🎧 As 2025 wraps up, we’re revisiting our most-listened podcasts of the year. From Pfizergate and spyware to festival takeovers and fast fashion, these episodes sparked major conversations. We’ve curated special Spotify and YouTube playlists to revisit the highlights.

Which stories mattered most in 2025? This year, we uncovered stories powerful actors would rather keep hidden, from corruption in the European Parliament to data privacy failures, sanctions dodging and hidden lobbying in Brussels. We’ve compiled the top 10 most-read investigations of the year.

This end-of-year edition of Europe Uncovered brings together the most impactful investigations of the year. From corruption and war crimes to surveillance, sanctions-busting and environmental harm, these are the stories journalists exposed that powerful actors would rather keep hidden.

"There’s an important distinction between diplomacy and unwanted influence." In a recent podcast, journalist @salsabilfayed.bsky.social explained how transparent engagement differs from influence driven by hidden funding. 🎧 Listen back here: www.ftm.eu/articles/thi...

We’re closing the year with a special edition of Bureau Brussels. Our reporters look back on the moments that defined their work in 2025 – from playground Pfizergate revelations to last-minute publishing pressure and a Daphne Prize–winning investigation. www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...

Our final Europe Uncovered of the year is out! From Commission-backed “green” funds financing weapons to Slovak arms sold in Yemen and Russian oligarchs suing Ukraine, this week’s investigations show how power, money and conflict collide across Europe.

Power prefers silence. We don’t. Our members make our investigations possible. Reaching 50,000 by December means more video reporting, a new disinformation series, cross-border investigations, and 1,000 gifted memberships to keep journalism accessible. Support FTM today: www.ftm.eu/powertoaccou...

💡Think tanks shape Europe’s policies – but who funds them? In our latest podcast, journalist Alistair Keepe discussed how U.S.-funded and Europe-based think tanks influence EU policymaking, including the role of Orbán-linked MCC Brussels. Re-listen here: www.ftm.eu/articles/thi...

Europe’s green farming paradox: who really benefits? 🐷🌿 The Netherlands spends billions to cut livestock pollution, yet its biggest pig farmer is paid millions to shut a mega farm once backed as “green”. Our investigation shows EU farm policies still favour the largest players.

⚖️The final Crime & Corruption newsletter of 2025 is out. From fresh legal hurdles in Qatargate to developments in Europe’s biggest VAT fraud case and new NATO procurement suspensions, it’s been another busy year for anyone tracking power, money and accountability in Europe. Read it here 👇

👕♻️ Second-hand clothing is meant to be sustainable. Our latest podcast dives into a recent investigation that used AirTags to track donated clothes, revealing journeys from Europe to the UAE and Pakistan – and sometimes even back to the EU – where return trips can triple emissions. 🎧 Listen below:

⚖️As Ukraine fights a full-scale invasion, sanctioned Russian billionaires are demanding hundreds of millions in compensation – exploiting investment treaties to sue the war-torn state from courtrooms across Europe. Read the article: www.ftm.eu/articles/rus...

𝗪𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗲. To keep investigating, we need to reach 50,000 members. Reaching this goal means investing more in videos, disinformation reporting, and supporting other independent European media outlets. 💡 Support independent journalism today: www.ftm.eu/powertoaccou...

🇪🇺📬 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘂 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱: we cover familiar questions of transparency, accountability and power in the EU. In this edition: • Just 19 staff handling the EU's transparency system • How Telegram may overstep EU rules • Why Commission revolving-door breaches go unpunished Read it below:

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱: a Russia-linked banker allegedly threatened Euroclear officials, a sperm donor carrying a cancer-linked mutation fathered 197 children across Europe, and Russia’s shadow fleet is slipping off the radar to evade sanctions. 🔗 Read this week's edition below:

636 Russian oil tankers are sanctioned by the EU. The oil still flows. Russia’s “shadow fleet” evades sanctions via hidden ship-to-ship transfers and owner name and flag changes. This keeps oil moving, puts waters at risk, and funnels billions into the Kremlin’s war chest. Read our investigation:

🎧 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗨.𝗦. 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲’𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 Journalists Salsabil Fayed, Alistair Keepe and Ada Homolová revealed that a third of the funding behind Brussels’ top think tanks comes from U.S. sources – giving American interests a quiet foothold in EU policy. Listen below:

🪙 Did crypto really shift power to the people? Cryptocurrency promised a financial revolution beyond banks and governments. In our recent episode, journalist Thomas Bollen explains how power ended up concentrated again – with far less regulation. 🎧 Listen here: www.ftm.eu/articles/pod...

🚨 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗨’𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗳𝘆 (𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁) 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 With Investigate Europe & EUobserver, we track how EU transparency is being pushed back – from the new "Infosec" bill to Gaza, von der Leyen’s messages & pressure on Aarhus. Read it here: www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...

📡🚢 Russian-linked ships are vanishing from tracking maps across Europe’s seas. Our investigation finds their signals now drop more than twice as often as in the first year of the Ukraine war – raising fears of sanctions dodging and hidden cargo. Read the full story: www.ftm.eu/articles/swi...

🇪🇺📬This week in Bureau Brussels: Luxury offices at NATO’s €1bn fund. A fresh corruption scandal in the EU’s foreign service. And a revolving-door loophole sending ex-MEP aides straight into lobbying. Read the latest edition here:

Israel’s largest defence company has been suspended by NATO. A key figure associated with the company is wanted internationally for alleged bribery. The suspension blocks the company from competing for contracts worth millions. 🔗 Read the full story: www.ftm.eu/articles/isr...

⚽️🚫 What’s the penalty for violating international sanctions? Our new investigation shows how FIFA is pressuring European clubs to pay Russian teams despite EU sanctions and frozen payment channels following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Read the full story here: www.ftm.eu/articles/fif...

Toxic landfills in flood zones. Sanctioned spyware still infecting victims. FIFA pressured EU clubs to pay Russian teams. Plus: a Nazi memorabilia scandal in Sweden, a failed deepfake probe in Slovakia, and Danish firms still profiting in Russia. 📰 Here’s this week's edition of Europe Uncovered:

⚽🚫 Pay Russian clubs and risk breaching sanctions – or refuse and face a transfer ban. That was the trap major European clubs like West Ham, FC Basel and PSV fell into after a FIFA warning. Today, as FIFA hands out its Peace Prize, questions over its ethics remain. Read the full story below:

A Romanian coal plant burning some of Europe’s dirtiest fuel reported near-zero emissions just as EU carbon prices surged. By using data from its own lab, it may have dodged €250m+ in carbon costs, raising sharp questions about climate oversight in Brussels. 🔗 Read the full story below:

👕♻️ When you donate clothes, you expect them to stay local, right? But our investigation shows that some travel thousands of kilometres for sorting and resale – even from Europe to South Asia and back, in such cases tripling their carbon footprint. 🔗 Read the full story: www.ftm.eu/articles/eur...

Last night, EU countries finally agreed on new corruption rules after years of deadlock. What took so long and what did they leave out? Plus fresh bribery tapes implicating Dutch maritime giants and major updates on Mogherini, Sarkozy, and Netanyahu. 🔗 Read our latest Crime & Corruption newsletter:

𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆? In this week’s FTM podcast, Thomas Bollen explains why money is not “real” in the way we think it is, how banks control around 90% of it, why reform keeps failing, and what democratic control would actually take. 🎧 Listen to the latest episode here:

𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘃𝘀 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲: 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝘂𝗱? EU regulators say Google is abusing its dominance and distorting competition. In our latest podcast, we break down what our investigation found – and why the U.S. might step in to stop Brussels from acting. 🎧 Latest episode: youtu.be/o72231r4hLk

🪙 Europe wants a digital euro to cut reliance on U.S. payment giants – but banks are resisting, and MEP Navarrete leading the proposal has met mostly banking lobbies. The pushback has delayed the ECB’s plan and left Europe lagging behind China and the U.S. Full story: www.ftm.eu/articles/eur...

🇪🇺📬 December begins with a fresh edition of Bureau Brussels. What’s in store? Parliament tightens its revolving door for former staff, a probe into a debunked NGO scandal drags on, and foreign interference remains one of Europe’s pressing threats. 🔗Here’s the latest edition:

From climate spin to dirty clothing detours, mafia networks, to a booming manosphere industry, this week’s Europe Uncovered digs into the realities hiding behind the bloc’s clean image. 👉 Here’s Europe’s hardest-hitting investigations of the week: www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...

𝗜𝘀 𝗘𝗨 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘆? Our investigation found EU funds going to Netaş – almost half-owned by China's ZTE, labelled high-risk by the EU itself – whose surveillance tech was used to prosecute peaceful protesters. Full story here: www.ftm.eu/articles/tur...

👖🌱 Ever wonder where your dropped-off clothes go? Some travel thousands of kilometres – Spain to Pakistan and even back – sometimes tripling emissions vs local processing. Once outside the EU, the trail goes dark – and new Brussels rules may worsen it. Read more: www.ftm.eu/articles/eur...

In September, our investigation showed how Cambodian microfinance firms – including EU-funded LOLC Cambodia – pushed borrowers into desperation and may have caused suicide. Now LOLC has been awarded Gold Client Protection Certification. Read about the reality and the human cost behind these loans:

𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲. In our latest FTM EU podcast, Alexander Fanta and Simon Van Dorpe break down how Google built its dominance, why Brussels struggles to rein it in, and what a potential breakup battle could look like. 🎧Listen below:

🚑🕊️ The Red Cross stands for “neutrality” and “impartiality”. Our investigation shows Russia’s branch trains children in military skills, works with Kremlin linked groups, and operates in occupied Ukraine while still receiving millions from a system funded by EU governments. Full story below:

🇪🇺📬 New week, new Bureau Brussels newsletter. Shadow-fleet enablers pushed out of Germany, #Natogate hits Parliament, the Albanian mafia tied to an attempted hit on Brussels’ prosecutor – and the EU foreign-policy chief says there’s “nothing to see” in a secret Signal chat. 🔗 Read it below:

🇪🇺📥 A sneak peek inside this week’s Europe Uncovered: a system trapping mothers fleeing abuse; wrongful arrests; sanction loopholes; and a migration crackdown that punishes ordinary citizens 👉 Here’s Europe’s hardest-hitting investigations of the week: www.ftm.eu/articles/new...

Arrested in Italy. Wanted by the ICC for torture. Yet back in Libya as a free man within 48 hours. Our latest podcast with Lorenzo Bagnoli unpacks how migration politics may have overridden justice. 🎧 Listen now, free on our app for five days: www.ftm.eu/articles/pod...

🚨 NATO officials warned about corruption for years – and were ignored. Leaked files seen by FTM reveal blocked audits, missed warnings, staff pressure and inaction – plus five corruption probes already uncovered by FTM. 🔗Read the full story below:

Senegal’s EU-financed crackdown on smuggling isn’t just jailing the organisers – it’s also jailing ordinary people. From cooking a meal to renting a room, everyday acts are treated as smuggling. Most cases fall apart for lack of evidence – but only after months in detention. Full story 👇

⚖️📬 In our new Crime & Corruption newsletter: Denmark revives EU anti-corruption talks, charges against Manfred Weber are dropped, the world moves toward a UN tax treaty, Zelensky faces scrutiny over Ukraine’s energy sector, and an OnlyFans creator is jailed with a hefty tax bill.

𝗔𝗿𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀. 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗖𝗖 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿. So how did he end up back in Libya as a free man? Our new podcast explores how migration politics may have overridden international justice. 🎧 Listen now: www.ftm.eu/articles/pod...

📱Your favourite apps are getting pricier – and in some cases glitchier. WeTransfer, Meetup and Evernote now belong to a fast-growing Italian company that has laid off much of their staff. What does that mean for millions of users? Read the full article here: www.ftm.eu/articles/wet...

🇪🇺📬What’s happening in this week’s Bureau Brussels? Diplomats face the music over a secret Signal groupchat, Serbia and the Balkan’s press freedom is on its last legs while the Commission appears unbothered despite ongoing risks of secrets leaking to China through notified bodies. Latest edition👇

🇪🇺📥 This week in Europe Uncovered: vape lobbying creeps into EU health rules, Brussels-funded tech boosts Turkish surveillance, and football rushes into crypto. Plus: weak protections for U.K. seasonal workers and Swiss billionaires bending tax rules. Here’s this week’s best investigations:

🇲🇦 ⚒️Morocco’s phosphate powers Europe’s food and EVs –but communities living beside the mines say they’re paying the price. 🎧 In our latest podcast, journalist Manon Stravens investigates a mining giant accused of poisoning land and putting workers at risk: www.ftm.eu/articles/pod...

𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: EPPO has dropped fraud and corruption charges against Manfred Weber, saying there are “no reasonable grounds” to believe a crime was committed. Weber, the EPP president, had been investigated over alleged misuse of EU funds. 🔗 Full story here: www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...