Our Changing World

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...

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.

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Guests:

• Eloise Gib...

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 both...

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,...

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 Aspinw...

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.

G...

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 ...

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...

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, V...

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 Fe...

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 mi...

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...

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...

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...

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 Wil...

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 ...

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 abou...

Welcome to the summer science series! We're kicking off with two stories made by local podcast producers. First, on New Zealand's quest to become predator free by 2050, are we forgetting about mice? Dan Moskovitz, a student at Victoria University of Wellington, investigates what might happen to mice – and ecosystems as more areas become predator free. Then, a story from Xanthe Smith's Catch On podcast. Many people who consume fish ...

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 fu...