Greenland

From World Questions by BBC World Service

November 8, 2025 · 49 min

About this episode

The episode discusses Greenland's political future and the perspectives of its people amidst international interest, particularly from the U.S.

President Trump is considering a variety of options – including military ones – to take control of Greenland. But what do Greenlanders think? Is Greenland up for sale? In this programme, politicians and the public debate independence, sovereignty, mining of rare earth minerals and Inuit human rights – some of the challenges facing the autonomous territory of Greenland. A former Danish colony, Greenland is the world’s largest island with a population of just 57,000 people. Jonny Dymond chairs a panel of leading politicians from Denmark and Greenland to debate the future of this fascinating Arctic region – and take some tough questions from the public. The panel: Naaja Nathanielsen – Minister of Industry, Raw Materials, Mining and Energy – Greenlandic Parliament. Louise Elholm - MP in the Danish Parliament. Venstre party spokeswoman on Greenland. Kuno Fencker – MP in the Greenlandic Parliament – opposition Naleraq party. Ulrick Pram Gad – Senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies. Producer: Helen Towner Sound engineers: Nathan Chamberlain, Denis O’Hare and Joe Lawrence (Photo: People protest under the slogan, "Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people"…

People in this episode

Host: Jonny Dymond

Guests: Naaja Nathanielsen, Louise Elholm, Kuno Fencker, Ulrick Pram Gad

Topics covered

Greenland
independence
sovereignty
mining
Inuit rights
politics
public debate

Keywords

Greenland
Trump
independence
sovereignty
mining
Inuit rights
politics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Danish Institute for International Studies, Venstre

Places: Greenland, Denmark, Nuuk