The State We’re In, August 29, 2009. Is there a right to silence? A former St. Petersburg cop, now journalist, tells us just how dangerous the Russian police have become. We speak with a victim of Russian police brutality who is trying to take his attackers to court. We ask if there’s a right to silence with stories from the US, Britain and India. In our occasional series on dilemmas, a professor of philosophy tells us what he did when, the day he was giving a lesson on the meaning of tolerance, a student walked in shrouded from head-to-toe in a Burqa. And 21-year-old Nathan Royle from Adelaide, Australia explains he came to realize he was ‘asexual’.

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The right to police protection in Russia

Beaten by the protectors
Jonathan speaks with Vakhid Guseinov, a Russian citizen originally from Azerbaijan, who was arrested and beaten by the police. He’s taken his attackers to court, but still feels far from safe.

Public fear No. 1
Yevgeny Vyshenkov is a journalist in St. Petersburg, Russia. He spent 10 years as a detective in the St. Petersburg “heavy crime” unit. He explains the corruption and lawlessness of the Russian police that made him quit the force, and how people describe the police as their number one fear.

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This week’s theme is the “right to silence”

Jonathan Groubert tells us about noisy New York City and how it gave him tinnitus. He then introduces studio guest Les Blomberg, from the Noise Pollution Clearing House.

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Pop torture
Val Weedon, UK’s leading anti-noise protester speaks to Jonathan. We play her the song that her neighbour used to torture her and she explains why she thinks our world is getting noisier.

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Silence may save your life
Dr Lars Jarup, from the epidemiology department of Imperial College London, tells us about his study of aeroplane noise, which reveals that at night time, it can raise our blood pressure, even when we are asleep.

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The unbearable loudness of Dehli
Writer Piya Kochhar reflects on the soundscape of her home city, Delhi, where the noise just doesn’t stop.

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And more…

The philosophical Burqa dilemma
Brandon Robshaw is a professor of philosophy at a British college. On the day he was giving a lesson on the meaning of tolerance, a student walks in shrouded from head to toe in a Burqa. Should he kick her out or let her stay? We asked Dr. Robshaw what he decided to do.

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The 'A' word
We speak with 21-year-old Nathan Royle from Adelaide, Australia, who is one of a growing number of people from around the world who now describe themselves as ‘asexual’. He tells us what led to the realisation that he has no desire to have sex with anyone ever again.

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Listen to this week's show in full: