Welcome back to Making Sense of EU! This is already the fourth episode of the serie's second season.As a reminder, as part of the RED-SPINEL research project, said season is dedicated to exploring the challenges liberal democracy is facing in the European Union.Our understanding of who we are, how we perceive others, and what our sense of belonging might be all depend on the stories we tell ourselves. In a context marked by polarization and even disinformation; dissensus surrounding these common stories can have far-reaching consequences. To help us Make sense of the stories being told about European democracies and their corollary values, we welcome professors François Foret &amp; Maximilian Conrad.   François Foret is professor of Polituical Science and president of the Institut d'étdues européennes (IEE) at the Université libre de Bruxells. His research interest include: European integration; identity and memory; symbolic legitimization of political orders; interaction between religion and politics; comparative politicsMaximilian Conrad  (https://www.hi.is/starfsfolk/mc)is Professor at University of Iceland - Háskóli Íslands. He is also the Principal Investigator of RECLAIM (https://reclaim.hi.is/en/), a fellow Horizon-funded project on "Reclaiming Liberal Democracy in Europe". His research interest include: European integration, German politics, and political theory, particularly issues connected to democracy, communication, civil society, and the public sphere. Ongoing research includes work on the implications of post-truth politics for liberal democracy in Europe.

Making sense of EU storytelling in times of dissensus and disinformation

Discover how technology and innovative finance are helping communities protect forests and build sustainable economies. In this episode of Life of PIE, host Onye Idoko speaks with Nicolas Prieto, MSc Prosperity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship alum and CEO of climate tech startup Voltiva, and Tereza Bízková., co-founder of Refi Medellin. They explore real-world examples of crypto and regenerative finance in action in Colombia.

Date of episode recording: 2025-11-09
Duration: 00:35:17
Language of episode: English
Presenter: Onya Idoko
Guests: Nicolas Prieto and Tereza Bízková
Producer: Juan Manuel Fournier Castillo
Names of the podcast owner: Victoria Howard

How Can Crypto Protect Forests and Empower Communities

Can music unlock memories for people with dementia? In this episode, Professor Philip Schofield and Dr Jess Jiang, Senior Research Fellow in Neurodegenerative Diseases, draw on cutting-edge science as they explore the links between hearing and dementia. Dr Jiang explains how music not only supports treatment and emotional connection but also helps track disease progression for drug development. About the series How much do we understand the human mind? This question is at the heart of Beautiful Minds- The Greatest Good. Uncover facts about the mind as our expert speakers challenge misconceptions of autism, clear up common myths about Tourette's Syndrome and propose strategies for making our society more inclusive. 

 Date of episode recording: 2024-12-01
 Duration: 19:26
 Language of episode: English
 Guests: Dr Jess Jiang
 Presenter: Professor Philip Schofield
 Director: Justin Hardy (IOE - Culture, Communication & Media, UCL) 
Producer: Stevie Doran

Season 2, Episode 4 - Music and Memory, featuring Dr Jess Jiang

This episode brings you the highlights from a special event from UCL marking 10 years since the Paris Agreement.  Hear how it continues to influence policy, markets, and public debate — and what lies ahead as the world confronts climate change in an era of geopolitical turbulence.  

Host Professor Mark Maslin (UCL Earth System Science) joins forces with Professor Lisa Vanhala (UCL Political Science) from a live event co‑hosted with the French Embassy in London, UCL’s European Institute, UCL Faculty of Laws and UCL's Grand Challenge for the Climate Crisis.  

The event brought together diplomats, policymakers, and academics to reflect on the legacy, challenges, and future of the Paris Agreement and their hopes for COP30 in Brazil.  Essential listening for anyone interested in climate governance, international cooperation, and the future of multilateralism.

From the optimism of 2015 to the realities of climate governance in 2025, we bring you highlights and hope from the panel who explore whether multilateralism can survive political fragmentation, how markets are reshaping the clean energy transition, and how solidarity across nations is so challenging.

Panel chaired by Professor Eloise Scotford (Dean of UCL Faculty of Laws), featuring:

•            Dan Bradley (UK Mission to the EU) 
•            Adam Berman (Energy UK) 
•            Professor Jean Jouzel (CEA, Academy of Science) 
•            Dr Pedro Schilling de Carvalho (UCL) 
•            Professor Lisa Vanhala (UCL) 

Date of episode recording: 12th November 2025 
Duration: 00:46:52 
Language of episode: English  
Host: Professor Mark Maslin and Professor Lisa Vanhala

Season 5, Episode 11 - Paris +10 Live event: reflections on the impact of the Paris Agreement

In this episode, host Ethne James Souch speaks with Professor Mette Louise Berg, Dr Judith Spirig, Faith Nyamakanga, and Nelson Gomez about the lived realities of asylum housing in the UK, and the wider political and policy landscape that shapes them. Drawing from a Grand Challenges-funded participatory research project focused on asylum dispersal areas in Yorkshire, the episode explores how narratives of "deservingness," local resource pressures, and privatised housing systems intersect with the everyday experiences of people seeking sanctuary in the UK. With co-researchers Faith and Nelson sharing their experiences navigating the asylum process and housing insecurity, this conversation amplifies voices that are often left out of public discourse while also offering concrete insights into how policy and public attitudes might change. 

 Date of episode recording: 2025-08-25
 Duration: 00:31:00
 Language of episode: English
 Presenter: Ethne James Souch
 Guests: Professor Mette Louise Berg; Dr. Judith Spirig, Faith Nyamakanga and Nelson Gomez
 Producer: Annabelle Buckland
 Podcast Owners:  Annabelle Buckland; Daisy Harvey, Ethne James Souch and Siobhan Morris

Transcript Link: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/grand-challenges/disruptive-voices-podcast/asylum-housing-and-community

Asylum, Housing, and Community

As the number of children diagnosed with ADHD and autism rises, Professor Philip Schofield sits down with Dr Emily Midouhas, Associate Professor in Psychology, to explore how best to support neurodivergent children. Dr Midohas highlights the emotional and behavioural challenges neurodivergent children face, and offers fresh ideas on how to support neurodivergent students. About the series How much do we understand the human mind? This question is at the heart of Beautiful Minds- The Greatest Good. Uncover facts about the mind as our expert speakers challenge misconceptions of autism, clear up common myths about Tourette's Syndrome and propose strategies for making our society more inclusive.


Credits:
Date of episode recording: 2024-12-01
Duration: 22:06
Language of episode: English
Presenter: Professor Philip Schofield 
Guests: Dr Emily Midouhas 
Producer: Professor David Docherty OBE & Dr Paul Ayris (Pro-Vice-Provost LCCOS: Library, Culture, Collections and Open Science, UCL) D     Director: Justin Hardy (IOE - Culture, Communication & Media, UCL) Producer: Stevie Doran
Podcast owner: Professor David Docherty OBE & Dr Paul Ayris (Pro-Vice-Provost LCCOS: Library, Culture, Collections and Open Science, UCL) 

Transcript Link: https://otter.ai/u/hPS8c0xZkW5XMvGmSdzGJ3fB8Eg











Season 2, Episode 5 - Supporting Neurodiverse Children, featuring Dr Emily Midouhas

In this deeply personal and refreshingly honest episode, hosts Zhitong Li and Phoebe Chen sit down with pianist and UCL Management Science student Kaito Mizukoshi for a conversation that flows between introspection, culture, and the unexpected rhythms of life with ADHD. 

Kaito opens up about receiving his ADHD diagnosis in London, years after growing up in Japan where the condition is often overlooked—or even quietly associated with success. He shares how this new understanding reshaped the way he studies, practices music, and takes care of himself, revealing the strategies, struggles, and surprising gifts that come with a restless mind. 

From five-hour piano practice sessions to battling distraction during coursework, from navigating UCL as an international student to finding connection across cultural gaps, Kaito reflects on identity, belonging, and the power of self-knowledge. 

The trio dive into stigma, romanticisation of mental health, friendship, and the small but meaningful ways we learn to work with—not against—our own nature. Set to the delicate beauty of Debussy performed by Kaito himself, this episode is an intimate look at how one student turns introspection into empowerment and transforms challenge into creativity.


Credits:
Date of episode recording: 2024-07-04
Duration: 00:40:58
Language of episode: english
Presenter: Zhitong Li, Phoebe Chen
Guests: Kaito Mizukoshi
Producer: takoua jendoubi
Podcast Owner: Takoua Jendoubi

Episode 4 - Living Between Tempos — ADHD, Music, and the International Student Journey with Kaito Mizukoshi

As long as there has been photographic and video imagery, there have been manipulated videos and photos. But only in the last decade or so have the public become aware of what are known as “deepfakes”, computer or AI generated fake images, often of celebrities. The spread of deepfake imagery raises questions about truth and authenticity online – can we still trust what we see on screen?

To discuss deepfakes, and the idea of trust and authenticity in the digital sphere more broadly, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Gili Vidan, Assistant Professor of Information Science at Cornell University’s Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science.

This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Avan Fata.

Further reading and resources

•	Robert Chesney & Danielle K. Citron, Deep Fakes: A Looming Challenge for Privacy, Democracy, and National Security,107 California Law Review 1753 (2019).
•	Habgood-Coote, Joshua (2023). Deepfakes and the epistemic apocalypse. Synthese 201 (3):1-23.

Take the Ballpark Listener survey and enter the prize draw for £250 in vouchers!

The Ballpark will be ten years old in 2026, and we want to hear from you to make the podcast even better, so we’re running a listener survey until 1 November 2025. 

•	Fill in our listener survey – it only takes 15 minutes – here: https://forms.office.com/e/Vcj8V8uGM1 
•	Voucher prize draw terms and conditions are available here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/united-states/the-ballpark/ballpark-listener-survey-prize-terms-conditions-2025 

LSE: The Ballpark | AI and deepfakes with Dr Gili Vidan

It seems every week we hear a new report of a cyber-attack. Recent examples include the hacks on Marks and Spencer's, Jaguar Land Rover, and the Co-op, all causing massive economic disruption.    

While these attacks seem to have come from cyber criminals working within the UK rather than other nation states, they highlight the destruction that cyber-attacks can wreak. What if those attacks were on our critical infrastructure? Our national grid? Our water supply? Is the UK prepared? 

Charlotte Kelloway meets former Director of Operations and Intelligence for the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Nigel Inkster, who discusses when a cyber-attack could constitute a declaration of war.  

She also talks to former Director Cyber in the Foreign Office and Associate Dean for Strategic Development at the LSE School of Public Policy Professor Alexander Evans about what the UK is doing defensively and offensively to prevent cyber-attacks.  

Dr Lauren Sukin from Nuffield College at the University of Oxford explains why there is a lack of regulation in the cyberwar space and explores if depictions of cyberwar in the media are realistic.  

Contributors: Professor Alexander Evans, Dr Lauren Sukin, Nigel Inkster    

Research links:  

Lauren Sukin: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00220027231153580  

Nigel Inkster: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Decoupling-Struggle-Technological-Supremacy/dp/1787383830  

LSE iQ is a university podcast by the London School of Economics and Political Science.  

Will the next World War be a cyberwar?

In this episode, we are unpacking how effective COP30 really was, did the promises match the expectations and  where did world leaders deliver or fall short . COP 30 was held in Belém, the gateway to the Amazon. From extreme heat and climate-driven floods and fires to the political symbolism of choosing the Amazon over Rio, the setting shaped everything. 

The expectations were high this year. Brazil promised a ‘forest-first COP,’ with more youth engagement, significant inclusion of indigenous communities and major moves on finance and fossil fuels. Our host Simon Chin Yee, from UCL’s School of Public Policy and one of our guest Elena, Climate Reality Project Central and Eastern Europe, both of whom attended COP30 shares their biggest takeaways from Belem.

Our other guest, Susannah Fisher, is a leading researcher and author whose new book on climate adaptation, Sink or Swim, was published in August (Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sink-Swim-world-changing-climate/dp/1399414054/). In this episode, she explains why adaptation is a crucial part of the COP agenda and why it can’t be overlooked.

The episode also features the recent National Emergency Briefing on climate, and its important call to action to sign their petition to ask the government and all public service broadcasters to hold an urgent televised briefing so that everyone understands the profound risks this crisis poses to themselves and their families.
https://www.nebriefing.org/open-letter-keir
 
Credits:
Date of episode recording: 28th Nov 2026
Duration: 39:38
Language of episode: English 
Presenter: Professor Mark Maslin and Dr Simon Chin-Yee
Producer: Adam Batstone

Guests:
Susannah Fisher – Author and Principal Research Fellow at Department of Risk and Disaster Reduction, UCL.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sink-Swim-world-changing-climate/dp/1399414054/
Elena-Alexandra Miron – Central and Eastern Europe Regional Organiser, Climate Reality Project.

Season 5, Episode 12 - The COP Verdict: What Went Right and Wrong

In this episode, Professor Philip Schofield sits down with Dr Jane Gilmour, Clinical Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Clinical Psychologist, to debunk the myths around the condition. Dr Gilmour offers a fresh perspective on Tourette's: sharing insights into treatment, and championing how society should not condemn what causes no harm.

About the series How much do we understand the human mind? This question is at the heart of Beautiful Minds- The Greatest Good. Uncover facts about the mind as our expert speakers challenge misconceptions of autism, clear up common myths about Tourette's Syndrome and propose strategies for making our society more inclusive.

Credits:

Date of episode recording: 2024-12-01
Duration: 00:29:11
Language of episode: English
Presenter: Professor Philip Schofield
Guests: Dr Jane Gilmour
Producer: Stevie Doran
Director: Justin Hardy (IOE - Culture, Communication & Media, UCL)  
Commissioners: Professor David Docherty OBE & Dr Paul Ayris (Pro-Vice-Provost LCCOS: Library, Culture, Collections and Open Science, UCL) 

Season 2, Episode 6 - Tourette’s Mythbusting, featuring Dr Jane Gilmour

L’IEE-ULB est un centre d’excellence interdisciplinaire en enseignement et recherche. Il se concentre sur les questions européennes.