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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