The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. This was actually released last year, but has had huge word of mouth enthusiasm for many, many readers and was voted onto the new Whitcoulls Top 100 last month. It’s now out in a second format and is the story of a woman’s life told through letters which she writes to a number of people important to her - some of whom are well known writers with whom she has an affinity, such as Ann Patchett, Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry - but also letters to her friends, her son, her brother and many others. It’s warm, illuminating of a life well lived and I adored it. 

The Girl with the Seven Lives by Vikas Swarup. He was the author of Q and A which was made into the wildly successful movie Slumdog Millionaire, and he’s back with a similarly quirky story about Devi, a young woman being held at ransom by a masked man who insists that over the course of a single day she recounts the seven very different episodes in her life for which he holds her to blame, whilst threatening to sell her off to the highest bidder as people affected by her various actions over the course of her life seek revenge. It’s cleverly constructed and tells a very Indian story of the many lives lived by one woman.

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Megan Singleton's just returned from a multi-generational holiday in Fiji and she's outlined how to plan a similar big trip - without everything blowing apart.

They stayed at the Shangri La Resort on the Coral Coast, because it was important to find a location that appealed to a group aged 4 to 80, with a good beach, activities and a wide range of dining options.

She outlined her experience further here. 

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This week on the Sunday Panel, Newstalk ZB host Kerre Woodham and Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! 

Newstalk ZB celebrates 100 years today. What are our favourite memories of the station? What stories do we remember? What role does radio serve in a changing market.

So Chris Luxon hasn't been having a good week - with new polls and the MMP announcement raising some concerns. There's growing calls for some new leadership in the National Party - do we see Luxon bouncing back? 

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On the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast for Sunday 9 August, in July 2023 Kiri Allan hit rock bottom.  She joins Francesca today to share her story of the burnout and the car crash that ultimately ended her political career.

Melissa George first appeared on our screens 33 years ago as 16 year old Angel on Home and Away. Melissa tells Francesca what brought her back down under for local Kiwi series Ms X, after many years living overseas.

Today marks 100 years of ZB.  Long time station manager Bill Francis shares his memories with Francesca and talks of some of the more memorable moments that make ZB what it is today.

And what was everyone eating back in 1926 when ZB first appeared? Mike Van de Elzen has been looking back through the archives and shares a recipe that is as good today, as it was back in 1926.

Get the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast every Sunday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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The winter season brings colds and seasonal illnesses, and they can slow you down and get spread to other people.

Colds are usually caused by viruses and symptoms typically last about a week, but the most severe symptoms only occur for two to three days

Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara reveals how to ease symptoms for a quick recovery - and which remedies work the best.

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Cook time: 10 minutes 

Prep time: 30 minutes 

Serves: 6

Start by scooping 6 balls of ice-cream and place them into the freezer to harden.

Now, make up the sponge by sifting flour and baking powder together. Fold lightly into egg mixture, sugar, salt, & vanilla. Then fold in the butter. Pour into greased 20cm tray.

Bake at 200 for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. 

Allow to cool before cutting into small discs slightly bigger than the ice-cream scoop. You will have heaps leftover. 

Now make up the Italian meringue, one cooled place into a pipping bag. 

It's now time to make up the bombe -

Place the scoop of ice-cream onto of one sponge disc. Pipe the meringue mixture around the ice-cream, starting from the bottom and layering up around the ice-cream to the top. Try to ensure all theres no gaps exposing the ice-cream 

Take a blow torch and burn the outside of the meringue until well colored. If you don't have a blow torch crank up your oven on grill and quickly cook the bombes until till dark 

Just before you serve pour over some brandy and light at the table! Be careful!

Cook time: 12 minutes 

Prep time: 30 minutes 

Serves: 12

350gm sugar 

80ml water 

6 egg whites

In a pot, bring the sugar and water to a boil, turn down the heat to medium and continue to cook till the sugar reaches 110*c. Throughout this time use a pastry in cold water to keep the inside sides of the pot clean.  

Once you reach 110*c, start whisking whites in a bench top mixer. 

You want the whites to be just foaming, if this is reached before sugar is ready, turn mixer down to low speed to stabilize the whites until sugar is ready. 

When sugar reaches 120*c take off the heat and slowly pour into whipping whites at a medium speed,  

Turn mixer up faster as the sugar blends in. (take care not to pour sugar onto beater as it will spin it around bowl and not into the whites) 

When all sugar is in, turn mixer to high and beat until cool and glossy. 

The end product should be extremely glossy and quite dense to touch. Place into a piping bag ready to be used. 

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If you love dogs but can’t own one because of allergies, scientists may have a solution.

In a new study, published in The CRISPR Journal, researchers used CRISPR gene editing to remove the gene responsible for producing the major protein called Can f 1 that triggers dog allergies in many people. 

Using CRISPR-Cas9, the scientists edited skin cells taken from the beagles. CRISPR acts a bit like molecular scissors, cutting DNA at a precise location. In this case, they introduced a tiny one-letter insertion into the Can f 1 gene that disrupted its instructions, preventing the protein from being made. 

Those edited cells were then used in somatic cell nuclear transfer, the same cloning technique used to create Dolly the sheep. The DNA from an edited cell was placed into a donor egg, creating an embryo carrying the genetic change. 

The team produced 25 embryos and implanted them into a surrogate beagle. 

Two embryos developed successfully and became puppies called Bailey and Alfie. 

The researchers then sequenced the puppies' DNA to confirm that the intended genetic change was present and checked if any other parts of the genome were accidentally edited. 

Next the scientists collected saliva, hair and dander from the edited beagles. 

They also collected samples from a normal beagle, a standard poodle and a goldendoodle. 

Using a laboratory technique called a Western blot, which detects specific proteins, they searched for Can f 1. 
The results showed the normal beagle, poodle and goldendoodle all produced the allergen but the gene-edited dogs didn’t. 

This also reinforced something many allergy specialists have said for years: poodles and doodles still produce the major dog allergen despite often being described as hypoallergenic. 

Finally the experiment involved testing these new Beagles on humans with known dog allergies using a classic skin prick test. 

Tiny drops containing extracts from different dogs were placed on the volunteer's arm before gently pricking the skin. If the immune system recognised the allergen, a raised itchy bump called a wheal would appear within about 20 minutes. 

The normal beagle, poodle and goldendoodle produced the expected allergic reaction, but extracts from Bailey and Alfie produced no detectable skin reaction at all. 

So far, Bailey and Alfie appear to be developing normally with no obvious health problems linked to the missing gene. 

For decades we've treated allergies by trying to change the person, using medications or immunotherapy to calm the immune system. 

Instead of changing the immune system, the researchers changed the source of the allergen. 

Whether gene-edited allergy-friendly dogs eventually become widely available remains to be seen. There are still ethical, regulatory and practical questions to answer. 

But scientifically, it's an elegant demonstration of what modern gene editing can achieve.

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The 2026 New Zealand International Film Festival has gotten under way, and there's still a chance to check out something new this weekend.

It’s a packed programme with screenings running all over the nation, but there's plenty of unconventional pieces made by directors from New Zealand and beyond.

Entertainment correspondent Steve Newall outlined his picks.

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There's growing calls for another look at solar power and renewable energy following a chilly week for the nation.

The recent cold snap has brought a power warning across the country, with Transpower expecting record electricity demand.

The current Government, Labour and the Greens are all considering changes when it comes to solar power in our country, but is solar the answer to our energy issues and rising power bills? 

Rewiring Aotearoa research and development lead Josh Ellison says power bills have been on the rise over the last few years - and they're outpacing inflation. 

"It's been increasing a lot faster than inflation and a lot faster than it should be increasing, and so I think the shock gets bigger every year."

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National's electoral vote success will be on the minds of its newly ranked MPs, with a fight for list positions potentially on for election night. 

The party's 2026 list sees no adjustment to its top eight, while James Meager jumps to 18 and Melissa Lee falls to 30.

Former Minister and commentator Peter Dunne says this list was reasonably predictable, with a lack of notable changes.

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