Zocalo: a public square or plaza. Tocayo: namesake; a person or thing that has the same name as another. Zocayo: a meeting space for discussion, in which we all share the same name: human. Everyone has a story — what are you doing with yours? Join Grauben Lara as he explores the world through the unique missions of diverse activists, speakers, and artists. Their stories have shaped their views, can understanding them help shape ours?
Misunderstood and overlooked are the lives of those incarcerated. Jason Jones talks to me about the difficulties of living inside a prison and the resources we need to properly rehabilitate and make an impact on communities and individuals affected by prisons. If the current solutions aren’t really working, is it time to disrupt to innovate? Follow Zocayo on IG and Twitter Follow me on IG and Twitter: @graubenlara Follow Jason on IG Email: wearezocayo@gmail.com
Fulfillment in life, as in any adventure, is all about taking the first step. I talk to Maria Alvarez about how adventure can look different for anybody, and how it’s our own personal adventures that make for a life worth living. Follow Zocayo on IG and Twitter Follow me on IG and Twitter: @graubenlara Follow Maria on IG Email: wearezocayo@gmail.com
What are the dominoes that lead to a lifestyle of abuse? Vince Huseman shares his story with me of how his love for music drew him into a dependence on drugs and alcohol, but also how he is now using that same love to help others recover from lives similar to the one he once lived. How important is community and our own willpower in attempting to lead a sober life? Follow Zocayo on IG and Twitter Follow me on IG and Twitter: @graubenlara Follow Vince on IG Email: wearezocayo@gmail.com Check out The Phoenix Contact Vince: vhuseman@thephoenix.org
As society changes, so do its views on gender and sexuality. I talk to Hayden Clay about their experience in drag performance and what we can learn about our own identity through that. What does it mean to come out? How does understanding and accepting ourselves change how we view those around us? Follow Zocayo on IG and Twitter Follow me on IG and Twitter: @graubenlara Follow Hayden on IG Follow Mia Vanderbilt on IG Email: wearezocayo@gmail.com Hayden is Obsessed
Immigration in the US remains a controversial topic, but the children of those immigrants have to deal with the repercussions of both their parents’ actions and of the policies the government enforces. I talk to Tahra Jirari about her family’s journey from Morocco to the United States and how being a child of immigrants turned her into a translator, teacher, and lawyer for her parents early on. Follow Zocayo on IG and Twitter Follow me on IG and Twitter Follow Tahra on IG and Twitter Email: wearezocayo@gmail.com
How is it possible to create friends out of the people we see as against our own personal beliefs? I talk to Kelsey Roberts about how experience is at the root of our beliefs, and how sharing those stories can help create a deeper understanding of the people around us, turning foe into friend. While our ideas of how to make the world better may not always align, each of our individual stories is a piece in solving the puzzle of the issues around us. Follow Zocayo on IG and Twitter Follow me on IG and Twitter: @graubenlara Follow Kelsey on IG and Twitter Email: wearezocayo@gmail.com Participate in a free story exchange through Narrative 4 Ted Talk: The way we think about charity is dead wrong | Dan Pallotta
Why does the richest country in the world still have so many people in poverty? I talk to Kim Martinez about her experience seeing poverty growing up and the many reasons why poverty still exists and may continue to be an issue for generations to come. While we give away many handouts to those in need, when was the last time we gave them a hand up? Follow Zocayo on IG and Twitter Follow me on Twitter and IG: @graubenlara Follow Kim on IG Email: wearezocayo@gmail.com
What does “black” mean and where does the label come from? Roemello Lewis joins me to talk about how learning about our history puts us in a better position to change our present and future. Are we overgeneralizing racial terms, thus limiting our potential? How important is our family history to our personal growth? What can we do now to better unify all people regardless of race and culture? Follow Zocayo on IG and Twitter Follow me on IG and Twitter: @graubenlara Follow Mello on IG and Twitter Email: wearezocayo@gmail.com Mello's recommended reading: Stare in the Darkness: The Limits of Hip-hop and Black Politics by Lester K. Spence The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power by Jared Ball Africans and Native Americans: The Language of Race and the Evolution of Red-Black Peoples by Jack Forbes
Why is it that in 2020, persons with disabilities are still overlooked both inside and outside of the workplace? Casey Witte shares his experience growing up and how our assumptions of other people limit their potential to succeed. What stereotypes do we have of people with disabilities that keep us from helping them achieve more? What laws are also currently allowing different treatment of people in the workplace? Where do these issues begin and what can we do to make a difference in the lives of others? Follow Zocayo on IG and Twitter Follow me on Twitter and IG: @graubenlara Follow Casey on Twitter Casey’s Email: wittecasey@gmail.com Email: wearezocayo@gmail.com
Movies and TV are what unite people through pop culture, but can their portrayal of groups also be breaking us apart? I talk to Liz Loo about diversity in film and the changes that need to be made both on and off the camera to better tell the stories of all people. Proper diversity in film is a necessity, but when does pushing for diversity also become too much? What are the current standards in film that shape our stereotypes of the world? Follow Zocayo on IG and Twitter Follow me on Twitter and IG: @graubenlara Follow Loo on Instagram Email: wearezocayo@gmail.com
What’s up on Mars that NASA desperately seeks? Rohan Thatavarthi joins me to discuss the latest mission to Mars, what extraterrestrial life could mean, and how science plays a big role in our understanding of the world. Can what we learn from space change our lives forever? Life on Mars could affect us both socially and mentally. Are we as important as we like to think we are? How can you relate the technological challenges space engineers face to our daily lives? As we start to learn more about space and the universe, our personal need to fund different programs should be growing with it. Follow Zocayo on IG and Twitter Follow me on Twitter and IG: @graubenlara Follow Rohan on Instagram Email: wearezocayo@gmail.com More about VISORS and SWARM-EX
Venezuelans currently live in extreme poverty and homelessness, with their money losing its value every day, but it wasn’t always this way. Daniel Di Martino joins me to share his story of why he fled Venezuela and how the once fourth richest country in the world fell due to socialist policies. With socialism on the rise through figures like Bernie Sanders and AOC, it’s important to examine the effects of generous policies that we may not immediately be aware of. Can we adopt a model like the highly praised Nordic countries? Could the U.S. fall into a state of despair and hunger through socialist ideas? What do we have to give up so that we can all live better lives? Follow Zocayo on IG and Twitter Follow me on Twitter and IG: @graubenlara Follow Daniel on Twitter Email: wearezocayo@gmail.com
What do marijuana and illegal immigrants have in common? Sonia Erika joins me to tell her story from naive undocumented student to eventual Harvard graduate and pro-weed activist. We dive deep into how her background influenced her work with communities, the facts about marijuana use, and how building strong businesses can positively affect the communities hurt by current drug laws. The legalization of marijuana isn’t as black and white as it may appear, and current systems may be making us worse off, both economically and in health. Do the laws in your state encourage business building and growth? Is there an argument to be made for keeping marijuana illegal? Follow Zocayo on Twitter and IG Follow me on Twitter and IG: @graubenlara Follow Sonia on Twitter and IG Sonia’s Projects: Cannabis Cultural Association Massachusetts Recreational Consumer Council EatMe.Land Email: wearezocayo@gmail.com
In the Asian American community, what do the words diversity and equality really mean? Kenny Xu joins me to discuss the effects of diversity promotion programs such as Affirmative Action and the race quotas at major universities like Harvard. While these programs are meant to help many communities, are they inadvertently hurting others, perpetuating hateful stereotypes along the way? Understanding the various views on diversity and inclusion programs is vital to developing systems that are beneficial to all. I challenge you in this conversation to think about how the issues the Asian American community faces relate to your own. After listening, do you think there’s a valid argument against diversity policies for workplaces and universities, or is this a necessary tradeoff for equalizing the inequalities we face? Follow me on Twitter and IG: @graubenlara Follow Kenny on Twitter Email: wearezocayo@gmail.com
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