Understand
Understand
BBC Radio 4
Ten Fights That Made the Green Movement: 6. Arctic 30
14 minutes Posted Jul 13, 2026 at 5:55 am.
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Show notes

“Helicopter” - an activist yells. Then gun-wielding agents in balaclavas abseil down, onto the Greenpeace ship, to tow it to Russia.

This is the story of a campaign against oil drilling in the arctic that takes a dangerous turn. And the debate it sparks within the movement - should the organisers have better anticipated the risks of their campaign? Who is responsible for activists’ safety?

Presenter: Justin Rowlatt

Producer: Alix Pickles
Series Producer: Ellie House
Editor: Matt Willis
Sound Design and Mix: James Beard
Production Coordinators: Maria Ogundele, Brenda Brown, Sabine Schereck
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

Archive:

Prirazlomnaya Gazprom Oil Rig Protest in the Pechora Sea, Russian Investigative Committee, 18/9/2013
Other archive footage provided by Greenpeace