Sunday, October 17 at 7 PM

This special edition of “Around Cincinnati” highlights the Dalai Lama’s visit to Cincinnati and Miami University in October. There will be an interview about the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center's International Freedom Conductor Award (IFCA) which he will receive on Wednesday, October 20th. A number of interviews will also focus on activities at Miami University including a look at the history of Tibet and China’s relationship, the mystical arts of Tibet, sand mandalas, and an overview of the events relating to the Dalai Lama’s public address on October 21st.

Highlights of this special program:

• Jim Stump talks with Dina Bailey of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center which will be presenting the Dalai Lama with the International Freedom Conductor Award. Also joining in the conversation are musicians Ron Esposito and Karen Johns who will be performing during the awards ceremony Wednesday, October 20.
  
• Mary Jane Berman, Director of the Center for American & World Cultures at Miami University, joins Lee Hay to discuss some of the activities planned during the Dalai Lama's visit to campus.
  
• Dr. Stanley Toops, a professor in the Geography Department at Miami University, puts the current conflict between Tibet and China into an historical perspective with Chelsea VandeDrink.
  
• In honor of the Dalai Lama's visit, Tibetan Monks will create a sand mandala at Miami University October 18-22. Dr. Elizabeth Wilson discusses this art form and its meaning with Anne Arenstein.
  
• There will also be readings by actor Richard Gere who is a well-known supporter of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism. He will be reading from the Dalai Lama's book, Toward a True Kinship of Faiths: How the World's Religions Can Come Together.
  
• The music of Ron Esposito and Karen Johns, as well as Peter Kater from the soundtrack 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama, will be featured.