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

The Louis Theroux Podcast

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Tuesday, 4 November 2025 - 1 hour 17 minutes

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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