Louis sits down with David Byrne, the musician, author and iconic frontman of Talking Heads. David tells Louis about personality clashes within the band, how his neurodivergence plays a role in his music, and being at the centre of a culture-war storm. Plus, they discuss whether Donald Trump stole his ‘big suit’.

Warnings: Strong language and adult themes.  
 
Links/Attachments:  

Book: Bicycle Diaries, David Byrne (2009) 
<a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/bicycle-diaries/david-byrne/9780571371266">https://www.waterstones.com/book/bicycle-diaries/david-byrne/9780571371266</a>  
 
Album: Who Is The Sky, David Byrne (2025) 
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/5xDqZQlSx2gRrAyAgHQ8AB">https://open.spotify.com/album/5xDqZQlSx2gRrAyAgHQ8AB</a>  
 
Song: ‘The Book I Read’, Talking Heads (1977) 
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/4OT7Ndu29Z7JfhwRS2iCJX">https://open.spotify.com/track/4OT7Ndu29Z7JfhwRS2iCJX</a>  
 
Song: ‘That’s the Way (I Like It), KC & The Sunshine Band (1994) 
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/0RQTbMBgSq7xgdZSHFZg4R">https://open.spotify.com/track/0RQTbMBgSq7xgdZSHFZg4R</a>  
  
Book: ‘An Anthropologist on Mars’, Oliver Sacks (1995) 
<a href="https://www.oliversacks.com/oliver-sacks-books/an-anthropologist-on-mars/">https://www.oliversacks.com/oliver-sacks-books/an-anthropologist-on-mars/</a>  
 
Song: ‘She Explains Things To Me’, David Byrne (2025) <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/5f6f5JMGxgNa0LAJqtaUXY">https://open.spotify.com/album/5f6f5JMGxgNa0LAJqtaUXY</a>  
 
 Song: ‘Psycho Killer’, Talking Heads (1977) 
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/7dSCxR4LqkmxoBrq9MzVSD">https://open.spotify.com/track/7dSCxR4LqkmxoBrq9MzVSD</a>  
 
Artist: Randy Newman 
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/3HQyFCFFfJO3KKBlUfZsyW">https://open.spotify.com/artist/3HQyFCFFfJO3KKBlUfZsyW</a> 
 
Artist: Alice Cooper  
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/3EhbVgyfGd7HkpsagwL9GS">https://open.spotify.com/artist/3EhbVgyfGd7HkpsagwL9GS</a>  
 
Album: Talking Heads 77, Talking Heads (1977) <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/0r7o2FeARRr23EZ0TJ0a8S">https://open.spotify.com/album/0r7o2FeARRr23EZ0TJ0a8S</a>  
 
Artist: Ramones  
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/1co4F2pPNH8JjTutZkmgSm">https://open.spotify.com/artist/1co4F2pPNH8JjTutZkmgSm</a>  
 
Artist: The Clash  
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/3RGLhK1IP9jnYFH4BRFJBS">https://open.spotify.com/artist/3RGLhK1IP9jnYFH4BRFJBS</a>  
 
Artist: Sex Pistols  
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/1u7kkVrr14iBvrpYnZILJR">https://open.spotify.com/artist/1u7kkVrr14iBvrpYnZILJR</a>  
 
2002 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Talking Heads performance: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBr0FJsDk1g">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBr0FJsDk1g</a> 
 
Stop Making Sense (1984) 
<a href="https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/stop-making-sense/umc.cmc.4qcn1p5rridjzo742xirf9j8m">https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/stop-making-sense/umc.cmc.4qcn1p5rridjzo742xirf9j8m</a>  
 
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 
<a href="https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/the-silence-of-the-lambs/umc.cmc.vo1hrvp25kr64fq8irp5jx75?action=play">https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/the-silence-of-the-lambs/umc.cmc.vo1hrvp25kr64fq8irp5jx75?action=play</a>  
 
True Stories (2016) 
<a href="https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/true-stories/umc.cmc.7ffwwfhraf765c0l9l1v7a4tw?action=play">https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/true-stories/umc.cmc.7ffwwfhraf765c0l9l1v7a4tw?action=play</a>  
 
Weekly World News: 
<a href="https://weeklyworldnews.com/">https://weeklyworldnews.com/</a>  
 
David’s online magazine:  
<a href="https://reasonstobecheerful.world/">https://reasonstobecheerful.world/</a>  
  
Credits: 
Producer: Millie Chu  
Assistant Producer: Artemis Irvine 
Production Manager: Francesca Bassett  
Music: Miguel D’Oliveira  
Audio Mixer: Tom Guest 
Video Mixer: Scott Edwards  
Shownotes compiled by Elly Young 
Executive Producer: Arron Fellows  
   
A Mindhouse Production for Spotify  
<a href="http://www.mindhouse.co.uk/">www.mindhouse.co.uk</a>   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

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S6 EP5: David Byrne on clashes in Talking Heads, neurodivergence, and culture wars

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