Pacific Pulse Podcast

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

For Tongans in the diaspora, sewing can be the thread between culture, identity and your island home.

One of the world’s oldest staple crops is being reshaped for a hotter, drier future in Papua New Guinea, where scientists are developing climate-resilient taro hybrids designed to withstand drought, heat and rising salinity.

Jalen Manumaleuga thought basketball was the goal, but a scholarship to Jackson State University lead him to study African American history and business which has shaped him beyond the game. 

Samoan athletes have shaped world sport for decades, especially in rugby league and union where their power and skill have become defining traits of the modern game. Now, basketball is beginning to see a new generation break through and make their mark

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.

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

One part of this crisis that should not be happening at all is being born with HIV. It’s almost entirely preventable with testing, treatment and the right care for mums in pregnancy.

In Papua New Guinea, many children struggle to hear their teacher, friends, or even their own family, not because they were born deaf, but because a simple ear infection went untreated.

Moringa is one of the key ingredients in salads by Tertia Ryan who is a Samoan advocate for healthy living who helped bring together Heal the Samoan Way

Curbing non-communicable disease might look like cutting one sugary drink a day, adding an extra serving of local fruit or vegetables or jumping in the ocean that surrounds us. We are not powerless.

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. 

Over Christmas, Sistas Let's Talk host Natasha Meten travelled home to Madang in Papua New Guinea with her husband and three children. One night, a mosquito slipped into the room where her children were sleeping without a net and what followed was a malaria diagnosis. 

While smokers and vapers face the personal challenge of quitting, governments and policymakers in the Pacific hold responsibility for creating environments that support healthier choices.

Under the Pacific sun, people living with albinism face stigma, health risks, and daily challenges. Fiji is leading the way, recognising dermatology as a human right and making sunscreen essential for protection and survival.

Epidemiologist Dr Simon Thornley explains why treating scabies on a large scale could be a game changer for preventing rheumatic heart disease in our children. 

Gout content on TikTok might be giving you the wrong idea about what the condition is and how it can be treated. 

Imagine lying in a hospital bed. The room is cold. Your heart is racing. You’re about to go into surgery when suddenly your surgeon starts singing.