👋 Hi, I'm Tom. I am a filmmaker and podcast producer living in Los Angeles.

Most recently, I produced an episode of Gimlet's weekly history show, Not Past It. For my role as Producer, I pitched, reported, and built out the episode. I worked closely with host, Simone Polanen and Executive Producer, Zac Stuart-Pontier to draw the line from the first use of the emoticon in 1982 all the way up to emojis today, and asked the question, "Do people get us? At least digitally?" We turned around a fully built-out episode in 6 weeks.

I created and currently host a Youtube series called Tom Explores Los Angeles where I dig into forgotten histories of Southern California. Our most recent episode asks: Did crazed rocket scientist, Jack Parsons really blow himself up? ⬇ ⬇


We've made the show for the past 9 years, have released 35 episodes, and amassed 47,864 total hours watch hours.

I worked at RCH Studios, an architecture firm, as the in-house Video Producer, helping them tell their stories visually. Before that I was a freelance radio journalist, airing pieces on various NPR stations (KPCC, KCRW KQED )through out California. I also co-produced and co-hosted a podcast series about the science-fiction author, Octavia Butler.

I went to Occidental for a BA in art and went to USC to get a Master's in journalism. I was a sign painter for many years, as well a tour guide for California State Parks and LACMA. I'm an Eagle Scout and served as a Page in U.S. House of Representatives in High school.

I once walked all 52 miles of the Los Angeles River in 2 days and wrote about it here.

My documentaries have been featured on The Atlantic and this one just won Best Short Documentary at the 2021 Arizona International Film Festival.

You can email me here 📬 or reach out via twitter.

Did Jack Parsons Blow Himself Up? | Tom Explores Los Angeles

October 2021

The life and death of Jack Parsons is stranger than fiction. An intense commitment to Black magic and the occult, a shared lover with L. Ron Hubbard, and a founding father of rocket science—Jack’s curiosity and mischief-making propelled him to success and eventually drove him to his death.

For this episode of TELA, we drew a lot of inspo from our man, Robert Stack and the first few seasons of Unsolved Mysteries.

😂 The Birth of Emoji - Not Past It | Gimlet Media :-)

September 2021

I produced a recent episode of Gimlet's weekly history "Not Past It." In the ep, we draw the line from the first use of the emoticon in '82 all the way up to pregnant man emoji set to debut in the next few months. Would be thrilled if you gave it a listen.

Smiling poop. 💩 Zombie lady. 🧟 Tears-of-joy. 😂 Emojis cover a huge spectrum of human expression. But did you ever wonder where they came from? On September 19, 1982, a computer scientist, concerned his jokes weren’t landing in a university chatroom, used the first emoticon; colon, minus sign, parenthesis. The simple smiley face set the stage for a revolution in online communication.

Hanging By A String 🤡 | Season 4 Premiere of Tom Explores

November 2020

8 months into this pandemic, I thought, “is the Bob Baker Marionette Theater going to survive this?” Turns out Covid is costing them $30,000 a month. At this rate, they think they can pay rent for another month or two. So, what do we lose if we lose the oldest marionette theater in the US?

Check out the Season 4 premiere of Tom Explores Los Angeles above.

"Charlie's Lot" has gotten into 6 Film Fests so far 🚗

July 2020

🌱Sonoma International 2021
🌱Palm Springs International ShortFest 2020
🌱Maryland 2020
🌱San Francisco DocFest 2020
🌱Arizona International 2020
🌱Florida 2020

"Charlie's Lot," a short doc about a middle-aged man who has slowly built his own personal prison, through an ever expanding collection of decaying cars, is premiering at the Maryland Film Fest

One Man's War on ICE 💎

Aug 2018

Here is a short doc that digs into the life of the 82-year-old white guy who hangs 500 "NO ICE" signs across Los Angeles every year. Meet Jack