Skip to content
870. - Tom Freston episode artwork

Nov 14, 2025 1 hr 9 min

870. - Tom Freston

from How Long Gone

Tom Freston was a co-founder of MTV who later led MTV Networks’ global expansion and served as CEO of Viacom. His great new memoir, Unplugged, is out next week. We chat with him from his home in New York about travelling overland to the Middle East in the 70s, his early ad man days, how to manage a business that's heading downhill, he has no time for audiobooks, his favorite podcasts, Trump calling up for VMA tickets back in the day, how brands took over entertainment media, our favorite Unplugged episodes, how MTV spread from middle America to LA and New York, getting fined by the American government for having lunch with Fidel Castro, when Vice was Vice, and his favorite restaurants in NY. instagram.com/tomfrestonunplugged twitter.com/donetodeath twitter.com/themjeans howlonggone.com

Episode details come from the podcast's RSS feed.

Embed this episode

Ready to play

870. - Tom Freston

0:00 1:09:44

No transcript yet.

Requests help us decide what to transcribe next.

Frequently asked questions

How long is this episode of How Long Gone?

This episode is 1 hour and 9 minutes long.

When was this How Long Gone episode published?

This episode was published on November 14, 2025.

Can I download this How Long Gone episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.