Science Friday· Folge 1408

How important ideas get reawakened, with David Byrne

Dienstag, 6. Oktober 2026 · 16 min

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On Science Friday, we love to talk about ideas, especially ideas that have the power to shape the future. But there are plenty of groundbreaking ideas (sciencefriday.com/segments/how-important-ideas…) that almost don’t make it out of the lab or the art studio: ideas that are birthed but then fall into a deep slumber until, years later, they’re reawakened.
Why this happens is the subject of the new book, “Sleeping Beauties: Why Good Ideas Go Dormant and How They Wake Up,” (bookshop.org/a/18570/9780593655276) by David Bryne, artist, musician, and lead singer for Talking Heads. He joins Flora to explain.
Watch the interview (youtube.com/watch?v=m-pfp-SbglU) on YouTube.
Read an excerpt (sciencefriday.com/articles/sleeping-beauties-d…) from “Sleeping Beauties.”
Guest:
David Byrne is an artist, musician, and the lead singer for Talking Heads.
Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com/segments/how-important-ideas….

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