Jacob Soboroff has built a national reputation as a television journalist and author, reporting from the field for NBC News, MSNBC, MS NOW, and beyond. But his story starts in Los Angeles. In this episode, Jacob shares what it was like growing up in the Pacific Palisades – and then, years later, reporting on it burning down on live television – along with the unlikely early experiences that shaped his path, from chasing celebrities on the red carpet to an internship where his job was literally to say “no” on behalf of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. We also talk about his latest book, Firestorm, and how covering the Palisades and Eaton fires became both a professional assignment and a deeply personal story – one that reflects how Los Angeles shows up for itself in moments of crisis. It’s a conversation about storytelling, perspective, and what it means when the story hits close to home. We also recorded at a restaurant in Altadena with its own remarkable comeback story after the fires – and, as it turns out, a connection to Jacob that makes for a fun, unexpected start to the episode. And wait until you hear who he says he was starstruck by – it involves randomly running into his journalistic hero… and ending up being featured by him.
Jacob Soboroff has built a national reputation as a television journalist and author, reporting from the field for NBC News, MSNBC, MS NOW and beyond.
But his story starts in Los Angeles.
In this episode, Jacob shares what it was like growing up in the Pacific Palisades – and then, years later, reporting on it burning down on live television – along with the unlikely early experiences that shaped his path, from chasing celebrities on the red carpet to an internship where his job was literally to say “no” on behalf of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
We also talk about his latest book, Firestorm, and how covering the Palisades and Eaton fires became both a professional assignment and a deeply personal story – one that reflects how Los Angeles shows up for itself in moments of crisis.
It’s a conversation about storytelling, perspective, and what it means when the story hits close to home.
We also recorded at a restaurant in Altadena with its own remarkable comeback story after the fires – and, as it turns out, a connection to Jacob that makes for a fun, unexpected start to the episode.
And wait until you hear who he says he was starstruck by – it involves randomly running into his journalistic hero… and ending up being featured by him.