Pacific Pulse Podcast

Fiji once relied heavily on open surgery for gynaecological procedures that could be done through minimally invasive techniques. Eighteen months later, Lautoka Hospital has increased case volumes by more than 80 per cent. 

A warning from a Vanuatu surgeon about the dangers of penile enlargement injections has once again put the spotlight on a quiet crisis leaving Pacific men in chronic pain. This edition of Pacific Pulse was a repeat of the program broadcast on 12 November 2025

Nearly one in three Pacific children in Aotearoa is living with hearing loss. But getting diagnosed is only part of the problem. 

For years, many Tongans living with severe hip and knee problems had just two options: travel overseas for treatment or learn to live with the pain. In late September, that began to change.

Parkinson's isn't only a disease of older age. Researchers are investigating why some Polynesian people are being diagnosed much earlier, sometimes in their 30s and 40s.

Pacific communities are among Australia’s fastest-growing populations, yet we remain largely invisible in the health data used to shape policy and services, Dr Matt Bray explains.

Betel nut chewing is deeply woven into life in Papua New Guinea, but it's also linked to some of the world's highest rates of oral cancer, and we hear from dentist and lecturer Dr Nerida Bun about the push to catch the disease earlier and save lives from city areas to the remote highlands. 

Money stress and wellbeing go hand-in-hand and financial advice that understands Pacific ways of being can make all the difference.

As the Pacific heads into another round of global climate talks, we hear what climate security looks like on the ground and catch up with two Christians paddling around Viti Levu to take on single-use plastics.

 In Fiji, there's now renewed interest in one model that puts communities in the driver's seat: cooperativ

Dengue fever and the flu look alike on the surface, so trusted health advice is essential

Culturally, it is right to be of service to others. But how can you best serve your family and community if you're burning out in the process? 

Maybe putting down your phone and picking up some fabric or knitting needles is the best thing you can do for your mental health and overall wellbeing. 

As traditional support networks erode across Fiji, founders Edwina Biyau and Asilika Matthew from Daulomani Safe Home reveal the stark realities vulnerable seniors face today.

Meet the Pacific families, food lovers and researchers working to make traditional feasts both inclusive and safe for everyone.

Meet former sumo wrestler Minaminoshima Isamu Prescott Falevai, who carried his father's sumo ring name all the way to Japan and spent nearly eight years inside one of the country's elite professional stables.

Health misinformation has spread across the Pacific for years, often reaching communities before the facts do.

A neuroscientist says Power Slap athletes aren't just risking their future, many are losing consciousness from hit and that means literal brain damage is happening in the moment.

For many in Fiji, sugar evokes memory of indentured labour, land dispossession, and the quiet crisis of diabetes that touches nearly every family.

After a medical retirement brought his playing days to a halt, Kimami Sitauti found a new purpose in France helping new arrivals navigate life in a country where even ordering a coffee can feel overwhelming without French. This edition of Pacific Pulse was a repeat of the program broadcast on 15th April 2026

Experts say when someone is visibly unwell, we’re still quick to label them “crazy,” or explain symptoms like hearing voices or paranoia through spirits or possession when these can be signs of conditions like schizophrenia or severe depression that need proper treatment. 

Race, patriarchy, poverty, and the arrival of a period has kept generations of women invisible in Fiji's sports scene. 

Diphtheria is a bacterial disease we thought we'd left behind, but gaps in adult vaccination and overcrowded housing conditions have given it a foothold again.

Sitting across a trafficking route where meth and cocaine is passing through Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Solomon Islands, not all drugs leave. 

Indonesian biofuel projects are tearing through forests in West Papua and pushing people off their customary land