Reasons to be Cheerful with David Byrne

Summary

Rotary Voices Podcast Summary: "Reasons to Be Cheerful with David Byrne"

Episode Release Date: December 9, 2024
Host: Scott Simon
Guest: David Byrne
Podcast: Rotary Voices by Rotary Magazine

---

Introduction

In the December 9, 2024 episode of the Rotary Voices podcast, host Scott Simon engages in an enriching conversation with David Byrne, the acclaimed musician, artist, and former frontman of Talking Heads. The discussion centers around Byrne's brainchild, the nonprofit online magazine "Reasons to Be Cheerful," celebrating its fifth anniversary. This episode delves into the magazine's origins, its mission to disseminate optimistic and solution-based news, its collaboration with Rotary International, and Byrne's personal insights on fostering positivity in today's often bleak news landscape.

Origins of "Reasons to Be Cheerful"

David Byrne shares the personal motivations behind launching "Reasons to Be Cheerful," emphasizing his desire to counteract the pervasive negativity in mainstream media. At [02:15], Byrne reflects:

"Like a lot of people, I get up in the morning and read the newspapers over coffee and grapefruit, things like that, and end up getting all my stomach in a knot and anxious and angry."

Recognizing the detrimental impact of constant negative news on mental health and societal outlook, Byrne began by collecting hopeful stories and evolved this passion into a structured platform. Initially starting with two stories a week, the magazine has since scaled to publishing five optimistic stories daily, illustrating Byrne's commitment to fostering a more balanced media consumption.

Content and Notable Stories

"Reasons to Be Cheerful" distinguishes itself by focusing on evidence-based, practical solutions to global challenges rather than mere feel-good narratives. Byrne highlights a particularly impactful story on dam removal in Maine at [04:03], which serves as a testament to successful environmental restoration:

"One of the most popular in recent months was about dam removal in Maine... a surprising good news is that the fish and the wildlife all start to come back."

This narrative not only showcases environmental improvement but also underscores the intricate interconnectedness of ecosystems and human well-being, as reflected in the resurgence of wildlife and the subsequent rise in real estate values. Byrne emphasizes the importance of understanding the mechanics behind such positive changes, making the stories both inspiring and educational.

Challenges and Learnings

Throughout the five-year journey, Byrne acknowledges the persistent availability of positive stories, though occasionally encountering difficulties in sourcing verified, impactful solutions. At [07:50], he notes:

"Sometimes it's a little bit of struggle getting that kind of data."

This commitment to authenticity ensures that the magazine maintains its credibility and continues to provide substantive, actionable optimism. Additionally, Byrne expresses his astonishment at the magazine's financial sustainability and the continuous influx of meaningful stories, which defy his initial doubts about the longevity of positive news outlets.

He also touches upon the evolution of his team dynamics, recognizing that as the magazine matures, it flourishes under the stewardship of dedicated editors and writers, allowing Byrne to delegate and focus on broader visions.

Relationship with Rotary International

The collaboration between "Reasons to Be Cheerful" and Rotary International is a pivotal aspect of the magazine's reach and impact. Byrne remarks at [11:53]:

"Our interests have aligned and some of the things that we're doing and some of the things that Rotary is interested in bringing to their readers."

This partnership facilitates a content-sharing synergy, amplifying the dissemination of positive, solution-oriented stories to a broader audience. Byrne expresses a pleasant surprise at discovering the overlapping missions of his magazine and Rotary International, leading to fruitful storytelling collaborations and promising future projects.

Personal Reflections: David Byrne's Experiences

Beyond the magazine, Byrne shares personal anecdotes that reflect his philosophy on positivity and human connection. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he adapted his lifestyle by exploring New York City by bicycle, discovering the city's diverse neighborhoods and finding solace in the quieter, more vibrant aspects of urban life. At [12:41], he recounts:

"It was an eerie moment, but you could hear birds everywhere."

This experience symbolizes the magazine's ethos—finding hope and beauty amidst chaos.

Moreover, Byrne discusses the impact of technology on human interactions, expressing concerns about the diminishing face-to-face connections. He observes:

"There's a certain thing that happens when you're dealing with a human being, and I do worry about those things being gradually taken away from us."

His insights advocate for maintaining authentic human relationships as a cornerstone of societal well-being.

Future Plans and Celebrations

Celebrating its fifth anniversary, "Reasons to Be Cheerful" is organizing a variety show event in New York City set for October 8th. Byrne describes the event as:

"It itself should be a reason to be cheerful... a variety show, which those don't happen as often as they used to."

Featuring performances by an all-woman brass band, drum corps, singer-songwriters, and a ventriloquist, the event embodies the magazine's commitment to diversity and creativity. Byrne also hints at exploring additional cities for similar events, aiming to expand the reach and influence of positive storytelling.

In a nod to traditional media, Byrne reveals plans to launch a physical magazine:

"Maybe we can capture the feeling of what we do in another format... hold a magazine."

This initiative seeks to diversify content delivery, catering to audiences who appreciate the tactile experience of print media, despite the digital dominance in contemporary publishing.

Conclusion

David Byrne's "Reasons to Be Cheerful" stands as a beacon of optimism, systematically presenting verified, solution-oriented stories that inspire and empower readers. Through unwavering dedication and strategic collaborations, notably with Rotary International, the magazine has cultivated a sustained impact over five years. Byrne's personal experiences and reflections enrich the narrative, underscoring the importance of human connection and collective positivity in navigating today's challenges. As the magazine looks forward to future endeavors and continues to expand its positive influence, it remains a testament to the enduring power of optimism and actionable hope.

---

Notable Quotes:

• David Byrne [02:15]: "Like a lot of people, I get up in the morning and read the newspapers over coffee and grapefruit, things like that, and end up getting all my stomach in a knot and anxious and angry."

• David Byrne [04:03]: "One of the most popular in recent months was about dam removal in Maine... a surprising good news is that the fish and the wildlife all start to come back."

• David Byrne [11:53]: "Our interests have aligned and some of the things that we're doing and some of the things that Rotary is interested in bringing to their readers."

• David Byrne [16:30]: "There's a certain thing that happens when you're dealing with a human being, and I do worry about those things being gradually taken away from us."

---

Additional Information:

For those interested in exploring more about Rotary International or participating in Rotary clubs, visit https://rotary.org.

Transcript

[David Byrne]

This episode of the Rotary Voices Podcast is brought to you by Archaeological Paths Explore Egypt with renowned archaeologists.

[Scott Simon]

Visit www.archaeologicalpaths.com for more information.

[David Byrne]

From Rotary.

[Scott Simon]

Magazine this is the Rotary Voices Podcast. I'm Scott Simon. Five years ago, the legendary musician, artist and former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne launched a nonprofit online magazine called Reasons to Be Cheerful. The magazine offers good news in a market otherwise dominated by doom and gloom, and serves as a counterbalance to the alarming and overwhelmingly negative stories that constantly flow from our screens. But Reasons to Be Cheerful doesn't just cover your average feel good stories. The outlet reports evidence based, time tested solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems, from online privacy to climate change. In fact, you may have read some of their pieces in Rotary magazine as the two publications have a content sharing partnership and jointly develop stories together. What started as David Byrne's personal project has evolved into a full editorial and administrative team, publishing an optimistic story every weekday. Over the past five years, Reasons to Be Cheerful has published nearly a thousand such stories. David Byrne says he sees no end in sight I recently sat down with David Byrne ahead of Reasons to Be Cheerful's fifth anniversary celebration in New York City to discuss the origins of Reasons to Be Cheerful, the stories that have stuck with him, and his personal reflections on cheer in our world today. Welcome to the Rotary Voices Podcast. I'm Scott Simon and we're speaking with David Byrne, musician and artist, about the fifth anniversary of his news website, Reasons to Be Cheerful. David Byrne joins us now. Thanks so much for being with us.

[David Byrne]

Thank you for inviting me. Thank you. We've done things with Rotary before, so it's not a new connection. No.

[Scott Simon]

We'll talk a bit about that. What made you start this website, Reasons to Be Cheerful?

[David Byrne]

Like a lot of people, I get up in the morning and read the newspapers over coffee and grapefruit, things like that, and end up getting all my stomach in a knot and anxious and angry. And that lasts into my day. And I realized this is not good for me, not good for my health and it's not solving any of the problems I'm reading about. It's just getting me worked up. So my response was when I saw something that seemed hopeful, especially someone who had actually solved one of the problems out in the world somewhere. I just saved it into a folder. Then I started myself writing about these things and I started doing little talks around town here and there, basically saying things are maybe not as bad as we think they are. The algorithms in our own kind of nature lead us to Kind of prioritize negative things. And I thought, that doesn't mean they're not untrue, but it means we give them more weight than positive stuff. And the Internet sort of preys on that. And I realized maybe we can be a counterweight to that, and maybe we can do this in a kind of more formal way. And so I reached out and started working with editors and writers and Web designer, all those kinds of things. We started just doing like, two stories a week, and now we're up to five. One new story every weekday. I'm surprised there's that many stories.

[Scott Simon]

Where do you find these stories? Is it hard?

[David Byrne]

It would be for me. But all credit to the writers who are out there all over the world and the editors who encourage them to go out and find these things.

[Scott Simon]

What kind of stories? Stay with you. That maybe you've seen recently.

[David Byrne]

One of the most popular in recent months was about dam removal in Maine. The same thing has happened in a river that borders Oregon and California. These dams were no longer generating any electricity or power. They were built when logging was a huge industry in Maine. And they provided a little bit of mechanical power to run the mills. Those are long gone. And now they just stop the fish and they back up the water. So the water becomes kind of stagnant. So little by little, these have been removed. And kind of a surprising good news is that the fish and the wildlife all start to come back. The predators that feed on the fish and all this kind of the eagles and the raccoons and the bears and everything like that, they all start to come back little by little. And so this life along a river becomes more vibrant. And from the human point of view, the river becomes a better place. And the real estate values, which plummeted when the river was stagnant, now the real estate values have gone back up, and it's a more desirable place to live by the river.

[Scott Simon]

So this is a story that tells people it's possible to make a difference.

[David Byrne]

It is possible to make a difference. And then we go into the details of how this was done, the various legislative things, and all these kind of efforts, which and might not be everyone's cup of tea, the mechanics of how change like this happens. But it's kind of important to know, yeah, this is how it happens. It's not a magical snap of the fingers.

[Scott Simon]

I feel the need, as somebody who has spent a lifetime in the news business, to point out we think we're doing something helpful when we do a story in which we talk about how Bad things are. Because people need to know that.

[David Byrne]

Of course, yes. I don't deny that a lot of those stories are true. Yes. I guess what I'm saying is the algorithms in social media and our own evolutionary bias, we pay more attention to bad news or things that might threaten us, that scare us, than we would to things that are hopeful. It's a kind of survival instinct. And I thought, okay, maybe we can redress that balance a little bit, because there are things that are people that have found solutions, and there are things that are hopeful out there, and they just don't automatically get the clicks that the bad use does.

[Scott Simon]

Over these past five years with reasons to be cheerful, may I ask, do you still fill yourself up with news? I mean, would you know there's a terribly destructive war in the Middle east and one in Ukraine?

[David Byrne]

Yes, I certainly know about the wars. I still read the papers when I get up in the morning. But now at least I have an alternative. If I need kind of some therapy, let's say after getting myself all worked up reading what's happened overnight, I can at least turn to something. Oh, here's some people who've done something hopeful, at least now, if I'm having a dinner conversation with friends or something, and I start talking about a subject and how bad it is and how terrible and hopeless it seems, I go, ah, but did you know if it hit these people in Vienna, here's how they solve their housing problem and not make a pompous speech. But it means I can kind of counter the kind of negative stories.

[Scott Simon]

Boy, I wonder if anybody ever says, don't sit next to David Byrne. He'll just fill your ear with cheerful stuff.

[David Byrne]

Exactly. No, I haven't gotten that, but maybe they do.

[Scott Simon]

And over the five years you've been doing reasons to be cheerful, have you ever had to scrounge? Or are the stories somehow always there?

[David Byrne]

Surprisingly, there are stories there. But I will admit that sometimes, as kind of founder of this thing, I push for real, hard evidence that a solution is a real solution and not a wish or not just a good idea or somebody trying something out. The reader needs to see that this actually has been successful and gives some measure of the success. So sometimes it's a little bit of struggle getting that kind of data. As you probably know, not everything in every situation, you get handed data and numbers and evidence that are exactly what you want. Sometimes you have to look for it.

[Scott Simon]

What do you think you've learned through five years of putting out reasons to be cheerful? I mean, for one Thing does that five years figure. Does it surprise you to hear?

[David Byrne]

I'm surprised that financially we've managed to hang in there and we're doing all right. I'm surprised that we keep finding stories. I genuinely thought that at some point we'd scrape the bottom of the barrel and be like, okay, that's it for the good news. But neither of those things happened. And the other things are all very kind of administrative. I learned that there's always changes and shifts in the team and the people who are working on things. And eventually it kind of settles into something and you go, ah, now people are doing what they like and they're doing it well. And I can kind of step back a bit because working with really good people. Yeah, very nice when that happens.

[Scott Simon]

And working with stories that might make people cheerful, might make people take heart. And you don't have ads or paywalls, right? No, we don't.

[David Byrne]

Yes, no ads or pay your walls. We did try ads for a little while and of course we carefully vetted the ads, but it really didn't do much for us. It was just, we thought, no, for the amount that came in, we. Let's put that aside for now. We run on membership. A lot of membership is really a big thing where we ask people to pay what you wish. There's no set fee, but that helps us. And then occasional philanthropic donations. We're doing an event at Town hall here in New York next month and that will bring in a little bit of money. And we do talks like I went to Maine and did a talk at the town where these dams were removed. And it wasn't just me, it was some of the people who actually organized this. So we can bring in a little bit of money here and there.

[Scott Simon]

Well, let me ask you about October 8th. Can I say celebrate?

[David Byrne]

Yeah. Yes.

[Scott Simon]

The fifth anniversary of reasons to be cheerful. We might hear some music.

[David Byrne]

Right. It had the idea that rather than it being primarily an event or show that's about reasons to be cheerful, it itself should be a reason to be cheerful. It should be an example of the kind of thing we're celebrating. So it's a variety show, which those don't happen as often as they used to. So we have, as we all woman brass band, an all woman drum corps, a singer songwriter, a woman who does hoop dancing, a ventriloquist, two different people we've written about, a comedian and myself.

[Scott Simon]

Wow.

[David Byrne]

Yes, It's a real variety show.

[Scott Simon]

I was about to say, I haven't seen a ventriloquist in Years.

[David Byrne]

She's really good. We're hoping to do more of them, maybe in other cities. Yeah.

[Scott Simon]

I have to be the millionth person to ask. Any chance of a Talking Heads reunion?

[David Byrne]

No, not much of a chance of that. But we do stay in touch. We've had a pretty good relationship in that way. So we keep pulling things out of the archives and re releasing this movie in a better print and all these kinds of things that are happening.

[Scott Simon]

And tell us about the relationship that you have with Rotary International. Reasons to Be Cheerful articles appear in their magazine, for example.

[David Byrne]

I'll be honest, it surprised me a little bit. My impression was that Rotary is an institution that you're aware of in every town that you pass through when you're driving around the country. And to be honest, I didn't know that much of what Rotary does. And so it seems that some of our interests have aligned and some of the things that we're doing and some of the things that Rotary is interested in bringing to their readers. There's a little overlap there.

[Scott Simon]

Yeah. And you've done stories together, right, Between.

[David Byrne]

Yeah, Rotary. Yes, we've done stories together and we'll probably do more in the future.

[Scott Simon]

Can I ask you about riding your bike through New York during COVID Yeah. This wasn't just to get to point A to point B. Right. This was a journey of discovery.

[David Byrne]

Yeah.

[Scott Simon]

Yeah.

[David Byrne]

During COVID it was became something very different. I'm someone who uses the bicycle as a means of commuting and getting around Manhattan. And New York is pretty flat, so it's pretty easy. And during COVID I quickly discovered, like, well, here's a way where you can remain socially distanced but still get together with some friends and explore. New York's really big. A lot of cities have a lot of sprawl, but New York is just really big. So we decided little by little to explore all these different neighborhoods that we weren't familiar with. I mean, there's all these boroughs in New York. And we went to the Bronx, we went to Jackson Heights and Flushing in Queens and ended up on one ride at the airport. And of course, it was during COVID not a single plane was flying. Oh, my. Yeah, this is right. It was early on.

[Scott Simon]

Yeah. Not really an airport then if just a flat stretch of ground.

[David Byrne]

Flat stretch of ground with some buildings in a tower. We come back for a ride and go through Times Square, which was almost empty except for a few which seemed like befuddled tourists who had somehow ended up there. And it seemed to be they were asking themselves. Well, what do we do now? We came here and now no one's here. You could hear birds.

[Scott Simon]

Wow.

[David Byrne]

I mean, it was an eerie moment, but you could hear birds everywhere.

[Scott Simon]

I hope this isn't a stretch, but.

[David Byrne]

Is that also kind of what you're.

[Scott Simon]

Doing with reasons to be cheerful, helping us hear the birds?

[David Byrne]

Yeah, that's good. I'll take that. Yeah, they're there. They're doing their best to shout above the traffic in the ambulances and everything else, but we often can't hear them. But if you can clear a little space, they're there.

[Scott Simon]

The secrets of ancient Egypt have remained hidden for a millennia until now. The world's Most famous archaeologist, Dr. Zahi Hawass, will reveal the greatest mysteries of the ancient world and present groundbreaking new discoveries for the very first time this summer. Join Dr. Hawass on his largest lecture tour ever, coming to 33 cities across the United States and Canada from May through August. Be there to witness history live on stage. Register [e-mail] Are you concerned about loneliness.

Taking us over these days?

[David Byrne]

Personally, not so much for myself. Yeah. I have friends. I see friends socially. I see people socially all the time. And I'm also a person who doesn't mind being alone at times. A lot of my work entails me being alone, but I also feel that a lot of recent, say, technological developments have increasingly been isolating us. You see people walking down the street just looking at their phones, and that's how they connect with other people. Now, it's nice to connect with other people, but to my way of thinking, that's not really a connection. You miss a lot of what a human interaction is when you just do it over social media or phone or whatever it might be. And increasingly we can relate to other people and do our shopping and do this and that without ever, ever coming in contact with another person. Granted, having a little, you know, interaction with a salesperson is not maybe the biggest thing in the world, but it is a human being. There's a certain thing that happens when you're dealing with a human being, and I do worry about those things being gradually taken away from us. Yeah.

[Scott Simon]

We have a daughter who works in the deli business, and there's a popular place across the street where you order on touch screen.

[David Byrne]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. They've replaced the ordering from a person with. You come in, you talk, you deal with the screens, and then just grab.

[Scott Simon]

Your bag and she's so charming and funny. When people order, I mean. And no extra charge.

[David Byrne]

Exactly. And that brightens up someone's day. A little tiny interaction like that can really lift someone's spirits. Yeah. And the screen is not going to do that.

[Scott Simon]

Yeah. Screen, I believe, also, from what I read, directs you, kind of subtly encourages you to add something to your order. That's at the higher price point, too.

[David Byrne]

Too.

[Scott Simon]

But that's. I can't imagine that companies would do that. Look, a lot of media companies and platforms are getting out of the paper and ink business, but reasons to be cheerful is starting an actual magazine with pages. Right.

[David Byrne]

I don't know if we're going to make it a regular thing or not, but maybe we will. For us, it's just a way of kind of putting what we do out there in another medium. So sometimes people like to have a physical thing to look at and.

[Scott Simon]

Yeah, well, I mean, why are you doing that when so much of the media is. That's the last thing they want to do at this point?

[David Byrne]

Well, I think we're doing this limited magazine to. Well, to see if we can capture the feeling of what we do in another format. If we can translate it into the layout and design and images and tactile feel that you have when you hold a magazine. I don't know if it'll be successful or not, but we'll find out.

[Scott Simon]

If somebody has an idea they think qualifies, how do they go about submitting it?

[David Byrne]

We have a contact email on the website, and I guess we'd ask that, well, be sure that you have backup evidence that whatever your story is, that there's real evidence that it's been successful. People love to talk about, oh, did you hear what they're trying to do with this? Or what? Somebody has an idea about hydrogen power or whatever it might be, we go, yes, but it hasn't quite been proven to succeed yet. So I would say before we kind of dive into it, double check that there's proof that it was successful.

[Scott Simon]

Yeah. I'm always saying at our editorial meetings, we don't want to do a story about a program that's just beginning. We want to do one about that program when it's been in operation for a year.

[David Byrne]

Exactly. Exactly. And it's tempting to write about something exciting that's just beginning, but it could fail. And then where are you?

[Scott Simon]

Yeah, well, I guess you learned something from that, too. I ask this question of the artist in you. What kind of encouragement cheer do we need to keep going to avoid being overwhelmed by all of the discouraging circumstances that we know about and hear about?

[David Byrne]

In this world. Wow. What do we need? I would say getting together with friends and colleagues and whatever little groups might do. I joined a book club recently. It's always great to get together and talk about them. Those are not that hard to do little projects or gardens or book clubs or sports things or whatever. I think getting together is really kind of a healthy thing that makes people feel better.

[Scott Simon]

Well, David Byrne, thanks so much for joining us here on the Rotary Voices podcast. Thanks so much.

[David Byrne]

Thank you. Thank you. Good to work with you all.

[Scott Simon]

This episode of the Rotary Voices podcast was produced by J.B. swenson and edited by Wen Huang. Production is by Joe Dassault and Yoo Soo Kim. I'm Scott Simon. If you enjoyed the show, please rate us five stars on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and share it with your friends. The Rotary Voices podcast is produced by Rotary Magazine, the official monthly publication of Rotary International. Thanks for listening.