Live from Nuuk: Greenland in the eye of the storm

Summary

The Monocle Daily: Live from Nuuk – Greenland in the Eye of the Storm

Date: January 20, 2026
Host: Andrew Muller
Guests:

• Dr. Stephen Anfjord, Professor & Center Director, Center for Arctic Welfare, University of Greenland
• Ingadora G. Markusen, Chief Sustainability Officer, Air Greenland; former journalist and Vice Deputy Mayor of Nuuk
• Alexa Self, Monocle’s Foreign Editor

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Episode Overview

Broadcasting live from Katuaq, the Greenland Cultural Centre in Nuuk, this special edition of The Monocle Daily explores how Greenland has become a focal point in a new, escalating diplomatic crisis triggered by the interest and rhetoric of the US President. With a blend of local insight, global context, and personal stories, the panel delves into the transformation of Greenland’s identity and unity, the role of its critical infrastructure, and how locals are responding to unprecedented media and geopolitical attention.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene in Nuuk

• Atmosphere: The episode opens with vivid imagery of downtown Nuuk — “The great big cavernous atrium we’re broadcasting from with wood-lined walls…sun just about setting after 4 o’clock…a healthy covering of snow…wind is picking up.” (Andrew Muller, 01:44)

2. Sudden Global Attention – “Stranger Things” Vibes

• Shock of Attention:
  • Dr. Stephen Anfjord likens the global focus on Greenland to being in “a live show of Stranger Things or something like that.” (02:38)
  • Ingadora G. Markusen adds: “It’s been crazy times we’re living in...I don’t even know how to express my concerns about this situation.” (02:53)
• Unprecedented Media Presence: Foreign journalists are omnipresent; public displays and media feeds are now a regular feature in daily Greenlandic life.

3. Political Tension & Diplomacy

• Updates on Diplomatic Crisis:
  • Prime Minister Jens Frederick Nielsen urges civilians to prepare for the possibility (but not likelihood) of military conflict and reaffirms Greenland’s NATO membership. (03:18)
  • Foreign Minister Vivian Motsfeldt receives a hero’s welcome on her return from diplomatic talks, especially for her direct and emotionally resonant communications with the Greenlandic people. (06:14)
  • European leaders criticize the US President's aggressive posture, with Emmanuel Macron—wearing “aviator sunglasses due to an eye infection”—addressing the risk of new imperialism. (05:07)
• Community Solidarity: The panel emphasizes the tight-knit nature of Nuuk (pop. 20,000) and Greenland overall, with public displays of unity in support of government officials.

4. Greenlandic Identity and the Nature of Belonging

• Identity Under Pressure:

  • Ingadora G. Markusen describes being “goosebumps” moved by the Foreign Minister’s public addresses in Greenlandic, stressing, “You can’t buy our soul, you can’t buy us for money.” (12:31)

  • Dr. Stephen Anfjord reframes national identity as “a sense of unity, a sense of solidarity among everyone living here and sharing a history, sharing a culture...It’s us versus them in this situation.” (09:58)

    Notable Quote:

    “I mean, we don’t formally own the land, but we belong to it...This is part of indigenous culture – you can’t buy our soul.”
    – Ingadora G. Markusen [12:31]

• Relationship with Denmark:

  • Greenland’s relationship with Denmark, often tense, is temporarily strengthened. Calls for independence are “not really time for that right now...right now it’s about unity and staying together with partners we trust.” (10:59)

    Notable Quote:

    “Right now it’s about unity and, well, staying together with partners that we trust and build a trusting relationship with. Like Denmark.”
    – Dr. Stephen Anfjord [10:59]

• Independence Movement:

  • The foundational desire for independence remains, but recent events highlight the region’s vulnerability and the impracticality of independence under external threat. (14:40)

    Notable Quote:

    “There is a core need to be independent...But I think the general public is becoming more aware that there are new dangers we weren’t looking to, that we’re seeing from the west, which is completely paradoxical to us.”
    – Dr. Stephen Anfjord [14:40]

5. Voices from Nuuk: The Public Responds

• Man-on-the-Street Interviews:

  • Collected by Alexa Self, locals voice resilience, annoyance at the standoff, and frustration at the need for brinkmanship when partnership and investment were already on offer to the US. There’s also anxiety about the future.

    Notable Moments:

    “I’ve just tried to live as I normally do...of course, there’s been anxiety and I’ve had some difficult talks with my partner about what we do if there’s a possible invasion.”
    – Local resident [17:08]

    “You don’t need to threaten with a takeover or annexation. You have access to do investments, you have access to business in Greenland already. It’s annoying people, and now it’s also scaring a lot of people.”
    – Christian Keltzen, head of Greenlandic Business Association [17:55]

    "No, not with [Trump] in the White House."
    – Anonymous [18:57]

  • The “media circus” is noted—“It seems breakfast is just one big press pool with some boiled eggs...The biggest story in the world.” (Alexa Self, 19:26)

6. Life in Greenland: Infrastructure and Community

• Air Greenland – The Nation’s Lifeline:

  • Described as “uniquely intimate,” Air Greenland is critically interwoven with daily life and survival due to the absence of highways and the challenges of terrain and weather. (21:23)

  • Markusen: “We are serving our communities, and that is our standard...We affect people’s lives all the time.” (23:17)

  • Safety and community are paramount: pilots undergo specialized training for Arctic conditions, with service disruptions accepted as a fact of life due to unpredictable weather. (25:34)

    Notable Quote:

    “…This is the most complex operation in the whole of Europe. Of course we make a lot of training and simulators for our crew.”
    – Ingadora G. Markusen [25:34]

• Resilience and Adaptation:

  • People are practical and multi-talented—one interviewee is “a rock star, an Olympic badminton player and an insurance salesman.” (15:32)
  • Traditional activities, like hunting and fishing, are still core to even urban residents’ identities.

7. Greenland on the World Stage: Fashion and Culture

• Cultural Expression:

  • Interview with David Rogilds, co-founder of BB Chemnitz, the Greenlandic fashion brand behind the “Greenland is not for sale” slogan and hoodie, now a global phenomenon. (30:30)

  • Rogilds: “We’re not used to having media at this level...but we appreciate that you guys come here because we need somebody to speak up on our behalf.” (35:09)

    Notable Quotes:

    “Anorak is the men’s national garment here in Greenland...They made waterproof anorex from the intestines of polar bear or seal. Really beautiful.”
    – David Rogilds [32:02]

8. What Makes Greenland Special? Core Reflections

• Home and Connection to Land:

  • Dr. Anfjord: “It’s home...the view going up in the mountains, looking over the fjords and enjoying the cold breeze of air and enjoying Greenlandic food.” (27:40)

  • Markusen: “We are part of the Inuit culture. Inuit means human… We are attached to the nature, and this defines us. Try to learn something from the Inuit culture…accepting the nature’s way.” (28:26)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• “It’s like being in a live show of Stranger Things or something like that.”
  — Dr. Stephen Anfjord [02:38]

• “You can’t buy our soul, you can’t buy us for money. That’s obvious and that has been said again and again.”
  — Ingadora G. Markusen [12:31]

• “Now is not really a time to be split apart. Now it’s time to group together...It’s not really the time for [independence], it’ll come… But right now it’s about unity.”
  — Dr. Stephen Anfjord [10:59]

• “This is who Greenlanders are. We express our feelings, our thoughts, concerns very vividly, very expressional...We do not wear masks. We are very honest when it comes to things like that.”
  — Ingadora G. Markusen [06:14]

• “If you live and choose to live somewhere like Greenland and Nuuk, then you’re someone who is inherently practical...everyone I’ve met seems to have about three or four different jobs.”
  — Alexa Self [15:32]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening Scene/Setting in Nuuk: 01:44
• Political Context & Recent Events: 03:18 – 05:40
• Community Response to Foreign Minister: 06:14 – 09:12
• Greenlandic Identity and Unity: 09:12 – 12:31
• Discussion of Independence, Denmark-US Relations: 12:31 – 14:40
• On-the-Ground Reactions & Local Interviews: 15:32 – 19:02
• Air Greenland Discussion – Infrastructure: 21:23 – 25:34
• Reflections on Greenland’s Essence: 27:40 – 29:54
• BB Chemnitz and “Greenland is not for Sale”: 30:30 – 35:59

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Tone and Language

The episode maintains Monocle’s classic blend of informed global reporting and conversational, lightly irreverent tone. Panelists are direct, candid, and often moving in their evocation of Greenlandic life and culture, balancing personal anecdotes with sober political analysis.

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Closing Thoughts

This episode provides a vibrant, nuanced portrait of Greenland—its people, politics, culture, and sense of unity at a time of extraordinary pressure. More than just a story about geopolitics, it’s a close look at a small community navigating fame, uncertainty, and the assertion of its dignity on the international stage.

Transcript

[Ingadora G. Markusen]

You're listening to the Monocle Daily, first broadcast from Newt Greenland on 20 January 2026 on Monocle Radio Greenland, epicentre of.

[Andrew Muller]

The strangest diplomatic crisis of the 21st century, at least so far. What has Greenlandic life been like in the covetous gaze of the US President and the Nook Fashion House saying it with hoodies? I'm Andrew Muller. The Monocle Daily starts now.

[Ingadora G. Markusen]

Foreign.

[Andrew Muller]

Hello and welcome to the Monocle Daily. Coming to you from Katuaq, the Greenland Cultural center in Nuuk. I'm Andrew muller. My guests, Dr. Stephen Anfjord, Ingadora G. Marcusen and Alexa Self will discuss the reasons that Greenland has become an unlikely center of the world's attention and give some insights into life in this peculiar and beautif place. Stay tuned. All that and more coming up right here on the Monocle Daily. And welcome everybody to a very special edition of the Monocle Daily, live from Catwalk, the Greenland Cultural Centre in the heart of Nuuk. The first of three shows we are doing from here this week. But I'm joined today by Stephen Arnfjord, professor and center Director of the center for Arctic Welfare at Greenland University. Inga Dora G. Markuson, Chief Sustain Sustainability Officer at Air Greenland, also a former journalist here in Greenland and former Vice Deputy Mayor of Nuuk. And also with us is Monocle's foreign editor, Alexa Self. Everybody welcome.

[Alexa Self]

Hi Andrew, pleased to be here.

[Andrew Muller]

I'll just set the scene first. We are here in Catwalk, this beautiful building right in in downtown Nuuk. The great big cavernous atrium we're broadcasting from with with wood lined walls. There's a bit of a cafe over in the distance outside. The sun is just about setting after 4 o' clock here in the afternoon there's a healthy covering snow on the streets and footpaths around us. And judging by the way the wind is blowing straight into the face of the people trying to get home in the street outside, it's picking up slightly. But I will start by bringing in our Greenlandic guests. And Stephen, I will start with you. Is it possible to explain to our listeners how strange it is having suddenly found Greenland the centre of the world's attention for the last year and indeed up to and including including the point at which the Monocle Daily is broadcasting live from Nuke?

[Dr. Stephen Anfjord]

Probably not. It's like being in a live show of stranger things or something like that.

[Andrew Muller]

Inga, has it been a big adjustment for Greenland because Greenland's whole thing for immemorial centuries has been that Pretty much everyone's just left it alone.

[Ingadora G. Markusen]

Yeah, it's been crazy times we're living in. And yeah, I don't even know how to express my concerns about this situation we have find ourselves in.

[Andrew Muller]

Well, we will find ways of encouraging you to do that very shortly. But Alexis, we'll bring you in now and just I guess with some latest developments because here in Nuuk today, the the prime Minister, Jens Frederick Nilsson has been speaking.

[Alexa Self]

Yeah, the big news in Nuuk today, as in just in the town, is that Greenland's Prime Minister, Jens Frederick Nielsen, as you said, gave a press conference this morning at which he told ordinary Greenlanders that it's not likely there will be a military conflict, but it can't be ruled out, and that people should start preparing for such a scenario. He also reiterated that Greenland is a member of NATO, so if it were attacked, there would be consequences for the whole world, unusually. And you know, picking out those quotes makes it sound like it was quite charged rhetoric. But he's Inge and Stephen will know more than I do, obviously. But you know, he's a restrained man usually. So I think this was probably the most unrestrained that he's been in terms of his public conversation. And then this afternoon, Greenland's foreign minister, Vivian Motsfeldt, Hope I pronounced that right returned from Copenhagen where she was speaking to key figures in the Danish government over the past few days. Now, Nuuk airport was expanded and reopened in 2024 and perhaps we'll talk more about that in a bit, but it's still rather a bijou hub. And this afternoon when the foreign minister returned, she was met by a huge and I think especially for Greenland crowd of well wishers who are really proud with how she's performed over the last few weeks in negotiations with the US and discussions with the Danish government elsewhere. Donald Trump is scheduled to speak in the next few minutes, so who knows what will be said then, but we'll try and keep you updated on that. And at Davos today, an aviator sunglasses wearing Emmanuel Macron was unusually direct in.

[Andrew Muller]

His he does in fairness have an eye infection of some sort, or at.

[Alexa Self]

Least that's the line, surely the perfect opportunity to wear an eye patch. Saying he preferred Unusually frank in his criticism and direct of Donald Trump, saying he preferred respect to bullies and the rule of law to brutality, while at the same time warning against a new era of imperialism. And at the same time, other European leaders, such as EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the Belgian prime minister have also directly criticized the US Government.

[Andrew Muller]

Inga, I'll bring you back in because obviously Nuuk Airport is part of your remit. That show of support that Lex mentioned that we saw for the returning foreign minister today, does that to you, represent what Greenland is actually all about? Because even in our very short time here, we've started to understand that this is obviously a very small community, only 20,000 people here in the capital. It is a place where inevitably everybody knows everybody and it's a very tightly knit community. And is it your sen that it's come together even more closely?

[Ingadora G. Markusen]

Yes. Yes, it is. What we saw today was also transmitted live from some of the Facebook feeds. We could see that there was a huge crowd cheering on Vivian when she came out of the area from the luggage where you pick up luggage. And this is just who Greenlanders are. We express our feelings or thoughts, concerns very vividly, very expressional. And this is one of those moments where we were very. What we are cheering for her for is that when she came out of the meeting with J.D. vance and the foreign minister, Denmark and Rubio was that when she was asked a question from the hordes of journalists waiting for her to express something from the meeting, she turned to the camera and said, dear, my fellow countrymen in Greenlandic. And at that moment, I just got goosebumps thinking about that moment, because the way she directly talked to the hearts and minds of Greenlanders was that moment where we thought that she is there for us and she was talking to her fellowmen. So that was a moment that we just realized that this is very serious.

[Andrew Muller]

On that thought, though, give our listeners a brief Greenlandic language lesson. What does that phrase? How does that phrase render in Greenlandic?

[Ingadora G. Markusen]

Well, as I said, and the way she said it, it was not like she said it in a special tone that everybody just listened very carefully. But I know Vivian personally. We grew up together. She's an excellent handball player, like the others are a football player in badminton. You know, these are people we know from a daily, daily life. And you couldn't have casted a better ambassador for Greenland in that moment. That was something that we just realized. And when she said it in that tone, I said I could see in her expression that she was a bit emotional and we could sense that in a way she spoke. So when she went online later that afternoon, I was interviewed by the Greenlandic journalists who were also sending live. Yes, she was telling all the things that she was supposed to. But then the journalist said to her, asked her, viviane, what do you want to say to Your countrymen, is there anything. Should we be worried? And at that moment, she just got very emotional. And there you could feel how much pressure there has been on her. And she was, like, expressing that feeling to us all. And that's the human side of it. And that is typical Greenlandic. We do not wear masks. We're not masking too much. We are very honest in our communication when it comes to things like that.

[Andrew Muller]

Stephen, I'll bring you in at that point because on the question of Greenlandic identity, which there's no way it wouldn't become a distinct and quite intense thing when you have a small number of people in a very remote and very wild place where people have to rely on each other and have to be able to trust each other. But is it your sense that a sense of Greenlandic identity has become perhaps even more profound in the last year because there has been this external pressure on it in a way that there hasn't really been before? I mean, I know there had. There is an unhappy history, in many respects with Denmark and its, well, at the very least, failure to encourage Greenlandic identity. But this is a whole different kind of thing.

[Dr. Stephen Anfjord]

I mean, what you get here is a sense of unity, a sense of solidarity amongst everyone living here and sharing a history, sharing a culture, spending time together, and that's probably, I would phrase it like that, instead of talking directly about a national identity. But you get this strong group dynamic of us versus them in this situation, and us is everybody here that has our daily lives and daily walks of life in Greenland. So that's probably how I would phrase it.

[Andrew Muller]

But to follow that up, Stephen, do you get any feeling at all that it's changed the relationship with Denmark in any respect? Because we did hear that statement from Prime Minister Nielsen, I think, last week, saying that if we're forced into a choice between. Between remaining part of the Kingdom of Denmark and becoming part of the United States, we would stay with Denmark. Has it perhaps drawn Greenland and Denmark closer together?

[Dr. Stephen Anfjord]

Sure, for the time being at least. I mean, now is not really a time to be split apart. Now it's time to group together. I mean, last year, just last year, March 25, when we had the first big demonstration, every journalist talked about that the upcoming election would be the election about independence, that agreement would clear independence, and it's not really time for that right now. I mean, it'll come and that discussion is very important. But right now it's about unity and, well, staying together with partners that we trust and build a trusting relationship with. Like Denmark.

[Andrew Muller]

But do you think, Inga, and again, I'm asking you to reflect on your own long experiences in working here as a journalist and as a politician and obviously you know this place very, very well. Has there been a, I guess a long history of people misunderstanding what that Greenlandic identity is and Greenland's relationship with its own sense of place is. Because there does seem to be this idea, certainly President Trump has, that you could somehow all be bought. I think he's offered $100,000 or dollars each or, or whatever there, or there are senses that perhaps, you know, Greenland could be persuaded or co opted. Does, does any of that kind of stuff even register with Greenlanders at all? If President Trump came to you and said, look, seriously, here's 10 million each. Well, I mean, it's a lot of money.

[Ingadora G. Markusen]

Yeah, I think the answer would be no. I mean, we, even though we don't own the land formally, we, we belong to it. And when we belong to something that is our kind of culture, our world is based on this schisma about us belonging to the land. This is a part of the indigenous people's culture we are talking about. So you can't buy our soul, you can't buy us for money. That's obvious and that has been said again and again. What we see now is in the political landscape, if you look at it from here on and what has happened in the year past from we had some disputes with Denmark. This happened. We were actually last year in the Christmas time. Our prime minister back then moved to be before the election. He was very, very strong in his message to Denmark for them have been made genocide on the Greenland. And that was like, it was a bit cold between us before Trump then came in the picture. And then we kind of go back to Denmark like reunite in this situation, but not as we see today. This is much, much more unity than we've seen ever before in my lifetime. I haven't ever experienced this kind of unity before. Because what we also have is we all strive for independence and what politicians are talking about, what kind of independence are we talking about? But what we must maybe acknowledge that us becoming independence independent under this US President is not an option. It's not going to happen. It's not safe. Therefore, we would, we would have to rely on the alliances.

[Andrew Muller]

Stephen, do you feel like any of this has shifted the argument on Greenlandic independence at all? Is there a sense, maybe I'm just thinking out loud that it now has been demonstrated to be perhaps somewhat impractical, given that it has been demonstrated that Greenland is vulnerable.

[Dr. Stephen Anfjord]

I mean, Greenland is vulnerable, but there is a core need to be independent, to be the ruler of your own nation, and that's not going to go away. We might be looking at a momentum right now, of course, and. And we need that serious discussion along the road, down the road. But no, to be fairly frank, no, it hasn't moved anything. But, I mean, I think the general public is becoming more aware that there are new dangers that we weren't looking to now that we're seeing from the west, which is completely paradoxical to us.

[Andrew Muller]

Lex, I'll bring you back in at this point because you have been out and about the last day or two talking to Greenlanders and trying to get some sense of how they feel about what's going on. And I think you've got a recording of some of those conversations coming up, but do introduce it.

[Alexa Self]

Yeah, I had the distinct pleasure of wandering around Nuuk from. From Old Nook to. Over by the. The new harbour and talking to people, lots of different people, those who would speak to me. And, yeah, just a few observations and just bouncing off what these two said. I think, you know, I got the sense at least that, you know, as I was saying earlier before we went on air, that this is going to galvanized Greenlandic national identity and given people a sense of kind of common purpose and an idea for the future. And at the same time, it's strengthened bonds with Denmark, who, for all its faults, you know, is perhaps seen as being, you know, benign, at least, if not benevolent in its administration of Greenland. And then the other fun thing that just reminded me of something that you were talking about earlier is, you know, if you live and choose to live somewhere like Greenland and Nuuk, then you're someone who is inherently practical. And so everyone I've met seems to have about three or four different jobs. And I think the best. The best polymath I met was described himself as a rock star, an Olympic badminton player and an insurance salesman. Not in that order. So, yeah, here's just a few selection of a few excerpts of the conversations that I had with people on the streets today. Let's go and talk to some people. So how have things changed in Nuke over the past few days, weeks, with the escalating rhetoric?

[Ingadora G. Markusen]

Well, I don't know if anything has drastically changed. I think I'm just speaking for myself. I have just tried to live as I normally do. Of course, it's been difficult and there's been anxiety and I've had some difficult Talks with my partner about what we do if there's a possible invasion from the US and it's. Well, it's been difficult, but I've just been living my life as it was normal.

[Alexa Self]

What's your view on all this noise and the effect it's having on your countrymen and your country? I'm downright annoyed by it because it's not necessary.

[Andrew Muller]

We've got this good relationship with the us We've been building that for many years. It's been going on since the Second World War, even before that. You have access to Greenland if you're.

[Alexa Self]

An American businessman or a businesswoman. The government of the US is a friend of the government of Greenland.

[Andrew Muller]

There's so much we could do.

[Alexa Self]

You don't need to threaten with a takeover or annexation. You have access to do investments. You have access to business in Greenland already.

[Andrew Muller]

So it's annoying people and now it's also scaring a lot of people.

[Alexa Self]

What do you think about the current situation and the American rhetoric?

[Dr. Stephen Anfjord]

There are friendly Americans too.

[Andrew Muller]

They are welcome.

[Dr. Stephen Anfjord]

But these bad people, politicians with bad.

[Andrew Muller]

Manners who are looking us as people that can be bite.

[Ingadora G. Markusen]

Not this way.

[Alexa Self]

Is there anything you think that can be done to calm the situation?

[Andrew Muller]

No, not with him in the White House.

[Alexa Self]

For monocle in Nuuk, I'm Alexis Self.

[Andrew Muller]

Lex. Absolutely outstanding. Trudging, howling wind and passing traffic there. How approachable were people. Did you get any sense that at this point that the novelty of being pestered foreign journalists is wearing off somewhat?

[Alexa Self]

Yes, let's say worn off a bit more than the. The snow and the ice, which I completely understand. You know, Nuuk is a small place there. There aren't. It's. It's a population about 20000 people and I imagine almost everyone has seen foreign journalists, you know, walking around, you see people taking photos. We're staying at the wonderful Hotel Hans Egede. But it seems to be breakfast is just one big pool, press pool with some boiled eggs. So you know, it's the biggest story in the world. And I suppose you know, the second interview there was with Christian Keltzen, who's the head of the Greenlandic Business association and also the honorary British consul in Nuuk. Really a helpful and intelligent man. He said the media also has a responsibility here because part of it is self generating Trump. Well, who knows if Trump sleeps but first thing in the morning someone asks him a question about Greenland and then that response is leading the news the whole day. And then it kind of feeds itself and creates this hype around the story. Now look, it's a serious story and people are saying scared, as you heard there. But yeah, at the same time I think we have a responsibility to report it in a measured way, which I hope we're doing well.

[Andrew Muller]

I'll bring our Greenlandic guests back in. And Inge, I'll start with you because we wanted to talk a bit in detail about Air Greenland because it strikes me that the relationship that Air Greenland has with Greenland is perhaps uniquely intimate between any flag carrier and the nation it services. And we all flew here on Air Greenland's Airbus. To be clear, we paid for our own tickets. But how unusual do you think that relationship is? Because it's crucial to Greenland, isn't it? It's your lifeline.

[Ingadora G. Markusen]

It is, it is. It's a very special relationship people have with the company, especially when there are irregularities and you have to cancel flights due to weather or bad visibility or whatever.

[Andrew Muller]

This must happen quite a lot.

[Ingadora G. Markusen]

It does. And it's getting worse and worse by the years because the climate change obviously are affecting our planning, our programs. So we have, and maybe you've heard and read about this in the media about Greenland being like it has been hyped as a very interesting tourist destination. And all this talk about Greenland also reaches out to a lot of people who want to come here. But we also have seen in irregularities when we can't. Can't fly on one day and you have to stay at a hotel and this is accommodation and this is transport to the airport and things like that. And Greenland does pay for all this because we are serving our communities and that is our standard. This is a. Another ball game talking about. You mentioned here, Alexis before that this is a small place but for us Greenland's Nuuk is a big place. So. So we, we take care of our customers. And not only that, because the big plan you came with to yesterday, well, we got it two years ago, three years ago from Toulouse and we flow flew the Virgin flight to Karel Schlusswerk before this airstrip opened. And like I get goosebumps again talking about this. You know, this is our. Everybody has flown in this if you're going abroad.

[Andrew Muller]

And to extend our listeners understanding of Greenlandic, you have a special name for the plane, right?

[Ingadora G. Markusen]

Yes, it's called Dugak. And we are getting another plane later this year which we're also going to be colored in red and everything like that. And as is for the new airstrip coming up in North Greenland like Elulis said. And we made this competition to Give it a name, which we also did with the other. The red one you flew with yesterday, the Queen, we called her. And yeah, it was a lot of engagement from the locals. I mean, we got about 2,000 suggestions for this, 2,000 people participating for. For this name. And this is. Yeah, this tells us about that. We are critical infrastructure in Greenland. We have 14 helicopters. We have a search and rescue operation going on with incorporation with Arctic Command and the police. And we have the dashes, dash eight turboprop, eight of them. And the landing strips, nine landing strips, which are only very short, short takeoff landing, turboprop airplanes. And yeah, we affect people's lives all the time.

[Andrew Muller]

Well, Stephen, I did see you nodding somewhat wearily when she mentioned weather delays and cancellations. But, but like any Greenlander, you have plenty of stories about traveling with Air Greenland because again, to make it clear to our listeners, there are no intercity highways in Greenland. You can't drive from one place to another. This is, this is your only option.

[Dr. Stephen Anfjord]

Sailing and dock sledding.

[Ingadora G. Markusen]

Yeah.

[Andrew Muller]

Have you done the helicopter trips with Air Greenland?

[Ingadora G. Markusen]

Sure.

[Andrew Muller]

How bumpy does that get on a.

[Dr. Stephen Anfjord]

It's not that bad though. I mean, they're super professional people, all of them, but I mean, helicopters are as they are. So it does get bumpy though. But it's part of the journey of traveling.

[Andrew Muller]

Ingrid, I did want to ask though, because even just speaking to people here about their Air Greenland experiences, that someone was telling us yesterday they'd been on the Airbus, I think a few days ago, when it only touched down at Nuke, I think at the fourth attempt, which I suspect was fairly hair raising for everybody on board. But do pilots get extra training or is there specifically Greenlandic training to be able to fly on one of your aircraft?

[Ingadora G. Markusen]

Yes, of course there is, because this is. We got the European socio. What do you call it, Airline association words for that. This is the most complex operation in the whole of Europe. So of course we make a lot of training and simulators for our crew. So when you are, when you get a job in Air Greenland as a pilot, you will go through a very strict training for our aircrafts, of course, and helicopters. We station pilots like in Bidufic, where they are Biddufik airspace Space base is the US base. Yeah. And that is the one pilot which is there all along with a mechanic. And you can just imagine all the helicopters replaced around the Greenland and they have to fly in very difficult conditions sometimes. And it is common in the winter time. Sometimes people have to wait 10 days, 12 days or more for coming from.

[Andrew Muller]

A to B. I should mention to our listeners as well that if you go to monocle.com's website, you will find a recent piece in the magazine about Air Greenland by our reporter Gabriel Lee. So I do encourage everyone to go and look at that and learn more about this remarkable organization. We are just about out of time with our panel, but before we leave, let you both go. The reason we came here this week was partly because we. We thought, wow, a chance to visit Greenland, how fantastic. And so far it has been. But we did want to give our listeners some sense of what this place and the people in it are actually like, because over the last year, as I'm sure you're both aware, Greenland's been referred to as if it was this neutral inanimate object on some geostrategic chessboard. So I'll ask you both internal. I'll ask you first, Stephen, if there's one thing that you think of when you think of Greenland, whether it's a particular place or a work of art or a piece of literature or anything at all, something that really evokes this place for you that really sums up what makes it special.

[Dr. Stephen Anfjord]

It's home. I mean, that's the general part of it. It'll be like asking anybody about their home, their culture, how things are, how they smell. One of the things that important to me is the view going up in the mountains, looking over the fjords and enjoying the cold breeze of air and enjoying Greenlandic food. So it's everything that sort of makes up what home is to you, what a community is to you.

[Andrew Muller]

Well, I had here at lunch the musk ox, hot dog. And so I'm right with you on Greenlandic foods. Ingrid, I'll put the same to you. When you think of this extraordinary place, what do you think of most?

[Ingadora G. Markusen]

I think of the Inuit. We are part of the Inuit culture. And Inuit means human. Human, human beings. And we are actually on the land of the human beings. That's how we express ourselves in terms of belonging to the land. We live of the land, we fish of it, we hunt. Still, you can be a very modern CEO, but you still go out for the hunting to get filled your freezer up with, with meat and fish and everything the nature gives you. This is something. We are attached to the nature, and this defines us. So I would say for myself, if I could express it and try to make people understand. I am from South Greenland. My grandfather was a sheep farmer. He had 15 children. They had 15 children. They had this Sheep farm, big sheep farm. When I come there, I come there to ground myself. There is something in the green. This is a very, very old land. You will feel it when you go into the nature. You will feel the vastness and you will just understand that, yes, we are delayed one day, but weather, I mean, we accept the nature of forces, but if a European comes in the same situation, you know, it's a very stressful experience. But try to learn something from the Inuit culture that would be this accepting the nature's way. And that's what we're used to.

[Andrew Muller]

Ingadoraji Marcus and Dr. Steve Anfjord and Alexa Self, thank you all very much for joining us. Finally, on today's show, while we have been here in Greenland, our team have been talking to people on the ground about their feelings on Trump's threats of invasion. One in particular I spoke to earlier was David Rogilds, the co founder of the Greenlandic brand BB Chemnitz, whose Greenland is not for sale T shirts and hoodies are flying off the shelves and not just to Greenlanders. Well, earlier I spoke to David in the BB Chemnitz shop just around the corner from here and began by asking him whether people had an idea of what brand Greenland means.

[David Rogilds]

Not always. It has helped the last few years, like for many times, many years in Paris, we had to explain and maybe show via maps. We are based here. But we always used it as a way of defining our brand and also separating us from other brands because we are very unique by being from Greenland. Not a lot of brands are from Greenland. We were kind of maybe the first, I would say, since we turned 20 and definitely the first to mix like contemporary, unisex, outdoors together.

[Andrew Muller]

What would you say is notably Greenlandic about the clothes? I mean, I notice on a few of them there's variations on the Greenland flag, which is a bit of a giveaway.

[David Rogilds]

But other than that, Anorex, like anorex is a key piece of us. Like many people don't know even know what an anorak is. But anorak is the men's national garment here in Greenland and every hunter in Greenland uses an anorak. So for like 10 years or so we have made like a hunting anorak and from that we just grew this. But yeah, like a lot of thing is of course like with prints and stuff like that, that shows we are from Greenland. You can't like all of it. Every item doesn't really show it's from Greenland. But when you see like the overall all design, we we have something unique.

[Andrew Muller]

Cuz this is where we should mention and I want to mention this because this is something to my shame I only discovered recently. Anorak is a Greenlandic word. That is where English got the word from.

[David Rogilds]

So it's it I think it might have happened because of it is it might be a little bit easier to construct. And so when you only had like the strings was usually intestines from animals and you had bones as your. As your needles before you had newer equipment. So it's probably more easy to make something that doesn't open up for the wind where you only have an opening in your neck and you don't have anything opening up in the front. So there is very nice examples at the National Museum here but also in Copenhagen of like old Inuit anorex how they made them out of. It could be anything from the. Of course like furs from different animals. But also they made waterproof anorex from the intestines of polar bear or seal. Really beautiful.

[Andrew Muller]

Impossible to avoid noticing. As you approach your shop you've got the posters in the window saying Greenland is not for sale. At which point we do have to discuss the current situation. How much of that have you reflected in what you're making?

[David Rogilds]

Not really a lot. We came up with the idea for this slogan a year ago, January last year and worked a little bit on what kind of design we wanted. At the end we just wanted a very clear and simple statement. Just the words kind of made inspired a little bit like within Westwood and older like protest T shirts where the messages not diluted in any fancy graphics or anything. So. So we first we just made one T shirt black and white and we only made it in two sizes box fit because we were showcasing that design March in in Iceland in April last year we did an exhibition. We were invited to do an exhibition and then this world politics issue came and then we changed kind of our. The whole installation was called Green is not for Sale. And then we added a hoodie. So it's not something we. We like. Last year we were hoping this would be totally irrelevant and I would gladly have had extra boxes laying in the basement. We couldn't sell then. Right now, right now we sell a lot.

[Andrew Muller]

And who have you noticed is mostly buying them? Is it mostly locals or is it a lot of visitors and especially visiting media?

[David Rogilds]

A lot of visitors and our webshop we get from all over. And this summer where we had a lot of visitors coming from outside tourists, we sold a lot to Americans. A lot to Americans. But we get. I was just writing to people from the webshop today and we have all of you, all of Europe, many places in the U.S. canada, of course, even some places in Asia.

[Ingadora G. Markusen]

Yeah.

[Andrew Muller]

So, yeah, I mean, is that something people here are talking about this idea that, that, you know, you do seem to have quite a lot of the world on your side. Is that registering here? Because these, these are obviously extraordinary times for Greenland, which throughout almost all its history has just been left to its own devices.

[David Rogilds]

Yeah, we are not used to having media at this level.

[Andrew Muller]

Not at all.

[David Rogilds]

Last year there was quite a lot, but maybe this time is three or four times that many. A few of us can be a little bit like overwhelmed at some, like with the amount of journalists. But in the same way, we also appreciate that you guys come here because we need somebody to speak up on our behalf. The worst thing that would in this situation we are in now would be if nobody was here and we were left by ourselves to defend ourselves. I'm not talking about military defend ourselves, but defend our right in this world we're living in. And with media coming from everywhere, it helps.

[Andrew Muller]

That was David Rogilds, the co founder of the Greenlandic brand BB Chemnis. And that's all for this special edition of the Monocle Daily from Catwalk, the Greenland Cultural center in Nuuk. A huge thanks to our panelists today, Dr. Steve Unfjord, Ingadora G. Markussen and Alexa Self. Today's show was produced by Lily Austin and researched by Annalise Maynard. Our studio manager was Elliot Greenfield. I'm Andrew Muller here in Nook. The Monocle Daily is back at the same time tomorrow, still in Nook. Goodbye and thanks for listening.