> Are you able to organize that on company time? Are you guys clocked in during your meetings?

I've approved or started (or both) this sort of thing on company time before, at more than one place.

For context, this was typically early stage R&D, and many/most of the employees had some academic background, though that ranged from "decades ago" to "we just hired you after a masters degree".

In this setting, it's a pretty natural continuation of the common "journal club" approach in academic research groups. It spreads the effort around, helps the team stay on top of new work, and generally improves professional development - if done well. It does take a bit of effort to keep fresh.