13 June 2009 - In this edition of The State We’re In: a tale of press freedom victory and defeat as we speak with a Somali journalist who was shot just doing his job and a Lithuanian journalist speaks of his role in the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Plus we debate about the right to be fat and an insurance detective talks about tailing and exposing the cheats.

Almost murdered in Mogadishu: Ahmed Tajir is a journalist with Radio Shabelle in Mogadishu, Somalia. On 7 June 2009, he and his boss were attacked by gunmen in a market. He tells Jonathan about his ordeal and his hope to flee Somalia before he is killed for his work.

Breaking the rules in Lithuania: Audrius Braukylais is head of news for Lithuania Radio. He tells Jonathan about what it was like to work under Soviet rule and about the press freedom that came to Lithuania two years before the fall of the USSR.


Proud to be fat: The leader of the fat pride movement in the United States Marilyn Wann. Marilyn, who weighs 285 pounds (or 129 kilos), was spurred into action when her health insurance was denied. She says we live in a “fat-hating society” and calls for an end to the institutionalised discrimination and social ostracism inflicted on large people. Marilyn claims she has a right to be fat and argues strongly that fat people can be just as healthy as anyone else.


Views on fat people: Ginger Gorman went into a busy Amsterdam bar and asked people what they thought when they saw an obese person on the street. The answers ranged from pity and moral outrage to assumptions that they must be unhealthy.

Anti-fat health expert: Experts describe obesity as a “pandemic” which threatens to overwhelm health systems around the globe. Given this, does anyone have the right to be fat? Dr John Tickell is an Australian health and longevity expert with strong views on obesity. When asked whether people have a right to be fat, his answer was unequivocal: “That right is yours, the question is: Are you disadvantaging the rest of society?”

Fat is beautiful! (in Africa anyway): In the West, being labelled fat is degrading and hurtful. But in most of Africa, it’s just the opposite. Big is not only beautiful - it’s often considered to be a cultural right.  RNW producer Alberta Opoku, who is originally from Ghana and Senegalese artist Oumar Mbengue Atakosso talk with Jonathan about what fat means in Africa.

Insurance detective: We recently featured two American guests, a doctor and a cancer sufferer, who said that they’ve had to bend and even break the rules set by health insurance companies to get what they need. Mike LaCorte is a detective in the UK. He tells Jonathan what it’s like to investigate people who make suspicious-looking health insurance claims.