Intro

In January 2025, catastrophic wildfires tore through Los Angeles, destroying entire neighborhoods and leaving devastation that continues today. MS NOW senior reporter Jacob Soboroff reported live from the blaze in his hometown of Pacific Palisades — and is now out with a new book, Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America’s New Age of Disaster, a deeply reported account of the chaos and enduring fallout. Soboroff sat down with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to share what he witnessed on the ground and what the fires revealed about a city — and a country — unprepared for the disasters ahead.