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

4 Nov 2025 · 1 h 16 min

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

0:00 1:16:23

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)

https://www.waterstones.com/book/bicycle-diaries/david-byrne/9780571371266

Album: Who Is The Sky, David Byrne (2025)

https://open.spotify.com/album/5xDqZQlSx2gRrAyAgHQ8AB

Song: ‘The Book I Read’, Talking Heads (1977)

https://open.spotify.com/track/4OT7Ndu29Z7JfhwRS2iCJX

Song: ‘That’s the Way (I Like It), KC & The Sunshine Band (1994)

https://open.spotify.com/track/0RQTbMBgSq7xgdZSHFZg4R

Book: ‘An Anthropologist on Mars’, Oliver Sacks (1995)

https://www.oliversacks.com/oliver-sacks-books/an-anthropologist-on-mars/

Song: ‘She Explains Things To Me’, David Byrne (2025) https://open.spotify.com/album/5f6f5JMGxgNa0LAJqtaUXY

Song: ‘Psycho Killer’, Talking Heads (1977)

https://open.spotify.com/track/7dSCxR4LqkmxoBrq9MzVSD

Artist: Randy Newman

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3HQyFCFFfJO3KKBlUfZsyW

Artist: Alice Cooper

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3EhbVgyfGd7HkpsagwL9GS

Album: Talking Heads 77, Talking Heads (1977) https://open.spotify.com/album/0r7o2FeARRr23EZ0TJ0a8S

Artist: Ramones

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1co4F2pPNH8JjTutZkmgSm

Artist: The Clash

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3RGLhK1IP9jnYFH4BRFJBS

Artist: Sex Pistols

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1u7kkVrr14iBvrpYnZILJR

2002 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Talking Heads performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBr0FJsDk1g

Stop Making Sense (1984)

https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/stop-making-sense/umc.cmc.4qcn1p5rridjzo742xirf9j8m

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/the-silence-of-the-lambs/umc.cmc.vo1hrvp25kr64fq8irp5jx75?action=play

True Stories (2016)

https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/true-stories/umc.cmc.7ffwwfhraf765c0l9l1v7a4tw?action=play

Weekly World News:

https://weeklyworldnews.com/

David’s online magazine:

https://reasonstobecheerful.world/

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

www.mindhouse.co.uk

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