a popular garden plant. But in the wild, ngutukākā is barely holding on. Considered “nationally critical” by the Department of Conservation, only about 100 individual ngutukākā plants survive, clinging to exposed steep bluffs where goats and rabbits can't get to them. But now, locals along the East Coast, the kakabeak's last stronghold, are determined to reverse its march towards extinction by propagating wild plants to turn State Highway 35 into a crimson highway. Veronika Meduna joins them for the inaugural Ngutukākā Festival.

The host of RNZ podcast Our Changing World joins Emile Donovan to share about her upcoming trip to Antarctica, what the 'solar maximum' is, and the big pot of research funding called Horizon Europe. 

Humanity has had a long and vexed relationship with the element lead. The problem is the stuff is terribly useful – and terribly toxic. Think Roman water pipes, lead paint, lead petrol. Now, new research is adding to a global body of work showing that there are more downsides to using lead in ammunition than we previously realised. Our Changing World's Alison Ballance is in Nelson to find out more. 

Thomas is joined by internationally recognized speaker, author, and expert in the field of attachment theory and trauma resolution, Dr. Diane Poole Heller. They discuss Diane's work in attachment theory, exploring how our early experiences with our caregivers affect our attachment styles, and what we can do to move into secure attachment in our relationships. Dr. Heller views trauma as a broken connection—with ourselves, our lives, the earth, or other people—and explains how therapists and healers can co-regulate and attune with their clients' nervous systems to create a safe environment for transforming trauma. Dr. Heller believes that we can interface with the energy of trauma in a way that doesn't cause overwhelm, and opens us to maturation, spiritual experiences, and changes in consciousness. She and Thomas also discuss how working collectively in a group amplifies healing, and how all therapists and healers are ultimately agents of grace. ✨ Join Thomas for Collective Resilience: Healing Together in Our Changing World. You're invited to join Thomas for a free, LIVE, online event to explore how collective healing can transform our response to current global challenges. Thomas will be joined by the hosts of our upcoming Collective Healing Conference to share insights on building resilience, strengthening connections, and creating positive change in our rapidly changing world. Register for free here:

Mark Leishman catches up with host of RNZ's Our Changing World  to hear about her recent adventure to the Australian synchotron.

Thomas shares deep insights into how we can embody the soul's wisdom and increase our capacity to be present and form a deeper alliance with life. He shares tools and practices for becoming more grounded and spacious in our daily lives, and in challenging situations, and how that gives us the courage, curiosity, and strength to turn difficulties into growth, expansion, and wisdom. He also offers embodiment practices to help us connect our physical and emotional data streams, creating a more coherent awareness of our internal processes, and increasing our natural intuition and capacity for change.  As Thomas explains, we are all part of an interconnected world, but trauma tends to create a sense of separation. Reconnecting to the essence of life helps us develop a deeper sense of ourselves so that we can achieve greater regulation and resilience. ✨ Join Thomas for Collective Resilience: Healing Together in Our Changing World. You're invited to join Thomas for a free, LIVE, online event to explore how collective healing can transform our response to current global challenges. Thomas will be joined by the hosts of our upcoming Collective Healing Conference to share insights on building resilience, strengthening connections, and creating positive change in our rapidly changing world. Register for free here:

Claire Concannon from RNZ podcast Our Changing World joins Nights to chat about some interesting stories in the science and science-adjacent worlds.

Now on Our Changing World, a story from Australia's ABC Science series, Pacific Scientific, about one of the last places without the killer frog fungus. We join reporter James Purtill just outside of Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, on a frog hunt with Yolarnie Amepou, director of the Piku Biodiversity Network, and her friend Heather.

Coming up on Our Changing World, Claire Concannon meets a team using board games to communicate about volcanic hazards.

Coming up on Our Changing World, the next episode in the new collaboration with New Zealand Geographic called Voice of Tangaroa. This week, Kate Evans learns about a business growing whitebait in tanks in Bluff.

A collaboration between Our Changing World and New Zealand Geographic, the Voice of Tangaroa series explores the state of our oceans, and the extraordinary variety of life that calls it home. 

Coming soon to RNZ Podcasts is the new series Voice of Tangaroa, exploring the state of our oceans, and the extraordinary variety of life that calls it home. Released weekly from Thursday 29 February, you can find the episodes in the Voice of Tangaroa or Our Changing World podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts.

A group of scientists on an expedition to the Bounty Islands has been fitting satellite tags to penguins, and screening albatrosses and penguins for diseases. The Bounty Islands lie about 670 kilometres south east of the South Island, and it's a two-day boat journey from Dunedin to get there. The scientists have just left the Islands on their way back to Dunedin. RNZ's Our Changing World host Claire Concannon spoke to Corin Dann.