Our Changing World

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

In March 2024, a rocket launched from Florida carrying New Zealand’s first science payload to the International Space Station. The small cube, named Lucy, is a protein crystallisation lab developed… Read more Audio

An elaborate game of carbon ‘I spy’ is happening on the streets of Wellington. With their brand-new mobile carbon lab, Earth Sciences New Zealand (formerly GNS) can detect things like carbon… Read more Audio

TakahÄ" were believed to be extinct not once, but twice. Today their population is just over 500, still not a huge number, but big enough that new homes are needed for these flightless manu. The… Read more Audio

Gas shortages, a reversal of the ban of offshore oil and gas exploration, and a government plan to double geothermal energy in the next 15 years… There’s been a lot in the news recently about New… Read more Audio

Gas shortages, a reversal of the ban of offshore oil and gas exploration, and a government plan to double geothermal energy in the next 15 years… There’s been a lot in the news recently about New… Read more Audio

Our youth vaping rates are among the highest in the world. How did we get here and what will this mean for the future of our rangitahi? A 2018 court case paved the way for a loose regulatory start for… Read more Audio

Time now for Our Changing World, and we're catching up with host Claire Concannon in person this week. Claire explains to Jesse how she found an excuse to go to a brewery for work. Audio

More and more of us are reaching for low or no-alcohol beers. As the market grows, the options are also expanding - but brewing beer without alcohol fermentation presents a tricky puzzle. In… Read more Audio

Project Tongariro was established as a living memorial for five people who died in a tragic helicopter accident. Last November, the project turned 40 years old. Over those four decades, activities… Read more Audio

During World War II, sonar operators discovered a ‘false seabed’ that appeared to move upwards during the nighttime. In fact, the sound waves were bouncing off huge numbers of small critters. This… Read more Audio

In the core of the sun atoms fuse together releasing huge amounts of energy. If scientists can figure out how to do it efficiently here on Earth, fusion holds great promise as a solution to our future… Read more Audio