California Sun Podcast

Author: Jeff Schechtman

The California Sun presents conversations with the people that are shaping and observing the Golden State
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Language: en

Genres: News, News Commentary

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Tom Freston on how MTV changed our music, our culture, and even California
Episode 310
Thursday, 8 January, 2026

Last week, MTV officially shut down, ending an era that revolutionized music, video, and shaped California's youth culture. Tom Freston co-founded the television channel 44 years ago, building a creative empire on principles that seem impossible today: hiring people with no experience, protecting creatives from corporate pressure, valuing disorientation over data, and treating loyalty as strategy. His memoir "Unplugged" chronicles how adventure became business, and what we lost when Silicon Valley replaced joy with efficiency.