David Byrne on “American Utopia,” and living an optimistic life

Byrne is passionate about being a good citizen of the world, but like many, has struggled with current events. So, he created an online forum, “Reasons to Be Cheerful,” to spotlight the ways the world is working.

Altschul asked, “Is that kind of where you are in your life now? Are you a more optimistic, joyful person these days?”

He laughed: “I asked myself the exact same question: Am I a different person than I was before? Is my innate nature joyful and optimistic, or – I think this is maybe more likely – that I love working with these musicians so much, I love performing, I love what I’m doing, I love the message that we’re putting across, that that gives me optimism.”

Read the full interview and watch the TV news segment on CBS Sunday Morning here.