Greenland

Greenland is the central territory in How to get what Greenland has, with permission, where Planet Money uses it to connect Critical Minerals Geopolitics, Arctic geography, and territorial-control rhetoric. The episode presents Greenland as self-governing within the Kingdom of Denmark, with its own elected government, language, and significant autonomy.

The source says Greenland matters to the United States for two different reasons. Its heavy rare earth deposits make it relevant to the Rare Earth Processing Bottleneck, while its position between North America, Russia, and China makes it relevant to Greenland Strategic Access, missile early warning, missile defense, and space surveillance. The episode’s core point is that neither value automatically justifies ownership.

The source also stresses local agency. Greenland is described as majority Inuit, sparsely populated, mostly ice-covered, and governed by a land system where people receive permission to build but do not own the land underneath. Saha Ullsvig uses that context to reject a passive or colonial framing: Greenland can trade and cooperate, but is not for sale.

Connections

• Denmark - kingdom relationship and legal/political context.
• United States, Donald Trump, China, Russia, and NATO - strategic actors in the episode.
• Graceland Baskaran - rare-earth and mineral-security expert voice.
• Saha Ullsvig and Inuit - local agency and land-norm context.
• Critical Minerals Geopolitics, Rare Earth Processing Bottleneck, Greenland Strategic Access, and Strategic Access Without Annexation - main concepts attached to Greenland in the source.