Listen to the first season of Ingenious: a podcast about research for a better world
26 May 2025
In its first season new podcast Ingenious showcases research taking on society's most persistent challenges.
With our new podcast Ingenious, we wanted to take you behind the headlines and explore some of the big questions researchers from the University of Auckland are asking. In the first five episodes host Nikki Mandow, an award- winning journalist, talks to researchers and explains why their work matters. We hope you enjoy the stories and share them with colleagues, friends and family.
Is milk actually good for you? How a 5000 to 8000-year-old gene mutation means some of us can happily digest milk while almost 70 percent of the world’s adult population struggle with lactose intolerance.
The next-gen crash test dummies: Imagine a digital version of yourself doctors can use to test how your body will respond to surgery or medication. That’s exactly what researchers at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute are developing. It would change the future of healthcare.
Bullets in space: Scientists reckon there are 130 million pieces of space junk in the sky, all hurtling through space at 25 times the speed of sound. They could put our whole space programme at risk.
Let's dance: Researchers and dancers are applying the power of dance to heal. Learn how the simple act of moving together lights up multiple parts of our brain.
Is it time to fix democracy? The world faces ‘democratic recession’. Today more people live in autocratic regimes than in liberal democracies. Researchers from the University of Auckland are exploring ways to reshape democracy for the 21st century; re-inventing a 2500-year-old idea from ancient Greece and consensus decision-making hui as practised on marae.
For more info about Ingenious, contact Nikki Mandow on nikki.mandow@auckland.ac.nz