Under the Lens

No one has said we don't need biosecurity. There are ways to do this. There are people with knowledge, there are communities who care, and there are ways to secure and protect the unique landscapes of Aotearoa. Season two is done. No guests today, just Amanda, Peter, and Nick around the table reflecting on a season of biosecurity conversations. Is the biosecurity system fit for purpose? What works...

Tame Malcolm (Te Arawa: Ngāti Tarāwhai, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Ngararanui, Ngāti Whakaue) has spent his career getting people excited about the bush, the birds, and the ecosystems that make Aotearoa unique. Because as he puts it, no one protects what they don't know. In this episode the General Manager of Te Arawa Lakes Trust explores what biosecurity could look like if we wiped the slate clean and s...

Biology has changed. The amount of biological data we can now collect has exploded, from automated sensors at our borders to genomic data tracking where pests come from. But are we maximising the opportunities to gather insight that this data could offer?   In this episode computational biologist Dr Murray Cox joins Amanda and Peter to explore what biological data could do for our biosecurity...

Biosecurity is often thought of as systems and agencies. But communities, people, and places are also doing the long term work, often with little resourcing and even less say in how it gets done.   In this episode Dr Sylvia Nissen, political scientist and human geographer at Lincoln University, joins Amanda and Peter to explore what role communities actually play in biosecurity responses, whe...

Season two of Under the Lens is here, and we are starting somewhere unexpected. Fellow co-hosts Amanda and Peter turn the lens on Nick Waipara, drawing on his 25 years in biosecurity to ask what a reimagined system would actually look like.   From the kauri dieback story and the community networks that first raised the alarm, to the gaps in our science system and the feast and famine of commu...

Your feedback, your questions and what’s coming next. Season one sparked more conversation than we expected. In this episode your three co-hosts Amanda, Peter, and Nick work through the feedback, comments, and questions that came in after season one, covering weeds, kauri dieback, and genetic modification. The GM debate generated the most heat, and what came out of it was bigger than the technolog...

Weeds are everywhere in Aotearoa New Zealand. They creep along roadsides, smother forest edges, clog waterways and hydrodams, and quietly take over harbour hillsides. Most of us just see green. In this conversation, Professor Margaret Stanley, recently recognised as Science Communicator of the Year, helps us see what is really going on in that green backdrop. She explains what makes a plant a weed...

Genetic modification has shaped public debate in Aotearoa New Zealand for more than 25 years, influencing how we think about risk, responsibility and the future of our environment. This episode unpacks what genes and DNA actually are, how gene editing and genetic modification work, and why these tools have become so central to conversations about pests, diseases and climate change. Our hosts revis...

Kauri dieback, caused by the pathogen Phytophthora agathidicida, has reshaped how Aotearoa New Zealand understands risk, responsibility, and care for the natural world. This episode unpacks the biology of the pathogen, the cultural significance of kauri, and the long journey from confusion to coordinated response. Our hosts revisit the early days when dead and dying kauri began raising alarms, the...

The PSA outbreak changed the trajectory of Aotearoa New Zealand’s kiwifruit industry and revealed just how tightly our “three bios” are linked. In this episode, we revisit one of the country’s most significant biological events to unpack how biosecurity, biodiversity, and bioprotection collide in real time. Using PSA as our lens, we trace the story from the first signs of incursion through to indu...

In our very first episode of 'Under the Lens', co-hosts Professor Amanda Black, Professor Peter Dearden and Dr Nick Waipara discuss the complexities of bioprotection in Aotearoa New Zealand. They delve into the necessity of managing all ecosystems in Aotearoa New Zealand, the challenges of returning to a 'natural state', and the interconnectedness of bioprotection with agriculture, conservation, a...