Unfrozen: The Fight for the Future of the Arctic with Mia Bennett

About this episode

Mia Bennett discusses the impact of climate change and geopolitical competition in the Arctic, highlighting the region's transformation and the implications for Indigenous Peoples and global politics.

Nowhere is the dual threat of climate change and geopolitical contest felt more strongly than in the Arctic. Sea ice is declining rapidly, wildfires are burning, and permafrost is thawing. All the while, global interest is gathering apace as the region transforms from being a frozen desert into an international waterway. In this episode, Mia Bennett—co-author with Kalus Dodds of Unfrozen: The Fight for the Future of the Arctic (Yale UP, 2025)—discusses the state of the Arctic today, highlighting the twin dangers of climate change and geopolitical competition, as well as how the region is becoming a space for experimentation in everything from Indigenous governance to subsea technologies. Growing geopolitical competition is accompanying environmental disruption. Countries including Russia, China, and the United States are investing in the Arctic and consolidating their interests in strategic access, resource exploitation, and alliance-building. The consequences of this emerging Arctic Anthropocene are truly global, from rising sea levels due to melting glaciers to tensions between great powers determined to protect their territory and resources, and the well-being of Indigenous…

People in this episode

Guest: Mia Bennett

Topics covered

• climate change
• geopolitical competition
• Arctic governance
• Indigenous rights
• resource exploitation
• environmental disruption

Keywords

• Arctic
• climate change
• geopolitics
• Indigenous governance
• resource exploitation
• environmental disruption
• sea ice
• permafrost
• global stakes

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Yale UP

Places: Arctic, Russia, China, United States, University of Washington

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