Pacific Palisades: A Story I Never Expected To Tell

Pacific Palisades: A Story I Never Expected To Tell

Author: Mike Schibel, Travel With Meaning November 27, 2025 Duration: 51:08

In this deeply personal episode, Mike returns to his childhood home in Pacific Palisades — a place that once symbolized comfort, community, and family — now forever changed by one of the most devastating wildfires in U.S. history.

Through intimate conversations with his mother (and her experience of living in the Palisades for over 50 years), as well as his childhood best friend, photographer Chris Clinton, Mike explores themes of loss, resilience, and the unshakable spirit of community. Together, they reflect on growing up in the Palisades, the day the fire struck, and what it means to rebuild not just homes, but hope.

This is a story about memory, change, and finding connection in the aftermath of tragedy — a love letter to a place that shaped a lifetime of meaning.

Click here to read the New York Post article about Chris  

 

Chapters:
00:00 – Returning home to the Palisades
04:00 – A call from Mom: loss, displacement, and silver linings
08:00 – Rebuilding community after the fire
10:00 – A conversation with childhood friend Chris Clinton
15:00 – Growing up in the Palisades
18:00 – The day the fire hit
24:00 – Escaping the flames and saving what remains
30:00 – The aftermath: grief, survival, and resilience
40:00 – What we lost — and what remains
48:00 – Finding meaning, healing, and home again


Mike Schibel sits down with a fascinating array of guests on Travel With Meaning, but the destination is rarely the main point. Instead, this podcast explores the profound personal shifts that happen when we step outside our familiar surroundings. Each conversation delves into a specific journey-whether it’s a life-altering pilgrimage, a chaotic business trip that sparked a new idea, or a simple vacation that unexpectedly clarified a career path. You’ll hear from artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, and seasoned travel experts, but the focus remains on the transformative moment, the insight gained, or the connection made that reverberated long after the suitcase was put away. Schibel, founder of Travel With Meaning, guides these discussions with a genuine curiosity, allowing his guests to unpack not just their itineraries but the emotional and professional baggage they carried with them. The stories reveal how travel acts as a catalyst, reshaping identities, forging unexpected creative directions, and offering a new lens on one’s place in the world. Listening feels like being part of an intimate, thoughtful dialogue where the map of a life is redrawn by the roads taken. This isn't about recommendations or tips; it's about the lasting imprint of a place on a person. The podcast consistently uncovers how the world, in all its diverse complexity, has a way of teaching us exactly what we need to learn, often when we least expect it.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Travel With Meaning
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