Carleton journalism professor Brett Popplewell has published a major feature in The Walrus based on his recent reporting from Greenland about the threat of an American invasion.
Popplewell’s article “I Went to Greenland and Saw a Warning for Canada,” was published online by The Walrus on April 15 and is slated to be the cover article in the May edition of the prestigious magazine.
Journalism professor Brett Popplewell on the ground in Nuuk, Greenland.
Popplewell travelled in February to Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, and his feature chronicles how local residents were bracing for invasion.
“The implausible threat of an American invasion had transformed the quiet Arctic city of Nuuk into an unlikely stage for a global showdown,” Popplewell says. The remote community had become “a rallying point for NATO troops and international diplomats all trying to preserve the rules-bound world order.”
Popplewell is an associate professor of journalism at Carleton and the bestselling author of Outsider: An Old Man, a Mountain, and the Search for a Hidden Past. A contributing writer for The Walrus, he has also written for Bloomberg, Businessweek, Mother Jones, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Sportsnet, and Maclean’s, among other publications.
On top of his full-time workload as a faculty member in the School of Journalism and Communication, Popplewell is often out in the field as a reporter. And he was immediately intrigued by the unfolding situation in Greenland and convinced The Walrus to commission his report.
“What struck me most from my trip was how deeply Trump’s threats had unsettled local residents,” Popplewell said. “People were on edge. Several told me they’d drawn up escape plans to Canada and elsewhere.
“The longer I spent on the ground, the more I understood just how personally the annexation threats had hit people. But more than that, I was struck by the willingness many had to share their stories in the hope that doing so might help shape their island’s fate. I hope this reporting will add some clarity to this continuing puzzle.”
Wednesday, April 15, 2026 in Faculty In The News, General, Journalism News, News
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