Home insurance changes

The way New Zealanders insure their homes is fundamentally changing as we move from 'total replacement' cover to 'sum insured'. So what does this mean for consumers? With Karen Stevens, the Insurance and Savings Ombudsman, and Tim Grafton, chief executive of the Insurance Council.

Homing pigeons

For decades Jon Hagstrum has been trying to solve the puzzle of how homing pigeons find their way around so accurately over such long distances. Now he thinks he might have found an answer involving low frequency noise, waves, tectonic plates and Concorde!

Scoop scandal

A national ice cream disgrace; New Zealand's hollow scoop scandal! Also what causes ice cream headaches? With Jorge Manuel Serrador of Harvard Medical School.

Tech news: Apple's in-app purchasing lawsuit

Charles Arthur beams in with the latest from the tech world. This week, Apple reaches a settlement with parents whose kids have been buying apps on their devices.

Bread tags

John Daniels is a synthetic taxonomist. He records and classifies some of the forgotten flotsam of modern life, including the small plastic tags you find on some baked goods!

Myopia epidemic

Shortsighedness rates are approaching 100 percent in parts of Asia. So what's causing this myopia epidemic and what serious eye problems could this be storing up for future? Professor Chris Hammond of Kings College London is working to understand the causes of shortsightedness.