Our Changing World

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 Country Life team heads to Bluff to learn more.

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

Learn more:

• You can read Cosmo Kentish-Barnes' story about this topic, Red seaweed cuts methane emissions from cattle, scientists say.
• Cosmo signed off from the Country Life team earlier this year, after 17 years as the show's South Island producer. You can listen to his final episode.
• There are also pāua and whitebait farms operating out of the Ocean Beach Aquaculture Hub in Bluff. Kate Evans visited both ventures in a 2024 episode of Voice of Tangaroa, Fish out of water.

Guest:

• Brent Jackson, production scientist

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

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 Thrift, in which Katy Gosset gets to the heart of the matter with a consumer behaviourist, and shares some tips to stop us spending.

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

Learn more:

• You can read about the psychology of spending in RNZ's story: Why do we spend more than we need to?
• Thrift is an upbeat podcast that offers wise ways to beat the cost of living crisis and get the best from your money. Listen to more episodes of Thrift.

Guest:

• Ekant Veer, consumer behaviourist

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

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 mean the end to aging as we know it.

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

Learn more:

• In 2023, Our Changing World spoke to researchers about what happens to our muscles as we grow and age.
• Kim Hill Wants To Know sees Kim back asking questions in her inimitable style. She has conversations with guests from around the world about topics that spark her interest and will do the same for you. Listen to more episodes of Kim Hill Wants To Know.

Guest:

• Dame Linda Partridge, geneticist

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

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 Hawke's Bay to find out from South African-born scientist Nicolette Neiman. For plant physiologists like Nicolette, the thrill is in finding ways to make that possible – delivering a crunchy fruit fix to the world almost any time of the year.

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

Learn more:

• Read Kadambari Raghukumar's article, How do New Zealand apples stay crisp from tree to table?
• Here Now is an RNZ podcast about the journeys people make to New Zealand, their identities and perspectives, all of which shape their life here. Listen to more episodes of Here Now.

Guest

• Nicolette Neiman, plant physiologist

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

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 the expansion of a voluntary credits nature market through pilot projects across New Zealand. Sally Round found out more.

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

Learn more:

• You can read more about biodiversity credits in Sally Round's story, Dollars for nature - can biodiversity credits fix NZ's conservation woes?
• Earlier this year Our Changing World visited the Eastern Whio Link conservation project, which set up its own biodiversity credits scheme - you can listen to that episode here.
• Country Life is an RNZ podcast that takes you all over the motu to hear the extraordinary stories of everyday rural New Zealand. Listen to more Country Life episodes.

Guests:

• Sean Weaver, chief executive at business consultancy Ekos
• Hayden Johnston, general manager for the natural environment at the Ministry for the Environment

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

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 Parks like Fiordland. Plus they’re wily and trap-shy, making them a tricky predator to tackle. RNZ's In-Depth reporter Farah Hancock speaks to some people on the front lines of the battle against feral cats.

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

In this episode:

00:00 – 00:59 Introduction to bonus episode
01:00 – 03:24 Background to feral cat problem

03:40 – 10:30 Playing ‘poos clues’ & trapping cats with hunter Victor Tinsdale

10:40 – 15:00 Daniel Cocker on how cats are threatening the dotterels on Rakiura

15:20 - 16:20 Farah explains how secondary poisoning works

16:30 – 19:42 Objections to 1080 use on Rakiura, and efforts to address these

20:18 – 24:08 Brad Windust with cat poo smelling dog Wero

24:09 – 24:44 Credits

Learn more:

• Read the series of articles and see photos on the RNZ Feral webpage.
• In 2023 OCW spoke to ‘Dotterel Dan’ about the plight of the pukunui, and a tagging study aimed at identifying exactly where they nest on Rakiura.
• In the Catlins, Forest and Bird pest control officer Gavin Whiteis also battling trap-smart feral cats. While in the Wye valley near Queenstown, the Southern Lakes Sanctuary is hoping that new AI tech will help in the battle.
• Kākāpō were moved fromRakiura because of predation by feral cats. As the numbers of these manu grow, hopes are that achieving Predator Free Rakiura goals, including eradication of feral cats, will allow them to return.

Guests:

• Victor Tindale, hunter
• Daniel Cocker, Department of Conservation ranger
• Brad Windust, trapper

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

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 New Zealand’s most famous parrot in the Kākāpō Files Season II. She chats to Claire about why this season of the podcast is shaping up to be quite different to the first. Plus, analysts from the Science Media Centre summarise the massive science sector changes that have happened this year, and what is on the horizon for science in 2026.

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 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, road and rail building and urban growth - have brought sediment and pollution into the harbour, damaging the habitat. Veronika Meduna meets some of the team working to restore the harbour to its former plenty.

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

Learn more:

• Julian Wilcox recently spoke to artists Jasmine Arthur and Te Rauparaha Horomona about Ngati Toa in Porirua and the opening of a new exhibition Mutumutu ki Mukukai Freshwater to Salt Water.
• Ngāti Toa Rangatira celebrated the return of their sacred maunga, Whitireia, to iwi ownership earlier this year.
• Alison Ballance visited both Porirua and Wairarapa in 2018 to explore how environmental impacts travel from the hills to the sea and what communities are willing to do to make their waterways cleaner and healthier again.

Guests:

• Kaumatua Te Taku Parai, Ashleigh Sagar, Robert McLean and Jaida Howard of Ngāti Toa Rangatira
• Brian Thomas, Porirua City Council
• Bryce and Jacqueline Watkins
• Lisa Casasanto and Jon Bluemel, Kahotea stream Restoration Group
• John McKoy and Simon Glover, Guardians of Pauatahanui Inlet

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

What does a ‘good day’ look like for you? Researchers are using wearable sensors and wellbeing surveys to understand how lifestyle patterns impact life satisfaction. Perhaps this can help us plan for more ‘good days’. Plus, with the help of an EEG study, one neuroscientist graduate considers how social media use might be impacting his brain.

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

Learn more:

• Sleep is a fundamental process for us humans, we just don’t function well without enough of it. But what if your job requires long working hours across time zones?
• Exercise is good for our bodies and mental health and, research suggests, can also help our brains maintain and grow nerve cells.
• Recently, a report by the Education Review Office suggested the mobile phone ban in New Zealand schools is working, and that social media should be banned next.
• Australia’s social media ban for those under 16 comes into effect on the 10th of December, while debate continues here as to whether New Zealand should follow.

Guests:

• Professor Scott Duncan, Auckland University of Technology
• Dr Anantha Narayanan, Auckland University of Technology
• Tom Bolus, University of Otago

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

This upcoming summer is likely to be the biggest ever kākāpō breeding season, and RNZ will be following the twists and turns as they happen. The kākāpō files with Alison Ballance return for a second season.

New Kākāpō Files II episodes will appear when news breaks on the Wild Sounds and Kākāpō Files podcast feeds. Don't miss out. Find and follow them now.

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