- 10 EU-funded podcasts cover topics from AI ethics and climate disinformation to food fraud and migration.
- The podcasts are linked to specific Horizon projects including AIOLIA, MERLIN, EFF-CoP and Link4Skills.
- The list is published by REA on 1 September 2026.
- Topics span artificial intelligence, climate, freshwater restoration, EU eastern neighbourhood and scanning technologies.
Introduction
The European Research Executive Agency (REA) has compiled ten podcasts produced as part of EU-funded research projects. The selection spans a wide range of topics — from artificial intelligence and climate disinformation to food fraud, freshwater restoration and migration. The aim is to make research findings accessible to a broader public through audio formats that can be listened to during commutes, at home or in the office.
Topics in the podcast collection
The list features productions linked to specific collaborative projects:
| Topic | Project | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial intelligence | AIOLIA | "Bits of Ethics" explores the gap between AI ethics theory and practice |
| Citizen science & climate adaptation | ScienceUs | Thermo-staat (indoor temperature sensors) and EcoVoce (digital mapping) |
| Climate disinformation | Just Europe | Episode 15 with Max Falkenberg from the POLARCLIMATE project |
| EU's eastern neighbourhood | REUNIR | Threats to candidate countries' resilience, including Russian interference |
| Food fraud | EFF-CoP | "Authentic Appetites" on transparency in food supply chains |
| Freshwater restoration | MERLIN | Behind the scenes of European freshwater restoration projects |
| Literature and gender | EUTERPE | Women's European writing, interviews and poetry readings |
| Migration and skills | Link4Skills | Cross-border migration as a response to skill shortages |
| Scanning technologies | CORDIScovery | New technologies for detecting illegal goods |
AI ethics and artificial intelligence
The "Bits of Ethics" podcast is produced as part of the AIOLIA project, which focuses on turning high-level EU AI Act ethical principles into practical tools. Episodes cover topics such as artificial love and AI avatars.
Climate and climate disinformation
The ScienceUs Podcast connects listeners with researchers and practitioners shaping the future of climate change adaptation. The Dutch project Thermo-staat gives residents simple sensors to measure rising indoor temperatures. The Romanian project EcoVoce provides residents with a mobile app and digital mapping tools to monitor environmental issues.
Episode 15 of the Just Europe podcast is on climate disinformation and features researcher Max Falkenberg of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions-funded POLARCLIMATE project.
Food safety and freshwater restoration
The EFF-CoP project aims to fight food fraud — the deliberate act of altering, substituting, mislabelling or counterfeiting food, ingredients, or packaging for economic gain. The "Authentic Appetites" podcast series treats a different facet of their mission to enhance transparency in food supply chains in each episode.
The MERLIN project's podcast "Bringing Europe's Freshwaters Back to Life" followed the project's journey into freshwater restoration across Europe, offering a behind-the-scenes look at ambitious projects carried out through cutting-edge aquatic science and conservation.
Migration, democracy and literature
The REUNIR project is analysing the instability of the EU's eastern neighbourhood by evaluating threats to the resilience of candidate countries. The podcast series includes episodes on the interference of external actors such as Russia.
Link4Skills is investigating how cross-border migration can help address skill shortages across the world. Throughout 2026, project members will contribute to several episodes of the award-winning podcast Borders & Belonging.
The EUTERPE project studies how women's writing across Europe moves between languages, borders and cultures, creating open resources and better understanding what it means to be European today. The podcast features interviews with doctoral researchers, conversations with writers, poetry readings and more.
Scanning technologies
The CORDIScovery podcast touches on an EU-funded project, idea, or debate in science each month. The latest episode focuses on the world of new scanning technologies, which are identifying illegal items — from small packages to large shipping containers — more effectively than ever.
Background
The list was published by REA on 1 September 2026. REA is the executive agency under the European Commission that administers the Horizon programme.