Afternoons for Tuesday 15 December 2020

 

1:12 First Song

 

1:17 Levi the dog training to detect bowel cancer

A German Shepherd named Levi who is training to detect bowel cancer has achieved some promising results in a research study run by the University of Otago and K9 Medical Detection NZ. 

Levi is still in training but is detecting positive cancer samples in saline 92.8 per cent of the time, and ignoring samples that did not contain cancer 99.8 percent of the time.  

Jesse speaks to K9 Medical Detection NZ founder and director Pauline Blomfield who is thrilled with Levi's progress. 

1:27 Kate Sheppard House opens doors as public museum

The Kate Sheppard House in Christchurch will be officially opened as a public museum today, 132 years after the pioneering feminist moved into the property.  

Prime Minister Ardern officially opened  the house in the Christchurch suburb of Ilam earlier today. 

Katie Pickles, Professor of History at the University of Canterbury, speaks to Jesse about the opening which has been a long time in the making. 

1:35 Food charities prepare for busy Christmas period 

One in five New Zealanders risk going hungry over the Christmas period, according to the new charity New Zealand Food Network.

Jo Noema  is the co-founder and manager of Generation Ignite in New Lynn, who have seen a 146% increase in demand for food parcels since COVID-19 hit. 

Jesse speaks to Jo about how the organisation is preparing for Christmas and what help they need.

1:50 How to write a plot, with Rose Carlyle

Author Rose Carlyle's first novel, The Girl in the Mirror, already has a major Hollywood movie deal. She talks about how to craft a "killer plot"

 

2:10 Book Critic Claire Mabey

Claire talks about three new books:

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

Victory Park, by Rachel Kerr 

Summerwater by Sarah Moss

And she's also about to read the following books:

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry
Remote Sympathy by Catherine Chidgey

2:20 Celebrating Beethoven's 250th birthday with Cynthia Morahan

Cynthia Morahan is the host of Daybreak, RNZ Concert's weekday breakfast programme. She's been reading about Beethoven in the lead up to his 250th anniversary this week. 

3:10 Harold McGee's field guide to the world's smells

Every deep breath takes in oxygen and  a little bit of the cosmos says Harold McGee, a food writer known for his work on the science and chemistry of cooking.

He's been on a ten year sniffing expedition to explain why cut grass smells like summer  and baking bread like home.  His book is called Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World's Smells

3:30 Spoken Feature: BBC Witness

3:45 The Panel with Nalini Baruch and Selwyn Manning