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 about the health of the sand dunes.

Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

Learn more:

To find out more on what the local critics think about the Bream Bay Sand Extraction Project’s fast-track application, RNZ’s Peter de Graaf reported on a protest there earlier this year.

Further north, Saturday Morning reported on significant damage being caused to dunes by thrill seekers driving vehicles through them. 

Another region dealing with threatened dunes is Waimarama, where weeds are spreading from people fly-dumping garden waste.

In the Hawke’s Bay, the ‘Skink Squad’ are on a mission to save the northern spotted skinks in preparation for an infrastructure project.

In 2021, Our Changing World did a deep dive into dune plants and the largest supplier of plants for dune revegetation programs.

Guests:

Steve Johnson, Patuharakeke Te Pou Taiao

Ari Carrington, resource co-ordinator at Patuharakeke Te Pou Taiao

Katrina Hansen, biodiversity specialist Northland Regional Council

Laura Shaft, biodiversity manager Northland Regional Council

Brooke Gray, biodiversity advisor Northland Regional Council

Richard Griffiths, coastal scientist Northland Regional Council

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

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:

Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

LEARN MORE:

• The Great Ireland Vs New Zealand Bird-Off took place across two episodes in 2023, during the time when bird flu has having a huge impact on Irish seabirds. Listen to them here: Part 1, Part 2.
• Read this RNZ explainer about what the confirmation of H5N1 in New Zealand means for wildlife, poultry and the public.
• Revisit the 2025 Our Changing World episode Getting ready for H5N1 bird flu, which traced the virus’s global spread and New Zealand’s preparations for its arrival.
• For more on Irish birds and wildlife with Niall Hatch and Ricky Whelan, you can listen to BirdWatch Ireland’s podcast: In Your Nature.

GUESTS:

• Niall Hatch, BirdWatch Ireland.

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

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?

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 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 thanks to the young women and their families for sharing their stories for this series. And thank you to the doctors, surgeons and specialists in New Zealand and overseas for sharing their medical knowledge and expertise.

If any of these stories affect you – you can find more information about EDS, at ehlers-danlos.org.nz - or you can look up EDS NEW ZEALAND on Facebook and Instagram.

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

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.

Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

LEARN MORE:

• Check out this explainer from Katie Kenny for the proposed Gene Technology changes.
• RNZ’s Monique Steel looks at who is backing the stalled Gene Technology Bill.
• Listen as Kathryn Ryan talks to Kennedy Warne about how de-extincting the moa might fit with conservation efforts.
• Ben Novak talks to RNZ’s Saturday Morning show about de-extincting the passenger pigeon.

GUESTS:

• Professor Amanda Black, Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, Lincoln University and Director of Bioprotection Aotearoa.
• Professor Phillip Wilcox, bioethicist and quantitative geneticist, University of Otago.
• Andrew Pask, Chief Biology Officer, Colossal Biosciences
• Associate Professor Nic Rawlence, Director of Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory, University of Otago.

IN THIS EPISODE:

(00:00) Should we bring moa back?

(01:36) Colossal’s plan to bring back moa

(03:00) Who benefits from de-extinction

(07:33) Māori perspectives, consent and data sovereignty

(10:55) Could New Zealand stop the project?

(14:43) Considering all the aspects of de-extinction

(18:30) De-extinction vortex and the ethics of breeding and consultation…

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

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.

Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

LEARN MORE:

• Colossal Biosciences claims they have de-extincted the dire wolf, from CNN.
• More detail on Colossal Biosciences’ artificial egg.
• Listen to Kathryn Ryan speaking with ‘Mr Moa’ - paleozoologist Trevor Worthy about his long career.
• Auckland Museum research associate Daniel Thomas talks to Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira about the discovery of million year old moa footprints.

GUESTS:

• Dr Andrew Pask, Chief Biology Officer, Colossal Biosciences
• Associate Professor Nic Rawlence, Director of Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory, University of Otago.

IN THIS EPISODE:

(00:00) Could we bring the moa back?

(02:30) Sequencing the moa genome

(06:00) DNA data

(08:00) The artificial egg breakthrough

(10:20) How a "moa" would actually be created

(12:30) Critics challenge the science

(17:20) The conservation implications

(22:00) Māori consultation questions

(23:51) Will we ever see moa roaming again?

(26:08) Coming up in Part 2

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

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.

Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

IN THIS EPISODE:

(00:00) Introduction – the rise of cold water swimming.

(01:06) The 2026 New Zealand and Oceania Ice Swimming Championships in Alexandra.

(02:00) Competitor Susan Sherwen on why she ice swims.

(05:10) How researchers track swimmers’ core temperature, stroke rate and perceptions of cold.

(07:30) Prof Jim Cotter on cold shock, hypothermia and afterdrop.

(12:00) The recovery room – Steven and Susan after their swim.

(17:30) Potential benefits and what the research says.

(20:30) Blood samples and looking for brain health proteins.

(23:40) Potential mental health benefits…

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

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?

Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

In this episode:

(00:00) Introduction to Antarctica, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and the SWAIS2C drilling project.

(02:18) Recovering a sediment core from beneath 523 metres of ice at Crary Ice Rise.

(04:00) Professor Richard Levy on the early steps of processing the core

(07:50) Sedimentologist Georgia Grant explains how rocks reveal the advance and retreat of ancient ice sheets.

(14:33) Dating the core using paleomagnetism and microscopic fossils such as diatoms.

(22:45) Evidence for past periods of open water and warmer climates in West Antarctica.

(25:40) The co-chief scientists on what the findings mean…

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

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.

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

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 carbon dioxide emissions from the first step of steelmaking.

Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

Learn more:

• Listen back to Our Changing World’s 2023 episode on plasma rockets in space, featuring the Paihau – Robinson Research Institute team’s work on superconducting magnets for plasma thrusters.
• Read Our Changing World’s story on OpenStar Technologies and its New Zealand approach to nuclear fusion.
• Learn more about CullBeck’s demonstration site plans for the hydrogen-based ironmaking technology.
• The New Zealand Institute for Advanced Technology now has a website.

Guests:

• Professor Nick Long, Director of the Robinson Research Institute, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
• Dr Nick Strickland, Principal Scientist, Robinson Research Institute, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
• Professor Chris Bumby, Robinson Research Institute, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
• Ben Rumsey, Senior Research Engineer / Specialist, Robinson Research Institute, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.

In this episode:

(00:00) Professor Nick Long on watching the Hēki magnet arrive at the International Space Station

(04:20) Dr Nick Strickland on making superconducting magnets robust and useful

(08:38) Fusion magnets and future research questions for Open Star Technologies…

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