Lawless Planet – “The Bombing of the Rainbow Warrior”
Host: Zach Goldbaum | Guest: Bunny McDiarmid (Former Greenpeace Crew)
Date: October 13, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Lawless Planet investigates the historic 1985 bombing of Greenpeace’s flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, in Auckland, New Zealand—a brazen act of state-sponsored sabotage by the French secret service. Host Zach Goldbaum, with firsthand testimony from former crew member Bunny McDiarmid and others, unpacks the events leading up to the attack, its geopolitical fallout, and the enduring legacy for environmental activism.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. A Pacific Tragedy: Legacy of Nuclear Testing

• Rongelap Atoll’s Ordeal ([00:00–03:21])

  • The episode opens with a harrowing account of the 1954 Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb test and its catastrophic effects on the people of Rongelap: radiation sickness, deformities like “jellyfish babies,” and decades of official neglect.
  • Quote: “No one had worn the Rungelapis, but the Americans had just carried out a nuclear test called Castle Bravo. … Within days, the islanders experienced vomiting, diarrhea and skin burns. … The most common, jellyfish babies. Infants born with no bones and translucent skin.” (Zach Goldbaum, [01:10])

• Greenpeace Steps In: Operation Exodus ([03:21–06:42])

  • After years of ignored pleas, Rongelap’s senator appeals to Greenpeace. The Rainbow Warrior, with Bunny McDiarmid among its crew, undertakes a massive evacuation of 304 residents to safer islands—a risky, unprecedented humanitarian mission.
  • Quote:
    “To agree to give up your land, it’s like giving up part of your soul. In the Marshalls, they say if your land goes, your spirit goes too.” (Bunny McDiarmid, [03:46])
  • Emotional arrival: Island women greet the crew with a handkerchief reading “we love the future of our kids.” ([04:21])
  • Logistics: Dismantling homes, moving 100 tons of material over three trips.

2. The Bombing: July 10, 1985

• Pre-Bombing Tensions & Surveillance ([06:42–13:35])

  • After helping Rongelap, the Rainbow Warrior heads to New Zealand to prepare for dangerous anti-nuclear protests opposing French nuclear tests at Mururoa Atoll.
  • The mood is hopeful; the crew celebrates Steve Sawyer’s birthday hours before disaster.

• Attack on the Rainbow Warrior ([13:35–15:47])

  • Two French agents enter the harbor by Zodiac under cover of night, plant explosives, and flee.
  • First explosion clears the crew, the second fatally traps photographer Fernando Pereira as he retrieves his camera.
  • Quote:
    “I got woken up about 1:30… it was Martini, our first mate, calling us to tell us that the boat was sunk and Fernando was missing.” (Bunny McDiarmid, [14:47])

3. The Investigation and International Outcry

• Police Response and Breakthroughs ([15:47–22:47])

  • With no specialized squad, New Zealand police led by Alan Galbraith undertake the investigation.
  • A key clue—a white Toyota campervan’s license plate—traced to two supposed Swiss “honeymooners.”
  • The suspects arouse further suspicion via a hotel phone call traced to the French secret service.
  • Undercover surveillance and a network of witness statements systematically unravel the French plot.
  • Quote:
    “The New Zealanders felt like it happened to them… The Prime Minister in New Zealand at the time was a man called David Lange, who was a kind of brilliant orator.” (Bunny McDiarmid, [17:29])

• French Cover-up and Exposure ([23:16–33:02])

  • French secret service operatives, aided by a mole ("Frederic Banloo") embedded within Greenpeace, orchestrated the bombing.
  • Journalists in France (notably Eduit Pleinel in Le Monde) uncover the government’s involvement, precipitating the collapse of official denials and resignations at the highest levels.
  • Quote:
    “The truth about this affair is cruel, but it is essential that it be clearly and thoroughly established. Agents of the French Secret Service sank this boat. They acted on orders.” (French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius, [35:17])
  • Prime Minister David Lange’s Reaction:
    “It is all inconceivably unacceptable behaviour…With this acknowledgement by France that it sent spies to our sovereign country, the relationship is bad.” ([35:50]-[36:09])

4. Aftermath and Legacy

• Diplomatic Fallout and Nuclear-Free Legislation ([36:09–37:17])

  • New Zealand leverages the tragedy into international policy gains: South Pacific nations sign the Rarotonga Treaty, creating a nuclear-free zone.
  • Ongoing activism escalates; Greenpeace faces continued adversity, but also triumphs when, after years of direct action, France ends nuclear testing in 1992.

• Justice and Ongoing Struggles ([37:17–40:29])

  • Only the “honeymooners” are held to any account, and only briefly.
  • France pays Greenpeace $8 million in a settlement.
  • Greenpeace is forced to scuttle the Rainbow Warrior; its remains become a marine sanctuary.

• Reflections on Nonviolence and Hope ([38:27–42:13])

  • Quote:
    “You’re a human being. You still make a decision if this is the right thing to do or not. … So I don’t forgive those guys for what they did.” (Bunny McDiarmid, [38:27])
  • The episode ends with uncertainty about Greenpeace’s future, as legal and financial pressures mount worldwide, but also with hope.
  • Quote:
    “I take heart in the fact that Greenpeace is an idea and that's impossible to kill with a lawsuit.” (Bunny McDiarmid, [40:29])
  • Quote (final message of encouragement):
    “There's enough people that recognize that we are part of nature… There's always someone in a crowd who will put their hand up and say, I disagree, and someone else will choose to stand with them.” (Bunny McDiarmid, [41:09–41:44])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Radioactive “snow” falls on Rongelap children:
  “It fell on the tongues of giddy children who had heard stories of snow from visiting Westerners. What the Rongelapese didn't know… was pulverized radioactive coral.” (Zach Goldbaum, [00:43])
• On the importance of land in the Pacific:
  “It’s an extraordinary thing to do. To agree to give up your land, it’s like giving up part of your soul.” (Bunny McDiarmid, [03:46])
• On the impact of the bombing:
  “It was like living in this oppressive sort of atmosphere. I mean, it's a fascinating story. It's tragic, it's criminal, it's state terrorism, it's murder.” (Bunny McDiarmid, [22:47])
• French arrogance and exposure:
  “The French treated New Zealand like it was this little Pacific backwater and they could just do whatever they liked and no one would really notice. Well, people noticed.” (Bunny McDiarmid, [28:02])

Timeline of Events (with Timestamps)

• 1954: Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb contaminates Rongelap ([00:00])
• May 17, 1985: Rainbow Warrior completes Operation Exodus ([04:17])
• July 10, 1985: French agents bomb the Rainbow Warrior ([13:35])
• July 12, 1985: Investigation leads to arrest of “honeymooners” ([18:10])
• Sept 16–22, 1985: French journalists expose operation, government admits involvement ([33:02]–[35:17])
• Post-1985: South Pacific Nuclear-Free Treaty and ongoing activism ([36:42]–[39:40])
• 1992: End of French nuclear weapons testing ([39:40])

Conclusion

This episode delivers a gripping, human-centered exploration of the Rainbow Warrior bombing—how daring activism collided with superpower secrecy, and how this act of violence shaped the global anti-nuclear movement and environmental advocacy. With evocative storytelling and reflective firsthand accounts, Lawless Planet reveals not just the facts of a historic crime, but its deeper legacy of resilience, activism, and hope.

For further context and credits, see episode’s acknowledgments and suggested readings at the end of the transcript.