Euronews Tech Talks

Robotics is making its way into agriculture, helping address challenges such as chemical use and labour shortages. What are the potentials? What are the challenges? In this episode, we travel to Oslo to meet Lars Grimstad, CTO and co-founder of the agri-tech company Saga Robotics. We also hear from professors Stefano Stramigioli and Ioannis Athanasiadis, as well as engineers Giorgio Boscheri and Cesare Lobascio, about how robots are transforming agriculture, both on Earth and in space. Do you want to reach out to Euronews Tech Talks? Email alice.carnevali@euronews.com. Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives. With explanations, engaging Q&As, and lively conversations, the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society. ‌ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How is AI transforming robotics? Will robots ever replace doctors or come into our homes? In this episode of Euronews Tech Talks, we put these and more of your questions to Kai Olav Ellefsen, associate professor at the University of Oslo. Do you want to reach out to Euronews Tech Talks? Email alice.carnevali@euronews.com. Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives. With explanations, engaging Q&As, and lively conversations, the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society. ‌ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We hear more and more about space mining projects—companies are interested in mining asteroids, and the European Commission is exploring the idea of mining the Moon for critical raw materials. But what would be mined? How? And would it be ethical and legal? In this episode, Euronews Tech Talks sits down with several experts to discuss these questions: Ian Crawford, a professor of planetary science at the University of London; Jill Stuart, an academic at the London School of Economics; Pierfrancesco Biasetti, a researcher at the Summer School in Space Ethics at the University of Padua; Erik Persson, a philosophy professor at Lund University; and Kathryn Halder, director of the European Space Resources Innovation Centre (ESRIC). Do you want to reach out to Euronews Tech Talks? Email alice.carnevali@euronews.com. Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives. With explanations, engaging Q&As, and lively conversations, the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society. ‌ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Although engineers began developing space-based solar energy technology in the 1960s, it still hasn’t become a reality. Why? In this episode, Euronews Tech Talks tries to answer this question by speaking with Sanjay Vijendran, co-founder and CTO of TerraSpark; Francesco Contino, professor at the school of engineering at UC Louvain; and Wei He, senior lecturer in engineering at King’s College London. Do you want to reach out to Euronews Tech Talks? Email alice.carnevali@euronews.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NASA’s decision to speed up plans for building a nuclear reactor on the Moon has raised questions about the United States’ broader space strategy and renewed curiosity about the use of nuclear energy beyond Earth. In this episode of Euronews Tech Talks, we address these questions with professor Simon Middleburgh, co-director of the Nuclear Futures Institute at the University of Bangor (UK), Alfredo Carpineti, astrophysicist and senior science writer at IFL Science, and Francesco Lodi, researcher at ENEA (Italy). Do you want to reach out to Euronews Tech Talks? Email alice.carnevali@euronews.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this final chapter of our journey into the world of PFAS, we speak with Fajer Mushtaq, whose company Oxyle is working to contain and destroy PFAS in wastewater, and with Miika Nikinmaa and Diana Lau, who are developing alternatives for food packaging and textiles through the ZeroF project. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is it like to live in one of Europe’s hotspots for PFAS contamination? Jeroen Van Reeth, a resident of Zwijndrecht—the Belgian town affected by PFAS produced by the chemical company 3M—opens his home to Euronews Tech Talks to share his experience. We, then, speak with experts Jacob de Boer, Hans Peter Arp and Madeleine Bussemaker to uncover if and how it is possible to contain and destroy “forever chemicals”. Do you want to reach out to Euronews Tech Talks? Email alice.carnevali@euronews.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are man-made chemicals widely used in the industry, but potentially harmful to human health. They can be found on pizza boxes, ski clothing, and sanitary pads, but some studies associate them with multiple kinds of health problems. In this Q&A episode, we explore PFAS by putting your questions to chemist Martin Scheringer, research scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich). The Map of Forever Pollution: https://foreverpollution.eu/map/ Do you want to reach out to Euronews Tech Talks? Email alice.carnevali@euronews.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this season finale of Euronews Tech Talks, former professional cyclist Bo Hamburger reflects on his use of EPO in the 1990s and early 2000s, offering insights into how doping works, why athletes turn to it, and its potential health effects. We’re also joined by April Henning, Associate Professor of International Sport Management at the Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University, and Dominic Sagoe, Professor of Psychology at the University of Bergen in Norway and founder of the Human Enhancement and Body Image Lab. Euronews Tech Talks will return in September — enjoy your summer! Credits for the intro race audio in San Sebastián: Funnycycling: 1997 World Cycling Championships – Campeonato Mundial de Ciclismo – San Sebastián – Brochard Courtesy (2015) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Researchers are developing AI programmes to make doping detection more effective, faster, and cheaper. How do these systems work? What challenges do their creators face? Euronews Tech Talks sits down with Wolfgang Maass, Professor of Business Informatics and Computer Science at Saarland University and Francesco Botrè, Director of the WADA-accredited anti-doping laboratory in Rome, to answer these questions. Credits: Oscars, "Icarus" wins Best Documentary Feature, YouTube. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is doping? How do these prohibited substances work? In this Q&A episode, Euronews Tech Talks explores this topic with Andrea Petróczi, Professor of Public Health at Kingston University. Credit for Lance Armstrong interview: Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). “Oprah and Lance Armstrong: The Worldwide Exclusive”. Aired January 17–18, 2013. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Plastic and chemical pollution in marine environments pose a major threat to the health of our oceans. Euronews Tech Talks interviews two experts to understand the scale of the problem and explore the technological solutions that could help address it. Simon Bernard, CEO of Plastic Odyssey, is on a world tour to collect solutions to plastic pollution; Anneliese Hodge is a researcher working on the impact sunscreen has on the marine environment. The next episode of Euronews Tech Talks will delve into the world of doping. If you have a scientific question about it, please reach out to alice.carnevali@euronews.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens on a satellite’s launch day? What are the thoughts and emotions of those behind the mission? In this second of two special episodes on the European Space Agency’s Biomass satellite, Euronews Tech Talks takes you to Kourou for a behind-the-scenes look at the launch to answer these questions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The European Space Agency (ESA)’s Biomass satellite is designed to measure the amount of carbon stored in tropical forests. It was launched from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, on 29 April 2025. In the first of two special episodes dedicated to the mission, Euronews Tech Talks takes you to French Guiana on the eve of the launch to explore what the satellite is designed to do and how people were feeling in the final hours before liftoff. Credits podcast cover: ESA - M. Pédoussaut/Zetapress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The deregulation of a new generation of genetically modified organisms is stirring debate across the European Union. Euronews Tech Talks dives into the controversy, exploring whether the EU should ease restrictions on cutting-edge genetic technologies, by listening to both sides of the debate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode, we’ll dive into the world of new genomic techniques and their application in the agricultural sector. Once again, our journey will take us to the UK, more precisely in Hertfordshire, a county in southeast England. Here, a group of scientists is running Europe’s first gene-edited wheat field trial created through CRISPR-Cas. We’ll quickly realise that just like their ancestors, NGTs are a highly divisive topic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are widely discussed, yet few truly understand what they are and how they work. In this Q&A episode of Euronews Tech Talks, we answer your questions with Josep Casacuberta, a researcher at the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics in Barcelona and chair of the GMO panel at EFSA. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When tackling a problem, we’re often told to step back and look at it from a different perspective. Earth observation from space does just that, providing crucial data on our planet’s biggest challenges. In this episode of Euronews Tech Talks, we explore this topic with Jean-Christophe Gros, EU Programme Coordinator at ESA. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is space debris? How do we manage it? Is it dangerous? Euronews Tech Talks investigates with Quentin Verspieren, Space Safety Programme Coordinator at the European Space Agency (ESA). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Artemis program, Mars exploration, and the future of the International Space Station mark an exciting era for space. ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano joins Euronews Tech Talks to discuss these projects and Europe's role in them. Former commander of the International Space Station, Parmitano is now based in Houston, in the United States. There he works as the liaison officer between the European Astronaut Centre and the Johnson Space Centre, he answers the call: “Houston, we have a problem!” and he trains other astronauts for spacewalks. Image credits: ESA Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.