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.
Episodes
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 what has happened in other countries? Claire Concannon speaks to Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland about what they've experienced.
SHOW NOTES:
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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 do we know about this virus and how is one high-risk site preparing to manage the impacts?
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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 evidence collide.
See photos, video and read more about Rachel's story in a special digital feature: The girl who couldn’t eat: An RNZ investigation into the controversy over a debilitating illness
A special thank...
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 whether it SHOULD be done.
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- Check out this explainer from Katie Kenny for the proposed Gene Technolog...
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 whether it CAN be done.
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LEARN MORE:
- Colossal Biosciences claims they have de-extincted the dire wolf, from CNN.
- M...
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 researchers at the 2026 New Zealand and Oceania Ice Swimming Championships in Alexandra as they try to get some better data about both the risks and potential benefits.
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 Dunedin to find out how mud, rocks and microfossils can tell the story of ice growth and retreat across time. And as we look towards our warmer future, what will this mean for sea level rise?
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 involvement in a big European project exploring the use of solar panels on vehicles and in car parks. Plus, she speaks to one researcher who is focused on planning for global catastrophes.
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 trip to the International Space Station, and how much bigger magnets are powering nuclear fusion research. She also meets the team working on a hydrogen-based way to make iron from New Zealand iron sand, removing c...
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 Petone to learn about the promise of high temperature superconducting magnets to make electric motors for airplanes.
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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 'Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration'. This is an edit of the Antarctic Heritage Trust's '77 Degrees South' podcast.
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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 terrible statistics.
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Learn more:
- The Detail recently looked into the deadly heart disease that creeps up on yo...
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 are now developing national models of landslide risk for both slow- and fast-moving landslides, to help New Zealand plan for, and respond to, major landslide events.
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 contemporary materials, a paleobiologist communicating about the issues around de-extinction and a researcher investigating how much climate change contributes to extreme weather events: We meet the 2025 Prime Minister's Scien...
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. Plus, she learns about a voyage to Vanuatu and the Solomen Islands to study the gases and ash of an active volcanic chain there.
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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 – not just backyards, but a hospital, and even a zoo! Charlie Dreaver meets some of the team out fighting this battle on multiple interesting fronts.
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 disease treatments has bloomed. In late 2023 a government-funded platform began work to enhance New Zealand’s capacity to design and make RNA. Three years in, how is the platform going?
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 narrow neck from re-invasion. Working across a patchwork of landuse and landowners, the team are using AI traps and technology to help catch the remaining pests. But one feral cat continues to elude them, and the ongoing t...
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 Auckland’s North Shore and gases from various hotspots around the country, in the hopes that one day hydrogen could power local communities.
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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.
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Learn more:
- Listen to The Panel Plus with Wallace Chapman, discussing the release of the Cancer Society's election manifesto and tr...
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