The beloved Manu Minute is getting a makeover!
Over the past five years, HPR has collaborated with the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo LOHE Bioacoustics Lab to bring listeners a weekly segment focused on the songs and conservation of Hawaiʻi's birds.
Now, that team is launching a new special series that will take a closer look at the cultural context that shapes our understanding of Hawaiʻi's unique ecosystems.
The ʻĀhuimanu Minute will air once a month on The Conversation on HPR-1 and Classical Pacific on HPR-2.
Listeners will be guided by longtime Manu Minute host and UH professor Patrick Hart, as well as Hawaiʻi Island conservation researcher Lisa Mason.
This new segment was born out of the collaboration of ʻĀhuimanu, led by Kekuhi Kealiʻikanakaʻole, that was formed to write and perform oli about Hawaiʻi's feathered friends.
In this special Manu Minute series, listeners will hear portions of oli created by ʻĀhuimanu that tie together scientific information and the long cultural history of Hawaiʻi's native birds.
Mason said that oli can help listeners integrate the stories of Hawaʻi's native birds into their understand of Hawaiʻi's environment.
"When you hear the voice being woven in that way, it's just really a beautiful thing, and it helps you to listen," she said.
Mason and Hart joined the Conversation to talk about the group's work and bring cultural context back into conservation spaces.
This story aired on The Conversation on May 6, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
