Our Changing World

Oil and water don’t mix - unless surfactants step in. At Auckland University of Technology, a team of chemists has created a new kind of surfactant made from wood pulp rather than fossil fuels or… Read more Audio

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

Until a chance discovery in 2024, nobody had seen Dactylanthos taylorii, AKA te pua o Te RÄ"inga “the flower of the underworld†in the Wellington region for more than a hundred years. These unique… Read more Audio

An invasive species has taken hold in the Waikato River - and it’s multiplying fast. Gold clams, tiny but relentless, are now found along a large stretch of the awa. Through their huge, and growing… Read more Audio

New Zealand’s marine search and rescue region stretches from Antarctica to north of Samoa. If someone goes missing without any means of communication, that’s a lot of ocean to search. Now… Read more Audio

It’s been 30 years since a dramatic series of eruptions at Mount Ruapehu. In that time, there have been great advances in monitoring and modelling volcanoes - but we still can’t look inside a… Read more Audio

Two years ago, the Australasian crested grebe, the pÅ«teketeke, took out the title of New Zealand’s Bird of the Century. But when the billboard on the Champs-Elysse got swapped out, and the clips of… Read more Audio

From the public service sector to businesses to individuals, AI's uptake across New Zealand is spreading. And it’s not just large language models. Claire Concannon meets researchers that are… Read more Audio

This week, an underwater mystery connecting New Zealand and Ireland - the puzzle of the disappearing sponges of Lough Hyne. In the late 1990s/early 2000s James Bell was doing PhD research on the… Read more Audio

Voices from Antarctica Audio

In March 2024, a satellite built to detect the potent greenhouse gas methane launched into orbit â€" backed by New Zealand to the tune of $30 million. MethaneSAT aimed to pinpoint large leaks from oil… Read more Audio

In March 2024, a satellite built to detect the potent greenhouse gas methane launched into orbit â€" backed by New Zealand to the tune of $32 million. MethaneSAT aimed to pinpoint large leaks from oil… Read more Audio