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Eureka! the most popular science radio broadcast in Catalonia closes. Thanks to a large protest the program can go on but with budget cut.

Logo of the 10th anniversary of COMRàdio

“Even though we felt really satisfied of the work conducted in Eureka! The program can’t go on. Audience results were good and it was a very high level program, but it doesn’t follow the new line of the radio broadcaster”. This is the reason given by the Director of the Catalan COMRàdio to close Eureka!, the radio program specialized in popular science. “After twelve years as director and leader of the entire project to talk about science by radio, I feel really sad” Monica López says.

Mònica Lopez speaker and director of the science program Eureka! COMRàdio which closed last July.

Every week-end she accompanied the mornings of thousands of people telling about science and technology advances in Catalonia, raised discussions on the most actual science-ethical problems and, at the same time, together with Dani Jímenez and many others colleagues, enjoyed and stimulated the audience’s curiosity with scientific games and nice anecdotes on scientists. Last 22nd of July a myriad of email had been sent to the mailing list of ACCC, the Catalan Associations of Science Communication, to share Monica’s contempt. For many of them the closing of Eureka!, without the substitution by on other science program, implies a “weakening of the scientific information”.  In reaction to the general disapproval, the director of COMRàdio, now called La Xarxa, proposed Mònica to lead a new popular science program, Sàpiencia, aired last 9th September, with the aim to broadcast the research advances made in Catalonia. “But don’t deceive ourselves” says Mònica, “I refers not only to the hours cut, from six to one, but especially to the budget cut. It isn’t sufficient neither for the team nor for the collaborators. But let’s go ahead positive, science in Catalonia still has a speaker to explain the research and the good work that is happening in our country.”