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.

Guests:

• Dr Daniel Price, University of Canterbury and Kea Aerospace
• Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision archival audio

Learn more:

• Read the article that accompanies this episode.
• Daniel did the route-finding for the SWAIS2C project. Veronika Meduna flew out to the camp in the 2023/2024 season to report on their activities.
• Daniel has spoken to Morning Report about Kea Aerospace’s work developing a solar-powered aircraft
• Hear about other ongoing research in Antarctica from the latest research season, including investigating new methane seeps, and giant glass sponges.
• Learn more about living, and working, on the ice in the 2020 podcast series – Voices from Antarctica.

This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

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Each winter the sea ice that forms around Antarctica effectively doubles the size of this massive continent. It’s one of the biggest annual global changes. It reflects sunlight, drives ocean currents and is home to a host of critters key to the Antarctic food web. But the last few years have seen unusually low sea ice extents in Antarctica, and scientists are sounding the alarm. Is this a blip, or a trend?

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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 Otago 
• Antonia Radlwimmer, University of Otago
• Professor Wolfgang Rack, University of Canterbury 

Learn more:

• Listen to Physics on Ice from 2021 with Emeritus Professor Pat Langhorne and Dr Inga Smith.
• Alison Ballance's Voices from Antarctica series from 2020 explores what it’s like to live and work in Antarctica.

This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme.

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

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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 Aspinwall, University of Canterbury
• Dr Michelle LaRue, University of Canterbury
• Professor Steve Wing, University of Otago

Learn more:

• Meet other seals and penguins with Peregrin Hyde on his journey to South Georgia Island as part of an Inspiring Explorers expedition.
• In ‘Best Journey in the World’ from the Voices from Antarctica series, Alison Ballance travelled to Cape Crozier with a team from NIWA studying the emperor penguins.

This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme.

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

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What’s it like to live and work on the frozen ocean? A team of researchers are 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.

Guests:

• Dr Natalie Robinson, NIWA
• Dr Jacqui Stuart, Victoria University of Wellington
• Dr Greg Leonard, University of Otago
• Lizzy Skelton, University of Canterbury
• Dr Aimee van der Reis, University of Auckland
• Salvatore Campanile, Victoria University of Wellington

Learn more:

• Dr Natalie Robinson spoke to The Detail in 2023 about the unprecedented sea ice conditions of that year
• Alison Ballance's Voices from Antarctica series from 2020 explores what it’s like to live and work in Antarctica.

This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme.

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

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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 bothering with individual actions or is that simply a bait-and-switch tactic by those who want to delay real change?

Guests:

• Eloise Gibson, RNZ climate correspondent
• Dr Jess Berentson-Saw, Director of Narrative Research and Strategy, The Workshop 

Learn more:

• Read Eloise’s recent analysis about New Zealand’s international climate targets, or listen to this episode of The Detail.
• Eloise has also recently fact checked Winston Peters on climate accord, reported on our 2035 Paris Agreement target, and delved into the recent uptake of solar demand in New Zealand.
• The Climate Action Tracker website keeps tabs on the targets and pledges of different countries and monitors whether they are on track to keep the world below 2 °C of warming (compared to pre-industrial temperatures).
• The Workshop have published a cheat sheet on ‘How to talk about climate change’.

This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme.

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

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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, and how they feel about it.

Guests:

• Dr Natalie Robinson, NIWA
• Dr Jacqui Stuart, Victoria University of Wellington
• Dr Greg Leonard, University of Otago
• Dr Daniel Price, University of Canterbury and Kea Aerospace
• Dr Inga Smith, University of Otago
• Dr Michelle LaRue, University of Canterbury

Learn more:

• Read about the recent State of the Global Climate Report.
• The world’s biggest iceberg recently ran aground, but to get up close and personal, listen to the Voice of the Iceberg miniseries.
• The world is also experiencing ice loss from its glaciers. New Zealand’s glaciers have shrunk by 29% since 2000. Listen to The annual snowline survey to learn how our glaciers are monitored.

This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme.

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

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A collaboration between Our Changing World and New Zealand Geographic, the Voice of Tangaroa series explores the state of our oceans, and the extraordinary variety of life that calls it home. 

This series was first released in 2024.

93% of New Zealand is covered in salt water. 80% of our biodiversity is in our seas. And yet this is the part of our realm we understand the least and treat the worst.

A collaboration between Our Changing World and New Zealand Geographic, the Voice of Tangaroa series explores the state of our oceans, and the extraordinary variety of life that calls it home. 

From kina-nomics, to the undersea sound, from growing fish on land, to the debates around our marine reserves - science journalist Kate Evans has been diving into the complexities of how we think about, enjoy, manage and use our oceans, and what this means for the creatures that live in it.

Now, with production help from RNZ's Our Changing World team, and original music composed by Wellington band Grains, you will be able to hear the voices of the characters involved and experience the sounds of our underwater realm.

Voice of Tangaroa is a joint production between RNZ's Our Changing World and New Zealand Geographic.

Reporting for this series is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. You can learn more and read the articles for free at www.nzgeo.com/seas

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

Crackle, pop, woof, crunch, click. In the ocean, an undersea orchestra is in full swing. Journalist Kate Evans discovers who's playing in it and why, and what happens when human noise drowns out this symphony in the sea.

This episode was first released on 29 February 2024.

Symphony in the sea

Journalist Kate Evans and presenter Claire Concannon discover a world of snapping shrimp, singing whales and barking John Dory.

Researchers Professor Craig Radford and Dr Jenni Stanley are uncovering more about the orchestra harmonising under the waves - who's playing in it, and why they are making these sounds.

Plus, what impact is our human noise - like boats - having on ocean creatures?

Learn more:

• Read the accompanying New Zealand Geographic article by Kate Evans, with photography by Richard Robinson.
• Recently researchers at the University of Auckland discovered that New Zealand rig sharks also make noise.

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

Kina numbers are exploding on some of our reefs, decimating seaweed habitats. Could this problem be solved by eating them? Kate Evans investigates the potential of kina-nomics.

This episode was first released on 7 March 2024.

The kina are out of control. As many as 40 urchins crowd into a single square metre of rock, devoid of other life.

A kina barren is a symptom of an ecosystem out of balance. Could we eat our way to a solution?

Kina zombies

Kina numbers have exploded as we've eaten too many of their predators - like big snapper and crayfish - that usually keep them in check.

The urchins munch through kelp and seaweed, leaving bare rock and little else. The kina themselves end up suffering too - they persist in these zones as zombies, eating little and barely producing any roe.

Luckily, these barrens can be reversed and kelp forests restored when the kina are removed.

Putting kina on the table

Kina-nomics involves taking starving kina off reefs, fattening them up and selling them to an East Asian market.

But how can the kina be made more consistently tasty? And can economic and conservation goals really align?

Listen to the episode to dive under the water with a kina harvester, taste some kina, and untangle whether a commercial harvest of these spiky taonga can really fix kina barrens.

Learn more:

• Read the accompanying New Zealand Geographic article by Kate Evans, with photography by Richard Robinson.
• Kinanomics say they are set to scale up in 2025.
• Check out another effort to restore kelp forests with the Love Rimurimu project in Wellington, profiled in a recent Our Changing World episode.
• Jesse Mulligan spoke to another researcher studying kina removal in the Marlborough Sounds.

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

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.

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

Guests:

• Eloise Gibson, RNZ climate correspondent

Learn more:

• Read Eloise’s recent analysis about New Zealand’s international climate targets, or New Zealand's glacier loss.
• Eloise has also recently fact checked Winston Peters on climate accord, reported on our 2035 Paris Agreement target and delved into the recent uptake of solar demand in New Zealand.
• The Climate Action Tracker website keeps tabs on the targets and pledges of different countries and monitors whether they are on track to keep the world below 2 oC of warming (compared to pre-industrial temperatures).

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

People and livestock gobble so much fish that the seas soon won't keep up. Is the answer to grow fish on land? Kate Evans meets scientists figuring out the puzzles of how to farm some of New Zealand's iconic ocean creatures.

This episode was first released on 14 March 2024.

Many of our fisheries are under pressure. At the same time people are eating more fish. Could farming iconic New Zealand species be the future? And what are the advantages of growing fish on land?

A new lease of life

Ocean Beach used to process lambs, a record of 20 000 in one day, but now it's gullies and troughs run with seawater, not blood. Home to the New Zealand Abalone company and Manaaki Whitebait it's become one the frontiers of New Zealand aquaculture - growing fish indoors.

Pāua puzzles and whitebait mysteries

It's not an easy task. Growing fish on land means taking responsibility for their needs throughout their life cycle. First you must identify those needs, account for them in an indoor setting, and make the whole process as efficient as possible so you can still turn a profit. It takes trial and error, and patience.

Learn more:

• Read the accompanying New Zealand Geographic article by Kate Evans, with photography by Richard Robinson.
• Seaweed is also being farmed in a specialised warehouse space in Tauranga.
• The NIWA Ruakākā facility officially opened in August 2024

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

What roles do our ocean ecosystems play in capturing carbon? Kate Evans speaks to iwi Māori working to improve the health of an estuary in the Bay of Plenty, and to scientists studying the fiords of New Zealand's southwest coast. There's potential for huge amounts of carbon to be locked away, if we don't mess it up. 

This episode was first released on 21 March 2024.

To avert the worst of the climate crisis we need to reduce our emissions. One way is to phase out fossil fuels, to leave forms of carbon like oil and gas locked up in the ground. But we can also look at ways to lock up more carbon, long term. And some options for this are in our oceans.

The champ of champs

Between 6-10 metres of rain falls in Fiordland each year. An incredible amount. It's part of what powers the forest-to-fiord carbon storage pump that makes Fiordland exceptionally good at locking away large amounts of carbon long-term. Something scientists are only beginning to understand.

Return of the wetland

Luckily, National Park status on land and marine protection in part of the sea have meant that Fiordland has remained relatively untouched.

Not so for some of our other carbon-burying ocean ecosystems. Salt marshes and seagrass meadows in estuaries have taken big hits. But Te Whakapū o Waihī, a collective of local iwi and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, are fighting back.

Listen as Kate Evans learns about Fiordland's secrets, the plans to restore Waihī wetlands and estuary, and what this all means for our blue carbon potential.

Learn more:

• Read the accompanying New Zealand Geographic article by Kate Evans, with photography by Richard Robinson.
• Alison Ballance previously reported on the work of the Cawthron Institute to collect and grow seagrass seeds.
• Justine Murray joined Professor Kura Paul-Burke out on the Waihī estuary mud flats last year to learn about tohu (signs), nana (seagrass) and tuangi (cockles).
• Parts of the Southern Ocean also acts as a carbon sink, but there are concerns this might change.

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The Bounty Islands are tiny in terms of area - just some bits of granite jutting out of the ocean. But they are huge in terms of seabirds. James Frankham joins a team researching the erect-crested penguins who breed in this remote archipelago. Recent counts suggest the penguins of the Bounties are doing fine. But this is not the case on the Antipodes Islands, and the researchers desperately want to know why.

This episode was first released on 28 March 2024.

The Bounty Islands jut out of the water like giant granite fins. Steep and sheer, with no greenery in sight. They are covered instead by a mottled white - guano or bird poo from the tens of thousands of penguins and albatrosses that come here to breed.

The least studied penguin

The Bounty Islands is one of two remote, subantarctic island groups home to the erect-crested penguin. Stout and handsome, with bright yellow crests that look like elaborate punk rock hairdos, their remote breeding sites means they've not been studied in depth.

But Dr Thomas Mattern of the Tawaki Project plans to change that.

Good news and bad

Using drones to make photo mosaics of all the Bounty islands, Thomas has counted each penguin breeding pair and arrived at a number that suggests the Bounty Island population of penguins has remained relatively stable since the mid-1990s. Good news.

Not the case for their other breeding sites at the Antipodes Islands, where early evidence suggests a significant decline.

But these island groups are a mere 200 kilometres apart - a hop, skip and a jump in penguin swimming distance. How is one group seemingly doing fine while the other is in trouble?

New Zealand Geographic's James Frankham joins an expedition to these remote and wild islands as the scientists begin to unravel this mystery.

Learn more:

• Read the accompanying New Zealand Geographic article by James Frankham, with photography by Richard Robinson.
• As part of this expedition Claire Concannon also visited the Antipodes Islands to learn how they have fared since mice were eradicated.

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

New Zealand once led the world in marine protection. Now it looks like we will fail to meet our international promise to protect 30 percent of our ocean estate by 2030. Why is stopping fishing so politically fraught? How might our ideas about marine protection need to change? And why, when our seas are in need, is it taking us so long to learn to talk to each other?

This episode was first released on 4 April 2024.

Updates/Learn more:

• Read the New Zealand Geographic article by Kate Evans, with photography by Richard Robinson.
• The proposed Hauraki Gulf marine protections had a last minute amendment by the government in October 2024 to allow some commercial fishing. A change that has drawn a lot of criticism from a number of parties.
• A judicial review was filed by the Otago Rock Lobster Industry Association Inc. with regards to decisions around the South Island marine reserves. As a result, they have not yet come into force.
• One of the new High Protection Areas proposed for the Hauraki Gulf is around The Noises Islands, which Our Changing World travelled to early in 2023.
• To learn more about the background of the now-extinct Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary, listen to this episode of The Detail from June 2023.

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

Journalist Rebekah White meets two people who have been counting albatrosses on remote islands in the subantarctic for more than three decades. Their research shows that at least one species is en route to extinction. A few changes to the way we fish could save it.

This episode was first released on 11 April 2024.

Gibson's and Antipodean albatrosses are citizens of no one nation. They are ocean birds, living on the wind and waves, travelling massive distances, passing back and forth over the high seas and the imaginary boundary lines we draw on maps.

But when they land to chat, to flirt, to lay an egg and raise a chick, they come to two of New Zealand's subantarctic islands.

Three decades of albatross study

And when they return, some of them meet with two familiar human faces.

Across the last 34 years, Department of Conservation researchers Kath Walker and Graeme Elliott have been visiting these islands to count the birds, and to study them.

At first everything seemed fine. In the early 1990s numbers were low but increasing. Things were positive. Then came the summer of 2006/2007. There was a population crash, reason still unknown, and on both islands, albatross numbers plummeted.

These albatrosses don't breed until they at least eight-years-old, only breed every two years, and tend to mate for life. Since the crash, Gibson's albatross numbers have come back slightly, but Antipodean albatross numbers continue to decline.

And adult birds, especially females, are still going missing.

Hooks don't discriminate

Tuna fishing boats use a method called surface longlining to catch their prey. The lines can be up to 100 kilometres long, with thousands of hooks.

Squid is used as bait, a tasty morsel for tuna. Unfortunately, albatrosses agree.

Using satellite tags Graeme and Kath have watched missing albatrosses' paths overlap with those of boats, and in one case, in which leg bands and the satellite tag were returned to them, follow the path of the boat.

Listen as science journalist Rebekah White explores the albatross bycatch problem, and what we could do about it. …

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Kate Evans visits a passionate team as they carpet a remote volcanic island in Tonga with poisoned bait, hoping to eradicate rats. What does it take to complete this kind of project, what are the chances of success, and what will it mean for the island's ecosystems if they manage to remove the rats once and for all?

This episode was first released on 18 April 2024.

Rat eradication from islands is a team sport. It's not a competition - but if it were, New Zealand would surely be up there. That's why on most pest removal teams around the world you can probably find one or two Kiwis right in the thick of things.

It takes a village

A team lined up to complete the rat eradication project for the island of Late in the kingdom of Tonga is no different. The New Zealand Department of Conservation is supporting the operation and have provided some skilled staff. The helicopter team (pilot, engineer, ground crew) are all Kiwi too.

They're joined by a project manager from the NGO Island Conservation, and Tongan conservationists from the national environment department.

Years of feasibility studies, finding funding, planning and logistics have come down to this - a second, and final, aerial application of poisoned bait across the island.

Island paradise

It may not be what you picture when you think of a tropical island, but its jagged basalt cliffs and remoteness has made volcanic Late a potential wildlife haven.

Here you can find the Tongan whistler and ground dove, two rare birds on the IUCN red list of threatened species. And it has the habitat needed for the malau - the Tongan megapode - to breed. Malau don't incubate eggs by sitting on them, instead they bury them in warm volcanic soils and sands, and Late's smoking surface is perfect.

Rat eradications elsewhere have allowed forests to rejuvenate, land birds to rebound and seabirds to return. The bird guano ripples the effect out further - feeding the coral reefs and allowing nearby ocean ecosystems to flourish.

Science journalist Kate Evans joins the team on the last day of bait spreading, in what they hope will be the first day of a bright future for the island and its inhabitants. …

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Claire Concannon introduces you to the next series from Wild Sounds. Hosted by Alison Ballance, hear the adventure through the bumpy bumper 2019 breeding season of NZ's rare flightless parrot.

This series was first released in 2020.

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The kākāpō is a giant flightless parrot whose fortunes are tied to the rimu tree and to a dedicated team of rangers from the Department of Conservation.

This episode was first released on 25 February 2020.

The kākāpō, or night parrot, is one of the world's most unusual birds.

It's a giant flightless parrot whose fortunes are tied to the rimu tree and to a dedicated team of kākāpō rangers from the New Zealand Department of Conservation.

Join Alison Ballance on an audio adventure through the biggest kākāpō breeding season on record. In part 1 of this remarkable story we meet the rare bird and discover the night sounds of Whenua Hou/Codfish Island with Deidre Vercoe, Andrew Digby and Tane Davis.

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The kākāpō team know all the signs are good for a big kākāpō breeding season - the question is exactly how big and when will it start?

This episode was first released on 27 February 2020.

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Kākāpō breeding is in full swing after an early start, and DOC's Deidre Vercoe and Andrew Digby are checking to see if eggs are fertile.

This episode was first released on 3 March 2020.

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Most of the female kākāpō have bred and the team is carrying precious fertile eggs to the 'egg room' for incubation. Meanwhile, on Anchor Island, the rain is falling.

This episode was first released on 5 March 2020.

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The kākāpō eggs are hatching, and chicks are being hand-reared or returned to their mother's nest... but not every chick is thriving.

This episode was first released on 12 March 2020.

The 2019 kākāpō breeding season set many records. It was the earliest, the longest - and of course, the biggest breeding season ever recorded.

Two hundred and fifty two kākāpō eggs were laid over three months, starting on Christmas Day 2018.

They began hatching at the end of January 2019, when Kohitatea became the earliest kākāpō chick ever to hatch.

The last chick to hatch, on 20 April 2019 was Stella's chick Manawanui.

Many chicks were hand-reared, by a team of wildlife experts from many places, including Auckland Zoo.

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

The tally of infertile eggs is climbing and the kākāpō team is using artificial insemination - and a drone - to try and counter the problem.

This episode was first released on 10 March 2020.

The 2019 kākāpō breeding season was one for the record books, but it had more than its fair share of problems, including the fact that more than half of the eggs laid were infertile.

It's an ongoing issue, not helped by the birds' low genetic diversity. The Kākāpō Recovery team are using artificial insemination as part of their genetic matchmaking efforts, and have turned to a drone to speed the process of sperm delivery.

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

Artist Joseph Michael and a team of eight film-makers head to Antarctica on the yacht Australis, to discover and record the sights and sounds of icebergs. But before they reach the frozen continent and encounter their first bergs they must face the challenge of the notorious Drake Passage.

This episode was first released on 27 February 2017.

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The next series to join the Wild Sounds feed is Voice of the Iceberg, first published in 2017. Artist Joseph Michael and his team record the characters and sounds of icebergs in Antarctica as he prepares for a major art installation.

This series was first releas in 2017.

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The 2019 kākāpō chicks are becoming independent and birds sent to be scanned for aspergillosis are getting clean bills of health.

This episode was first released on 19 March 2020.

The 2019 kākāpō breeding season successfully weathered the aspergillosis crisis, with 72 chicks reaching the milestone of 150 days. Seventy of those juveniles are still alive, although two juveniles subsequently died from late cases of aspergillosis.

Since September 2019 the kākāpō population has remained steady at 211 birds.

This is a huge increase from the 148 birds that were alive in December 2018, when kākāpō on Whenua Hou and Anchor Island began their breeding marathon.

One of the juveniles was fathered by the Fiordland male Sinbad, via successful artificial insemination. A further three Fiordland juveniles were fathered by his brother Gulliver, and their sister Kuia also produced three juveniles.

Kākāpō did not breed in 2020. The kākāpō team at the Department of Conservation has just been surveying rimu trees on the southern kākāpō islands and determined that there will be no breeding there in 2021 either.

As each juvenile from the 2019 breeding season reaches its first birthday it receives its new name, which replaces its chick code. Queenie-3-A-19 (Queenie's third egg from her first clutch in 2019) was named Alison, after Alison Ballance (Queenie was named after Alison's mum).

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A deadly fungal disease strikes the kākāpō population on Whenua Hou and the Kākāpō Recovery team calls on New Zealand wildlife vets to help.

This episode was first released on 17 March 2020.

In April 2019, disaster struck the kākāpō population.

There was an outbreak of the deadly fungal disease aspergillosis, which would eventually kill two adult females and seven chicks.

But against expectations, veterinary experts were able to nurse many birds back to health.

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The varied sounds and characters of icebergs begin to reveal themselves to a watching team of film-makers. A small iceberg, Yoko, that fizzes and crackles like a soda drink. The dramatic demise of the soaring ice arch, Valentine.

This episode was first released on 27 February 2017.

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Joseph Michael and his film-making companions come face-to-face with the heaving splendour of giant icebergs in the waters around the Antarctic Peninsula. Back in New Zealand, they grapple with how to projection map an 'urban iceberg' onto the exterior of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and how to create a soundscape that blends music with the voices of the icebergs.

This episode was first released on 27 February 2017.

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Encounters with blue ice and wildlife prove to be life-changing adventures, when photographer Joseph Michael and his companions venture into the crevasse field of a giant glacier, to capture the blue heart of an Antarctic iceberg.

This episode was first released on 27 February 2017.

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Alison Ballance dons her extreme cold weather clothing for a trip to Antarctica - but getting to the frozen continent can take time.

This episode was first released on 28 May 2020.

To see images and read more about this episode, visit the RNZ website here: Voices from Antarctica: Ice Flight

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Alison Ballance finds out what it takes to live in and do science in Antarctica, in a podcast series recorded on the frozen continent in November 2019.

This series was first released in 2020.

To see images and read more about the series, visit the RNZ website here: Voices from Antarctica

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In the series finale, Hope, we get a glimpse of what a predator-free Aotearoa could look like, and look at the breakthrough technologies and innovations taking us towards that goal.

This episode was first released on 31 May 2021.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

The final podcast in the series, What's in it for us?, counts both the costs and benefits of Predator Free.

It explores the costs of not doing it, before setting out a range of possible, positive outcomes for the economy, our exports, for Aotearoa's standing on the world stage - and most importantly, for ourselves and those who will follow.

In one of the last interviews Sir Rob Fenwick gave before his death in March 2020, he talks about what Predator Free meant to him, and estimates our chances of success.

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Community-led projects are leading the charge to halt biodiversity decline, while researchers make break-throughs in their quest to remove predators and protect borders from reinvasion.

This episode was first released on 24 May 2021.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

Episode Three explores the deep relationship between Māori and the natural world.

Predator Free 2050 and Māori looks at the vital contribution of Māori towards achieving Predator Free. It begins by exploring the deep relationship between Māori and the natural world, and the ways in which the loss of biodiversity impact on the identity and well-being of Māori, and on the very culture itself.

Commentators set out their expectations around Predator Free, and we explore the chance it offers for tino rangatiratanga, and a genuine bicultural partnership. They talk too, about how, by healing Nature, people can themselves be healed.

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New Zealander's have drawn a line in the sand, announcing they will rid the nation of rats, stoats and possums by 2050, but what will it take to get there?

This episode was first released on 17 May 2021.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

Remove and Protect reveals what Aotearoa means to do about the losing battle for our wildlife.

It sets out the critical distinction between business-as-usual pest control - simply holding a line - and the step change, and monumental challenge, that is eradication.

It looks at some ingenious new tools - smart, autonomous devices that are already changing our idea of what's possible and what's affordable.

Host Dave Hansford and the experts then tell listeners the plan, the nuts-and-bolts detail of exactly how we mean to find and catch that last rat.

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Loss looks at the devastating effect introduced mammals have had on New Zealand's unique wildlife.

This episode was first released on 10 May 2021.

Watch the video version of the episode here.

Dealing with Loss takes listeners back to Gondwana, to explore just why our native birds are so tragically vulnerable to predation by mammals from another hemisphere.

Host Dave Hansford then presents a series of "criminal profiles" introducing listeners to the Predator Free target species: the brushtail possum, the stoat, the kiore, and the ship and Norway rats, through accounts from the country's leading experts.

The podcast then quantifies the loss - one of the worst extinction episodes on the planet - before relating the peril that continues today, with commentary from field experts on the impacts of this suite of predators.

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Takes you into the wild heart of Aotearoa, documenting the desperate battle to protect it and exploring the notion of Predator Free 2050.

This series was first released in May 2021.

Watch the video trailer here

Fight for the Wild is a four-part video series that takes viewers into the wild heart of Aotearoa and documents the desperate battle to protect it. It explores the notion of Predator Free 2050 and asks whether this big, bold initiative is achievable and if so, how?

In the complementary Fight for the Wild podcast series, conservation writer Dave Hansford investigates how and why New Zealand plans to become predator-free.

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Emperor penguin researchers are waiting for tagged birds to return, and an elderly radar system sheds light on a very windy part of the atmosphere.

This episode was first released on 25 June 2020.

To see images and read more about this episode, visit the RNZ website here: Voices from Antarctica: Waiting for Emperors

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Alison Ballance meets a colony of Emperor penguins and their NIWA researchers, and finds out about making water on the frozen continent.

This series was first released on 18 June 2020.

To see images and read more about this episode, visit the RNZ website here: Voices from Antarctica: Best journey in the world

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Keeping Scott Base warm and well-lit no matter the weather outside, and a physics experiment that eavesdrops on messages to submarines.

This series was first released on 11 June 2020.

To see images and read more about this episode, visit the RNZ website here: Voices from Antarctica: Flags to physics

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Alison Ballance has her first day at New Zealand's Antarctic station, Scott Base, and visits the historic Hillary's Hut.

This episode was first released on 4 June 2020.

To see images and read more about this episode, visit the RNZ website here: Voices from Antarctica: Scott Base

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Alison Ballance eavesdrops on the songs of the world's southern-most mammal, the Weddell seal, and finds out about sea ice.

This episode was first released on 2 July 2020.

To see images and read more about this episode, visit the RNZ website here: Voices from Antarctica: Seal songs

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Tiny plants that live on the underside of sea ice form an upside-down garden that feeds krill and is the base of the Antarctic food web.

This episode was first released on 16 July 2020.

To see images and read more about this episode, visit the RNZ website here: Voices from Antarctica: Under the ice

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Researchers are using hot water to drill through the Ross ice shelf, to discover what has happened to Antarctic ice during previous periods of warm climates.

This series was first released on 9 July 2020.

To see images and read more about this episode, visit the RNZ website here: Voices from Antarctica: What the ice is saying

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In Antarctica in a Warming World researchers talk about the present impacts of climate change on the icy continent, and what they mean for our future. Watch now on the RNZ website - rnz.co.nz/video

Visit the RNZ website to watch the series.

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In 2019 Alison Ballance followed the bumpy, rollercoaster ride that was the kākāpō breeding season. Now she returns, six years on, to do it all over again. We'll meet familiar characters, of both the human and bird kind, as well as new faces. Will the chicks born in 2019 start to breed? How will the team fare with a more hands-off approach? Will the deadly aspergillosis that surfaced in 2019 return? And with the rimu mast predicted to be big, could this be the most successful breeding season yet? First episode drops 16th December. Don't miss it.

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It’s the summer solstice and we are waiting for kākāpō breeding to begin. Alison Ballance chats with island ranger Maddy Whittaker, who reports that on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island all the male kākāpō are in full voice, booming all night to attract the females, who haven’t shown any interest yet. The action hasn’t yet ramped up on Anchor Island. Alison also meets three key people from the Kākāpō Team, and hears about their first-ever kākāpō encounters.

Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to kakapo@rnz.co.nz

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction
00:42 – Kākāpō ranger Maddy Whittaker with updates on what the male birds are up to on the islands

05:09 – Technical Officer Daryl Eason talks about his first kākāpō encounter and what makes these birds so unique

09:41 – Operations Manager of the Kākāpō Recovery Programme Deidre Vercoe remembers her first kākāpō meeting

13:44 – Science Advisor Andrew Digby talks about meeting his first kākāpō

16:00 – Daryl Eason predicts when the breeding season might begin…

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The Kākāpō Files returns for a second season, to follow everyone’s favourite parrot through what is predicted to be the biggest breeding season on record. In episode 1, host Alison Ballance and Our Changing World’s Claire Concannon chat about what exactly is a kākāpō, discuss the conservation history of this endangered bird through the life story of two kākāpō, and discover just how big this breeding season might be.

Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to kakapo@rnz.co.nz.

In this episode:

00:00 - What is a kākāpō and how rare are they?

06:32 - Kākāpō names, from Zephyr to Acheron, and a brief conservation history

14:29 - Rimu masting and the 2026 breeding season

22:25 - Kākāpō trivia

24:12 - Closing credits

Learn more:

• Follow the Kākāpō Files podcast to keep up to date.
• Want to start the new series prepared with all the backstory? Listen to the Voice of the Kākāpō series for a recap of the 2019 breeding season. Then listen to the episodes covering the interim 2022 breeding season, and about how a few male kākāpō have fared in the North Island, in the fenced Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari.
• For more New Zealand science and nature find and follow the Our Changing World podcast, and subscribe to the show’s monthly newsletter.

Guests:

• Claire Concannon, Our Changing World

References:

“Kākāpō: Rescued from the Brink of Extinction” by Alison Ballance (published 2018)

Kākāpō Files is made in collaboration with the Department of Conservation’s Kākāpō Recovery Programme.

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It’s nearly the New Year and we’re counting down to the start of a big kākāpō breeding season. Island ranger Maddy Whittaker tells Alison Ballance that Pearl and Boss are the first kākāpō to mate. Deidre Vercoe, operations manager for the Kākāpō Team, explains that kākāpō mums on Whenua Hou will get wrap-round support, while management on Anchor Island and Te Kakahu/Chalky Island will be more hands-off. Scientist Andrew Digby talks about the role of technology in making this possible, and digs into the kākāpō’s boring gut microbiome. Technical advisor Daryl Eason introduces founder female Margaret-Maree, matriarch of a lineage with five living generations.

Send any Kākāpō Files questions and comments to kakapo@rnz.co.nz

In this episode:

00:00 – Introduction

00:53 – Kākāpō ranger Maddy Whittaker with news that Pearl and Boss on Whenua Hou are the first kākāpō to mate.

06:02 – Operations Manager of the Kākāpō Recovery Programme Deidre Vercoe explains that kākāpō mums on Whenua Hou will get wrap-round support, while management on Anchor Island and Te Kakahu / Chalky Island will be more hands-off.

10:08 – Science Advisor Andrew Digby talks about the role of technology and the kākāpō’s dull microbiome.

13:24 – Technical Advisor Daryl Eason introduces Margaret-Maree, matriarch of a dynasty with five living generations.

16:18 – Closing credits…

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