Tom Freston - Co-creator of MTV

Tom Freston - Co-creator of MTV

From Ruthie's Table 4 by iHeartPodcasts

April 13, 2026 · 33 min · Season 5 · Episode 25

About this episode

Ruthie interviews Tom Freston about his memoir and adventures.

Some weeks ago, I met Tom Freston at a party in London. We immediately started talking—mostly about  Unplugged , his brilliant new memoir. Unplugged is the story of an incredible man who hitchhiked across the Sahara, lived in Kabul, spearheaded the rise of MTV, and even had lunch with Fidel Castro. Today, here we are: me in London, him in Los Angeles. We'll discuss the adventures from his book—where he's been, what he's learned, and, of course, what he ate along the way. Order Table 4 at The River Cafe —the star-studded, food-filled book inspired by the beloved podcast: https://bit.ly/Table4AtRiverCafeBook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Host: Ruthie

Guest: Tom Freston

Topics covered

  • memoir
  • adventure
  • MTV history
  • food experiences
  • travel stories

Keywords

  • Tom Freston
  • Unplugged
  • MTV
  • adventures
  • food
  • memoir
  • travel

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: MTV, The River Cafe

Books & works: Unplugged, Table 4

Places: London, Los Angeles

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