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How Long Gone

870. - Tom Freston

How Long Gone

Chris Black & Jason Stewart / Talkhouse

Society & Culture

4.41.1K Ratings

🗓️ 14 November 2025

⏱️ 74 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

How long gone?

0:18.0

It is an overcast rare Thursday recording. We've had to adjust our schedule

0:25.1

because we have the GQM and the year awards tomorrow night. I'm in Los Angeles and so is Jason.

0:30.6

I got to say big bro, I needed sun and I'm not getting it and I'm not going to get it from

0:35.9

what I understand. We got a little rain tomorrow. Like I said like I said you just missed it bro 87 degrees yesterday or whatever it was so you you're at the chateau

0:43.6

and our listeners should know your your suitcase with your podcasting equipment is being held hostage

0:48.9

because they're setting up a red carpet in the little area for some dumb event tomorrow so that that's why

0:56.5

you hear chris's voice i don't think it'll sound i don't think it'll sound that bad to be i don't i don't

1:01.4

i didn't say it's going to sound bad i'm going to say it sounds different different i well the the yeah

1:06.3

the um i ran to will in the lobby and he was like yeah we're getting, they're saying it's an atmospheric river vibe tomorrow.

1:14.7

So we've decided to make, we've decided to make a few changes to the layout to make sure everything's covered.

1:21.1

But you have a atmospheric river.

1:22.4

I forgot about that phrase.

1:23.7

It's such a great descriptive term.

1:25.6

It really says so much.

1:27.2

But he seemed, he didn't seem

1:29.0

stressed so i'm not stressed you know yeah we'll throw a little money at that problem you know it doesn't

1:33.7

have to be all indoors i mean all outdoors right no it doesn't it really doesn't yeah i'm excited after

1:39.3

this i'm going to hop in the sauna head over there we got some table reads feeling very writers roomy i

1:45.7

can't wait to get the uh the checks mix going and the whatever we order the sweet green orders

1:51.8

protein play don't worry i already i already ran into 15 producers uh that said hello um that i

1:58.0

recognize from our zoom calls so they're ready they've got the gummy

...

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