A first encounter with Buddhism as a college student in 1969 sparked an interest that took Sharon Salzberg on a journey to India for intensive study of meditation. Today, she offers a variety of teachings around the globe and is the author of 11 books, including “Lovingkindness,” a New York Times bestseller.

In 1973, Stephan Rechtschaffen was finishing medical school when he traveled to northern India and provided care to Tibetan refugees, especially many elderly monks. Today, almost 50 years later, Rechtschaffen is a dedicated practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism, a nationally recognized holistic doctor and the original founder of the Omega Institute and Blue Spirit in Costa Rica. He’s also been a member of ICT for more than two decades, and he wishes people knew more about Tibet.

Just a few days ago, Adrian Zenz published a groundbreaking study revealing a mass coerced labor program that has pushed more than half a million rural Tibetans off their land in only seven months. Since then, several major newspapers have written about his findings, parliamentarians across the globe have demanded urgent action—and the Chinese government has denounced him.

Although he’s a first-term member of Congress, Rep. Andy Levin, D-Mich., is a longtime friend of Tibet. From studying at the Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies in India, to visiting Tibet, to interviewing the Dalai Lama, Levin uses his past experience to forge a new path of support for Tibet on Capitol Hill.

During three decades in Congress, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was an outspoken supporter of Tibet and helped lead the effort to award the Dalai Lama the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007. In this discussion for ICT’s Tibet 2020 campaign, Ros-Lehtinen will explain how the advocacy of ordinary Americans has helped the Tibetan people—and can do so again this election year.

In this episode, we welcome you to Tibet Talks, a new podcast from the International Campaign for Tibet. This episode touches on what many people think of when they hear the word “Tibet”—and what’s actually happening to Tibet’s people, culture and environment, and why that matters to you.