Grave new world: the Greenland row’s lasting damage

Summary of Grave new world: the Greenland row’s lasting damage

by The Economist

21m•January 22, 2026
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Overview of The Intelligence from The Economist

This episode (hosted by Rosie Bloor) covers three main stories: the diplomatic fallout from Donald Trump’s “Greenland row” and what — if anything — has been resolved; a likely-but-imperfect settlement over TikTok’s US future; and a data-driven analysis showing pop music has grown gloomier over recent decades. Reporters include Tom Nuttall (Berlin bureau chief) and Tom Wainwright (media editor).

Key takeaways

  • The immediate Greenland crisis has calmed but transatlantic trust has been damaged; any “deal” is preliminary and many details remain unresolved.
  • A transaction to separate TikTok’s US operations from ByteDance appears close, but substantial operational ties to ByteDance remain — raising questions about whether the national-security risks are truly resolved.
  • Pop music is measurably darker than in past decades: “angst,” heartbreak and despair have become more common in top-charting lyrics, reflecting long-term listener preferences rather than short-term events.

Segment 1 — The Greenland row: what happened and what’s left

  • What happened: President Trump suggested buying Greenland, threatened tariffs on European countries, confused Greenland with Iceland in public remarks, and floated the use of “excessive strength and force” before backtracking. He then indicated an agreement or framework with NATO had been reached, and he dropped the immediate tariff threat.
  • What’s actually resolved: Very little concretely. Reporting suggests the US may expand its military presence in Greenland (US once had many bases there), and there may be talks about access to Greenland’s minerals and rare earths. But Greenland remains a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, and any changes require US-Danish negotiation.
  • Political and strategic fallout:
    • Psychological damage: European capitals feel whiplashed and less confident in relying on the US as a stable NATO partner under Trump.
    • Possible European response: Having used credible trade threats, Europeans might be more willing to play hardball with Washington in future; this could prompt a recalibration of transatlantic ties (more European defense autonomy, revisiting trade retaliation plans).
    • Uncertainties remain: whether the EU will resume ratifying the stalled trade deal with the US, whether suspended retaliatory tariffs (€93bn list) will be reactivated, and how US support for Ukraine might be affected by deteriorating trust.

Notable line: Trump’s own remark quoted in the episode — “We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force... But I won't do that” — underscored the volatility of the episode.

Segment 2 — TikTok: a settlement that may not solve the core worry

  • Background: US law requires foreign-adversary ownership of certain platforms be limited or severed; TikTok (owned by China’s ByteDance) has faced repeated deadlines and legal threats since 2020.
  • The proposed resolution (as described):
    • ByteDance would reduce its stake in US TikTok to under 20%.
    • A group of mostly American investors (and some UAE investors) would own the rest.
    • Oracle (a US firm) would store American users’ data and retrain the recommendation algorithm on US data.
    • The transaction was due to close on the day of the episode.
  • The snag: ByteDance appears likely to retain significant operational links:
    • Reported one-of-seven board seats for ByteDance.
    • Alleged leasing/royalty arrangement for the recommendation algorithm (analyst quip: “ByteDance may not own the car any longer, but it still owns the engine”).
    • Global TikTok (ByteDance) to manage US ad business, e-commerce and “global product interoperability,” implying continuing operational integration.
  • Political context and why resistance is muted:
    • TikTok’s user base in the US has ballooned (~170m users), lowering appetite for a ban among lawmakers and voters.
    • Some US political figures and allies are positioned to benefit from an Americanized ownership structure.
    • Lawmakers and China hawks have largely acquiesced; enforcement has been delayed multiple times.
  • Bottom line: The deal may pass legal and political muster, but it likely leaves residual risk of foreign influence and operational dependence on ByteDance.

Notable line: The episode highlights the core concern succinctly — ownership might change but the recommendation “engine” could remain tied to ByteDance.

Segment 3 — Pop music is getting darker: data and interpretation

  • Data and method:
    • The Economist’s Music’s Match used AI to analyze Billboard Top 100 lyrics across decades, classifying moods (love, joy, heartbreak, angst, despair, etc.).
    • A complementary academic study in Scientific Reports examined Billboard charts since 1973 and found a long-term rise in “lyrical stress” and decline in positivity.
  • Findings:
    • “Angst” has risen by ~13 percentage points in recent decades and now rivals “heartbreak” in prevalence.
    • Despair shows a sharp rise after about 2020; around 25% of top-100 songs now contain themes hinting at misery.
    • Love remains the single most common mood; empowerment has increased even as hope has declined.
  • Interpretation:
    • The trend appears long-term and not tightly correlated with short-term events (9/11, COVID) or economic cycles — suggesting changing listener tastes rather than only reactive songwriting.
    • The hits — not the full universe of released songs — indicate what audiences are streaming and elevating to the charts: listeners seem to be choosing gloomier music.
  • Cultural implication: Artists, labels and marketers may be responding to or feeding a genuine cultural appetite for darker emotional content.

Example cited: Billie Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted” and the global success of Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars’ melancholic anthem illustrate the pattern.

Notable quotes and soundbites

  • “We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force... But I won't do that.” — President Donald Trump (quoted in the episode)
  • “ByteDance may not own the car any longer, but it still owns the engine.” — analyst summary of the TikTok deal
  • “The scales falling from the eyes” — Tom Nuttall on European capitals reassessing their approach to the US

Implications and recommended watch-list

  • For readers tracking geopolitics:
    • Watch the EU leaders’ summit outcomes and any decisions on retaliatory tariffs or trade ratification.
    • Monitor US-Denmark talks over Greenland, and any concrete expansion of US military facilities or mineral-access agreements.
    • Track implications for NATO cooperation and for European defense spending/strategy.
  • For media and tech-watchers:
    • Scrutinize transaction documents and regulatory filings for TikTok/ByteDance/Oracle to see how operational control, data governance and algorithm access are actually partitioned.
    • Follow Congressional or legal challenges that might seek to tighten the separation.
  • For cultural observers and the music industry:
    • Consider how marketing, playlist curation and artist development might respond to a sustained appetite for more melancholic or angst-driven music.

Bottom line

The episode ties three different stories to a single theme: structural change with lingering uncertainty. The Greenland episode shows diplomatic costs even where immediate crises are de‑escalated; the TikTok settlement may paper over security anxieties without fully severing ties; and the shift in pop-music mood suggests a deeper, long-term cultural change in what audiences want to hear.