Niche ID with Laura Markwardt

Season Two Wrap: Discernment, cultural curation, creativity through constraints

A special wrap episode sharing my takeaways from the second season, all shaped by conversations with authors, artists and creators across the modern cultural landscape. Themes include: * The ecology of the niche * Taste, discernment and curation * The ambition of ‘the thing’ * Acting into significance * Defining your own terms of success Gratitude here for everyone who shared their stories and theories with me. And thanks to everyone who listened, supported and shared the podcast. Season 3 drop TBC. Follow and be the first to know. Enjoying Niche ID? Thank you for following the show and sharing with your friends <3 Niche ID newsletter: https://lauramarkwardt.substack.com/

John Higgs: The KLF, Lynchian, folk, niche creation

"If you haven't seen the humour in something, you haven't seen the truth." That's Sussex-based author, John Higgs [https://johnhiggs.com/author/johnhiggs/], known for his non-fiction books on counterculture, history, and biography. You might know him from The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds [https://www.google.com/search?q=The+KLF%3A+Chaos%2C+Magic+and+the+Band+who+Burned+a+Million+Quid&oq=order+of+john+higgs+books+pulished&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgcIAhAhGI8CMgcIAxAhGI8C0gEINzU2N2oxajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&mstk=AUtExfDneeXstxsJJa-lAbwH6KLrfb4L1Xl8YN8JMOFyMIig53APgBqjnlZJK9_6-y-NSkEbefiHM1hUCcnzgaCrglvbmtuN3xIKihQKmGMiYZRfC-eIOzidR8yntEPfKEcmrTLVi7VyQ-Cd-ewuIPuczpbKVI3KCyePcM04hXRG19CRHys&csui=3&ved=2ahUKEwi6weuo1teTAxW0TkEAHTYWEHwQgK4QegQIARAC] (2012) or his follow-up, Stranger Than We Can Imagine: Making Sense of the 20th Century [https://www.google.com/search?q=Stranger+Than+We+Can+Imagine&oq=order+of+john+higgs+books+pulished&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgcIAhAhGI8CMgcIAxAhGI8C0gEINzU2N2oxajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&mstk=AUtExfDneeXstxsJJa-lAbwH6KLrfb4L1Xl8YN8JMOFyMIig53APgBqjnlZJK9_6-y-NSkEbefiHM1hUCcnzgaCrglvbmtuN3xIKihQKmGMiYZRfC-eIOzidR8yntEPfKEcmrTLVi7VyQ-Cd-ewuIPuczpbKVI3KCyePcM04hXRG19CRHys&csui=3&ved=2ahUKEwi6weuo1teTAxW0TkEAHTYWEHwQgK4QegQIARADhttps://www.google.com/search?q=Stranger+Than+We+Can+Imagine&oq=order+of+john+higgs+books+pulished&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgcIAhAhGI8CMgcIAxAhGI8C0gEINzU2N2oxajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&mstk=AUtExfDneeXstxsJJa-lAbwH6KLrfb4L1Xl8YN8JMOFyMIig53APgBqjnlZJK9_6-y-NSkEbefiHM1hUCcnzgaCrglvbmtuN3xIKihQKmGMiYZRfC-eIOzidR8yntEPfKEcmrTLVi7VyQ-Cd-ewuIPuczpbKVI3KCyePcM04hXRG19CRHys&csui=3&ved=2ahUKEwi6weuo1teTAxW0TkEAHTYWEHwQgK4QegQIARAD]. He’s also written books on Timothy Leary [https://www.google.com/search?q=I+Have+America+Surrounded%3A+The+Life+of+Timothy+Leary&oq=order+of+john+higgs+books+pulished&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgcIAhAhGI8CMgcIAxAhGI8C0gEINzU2N2oxajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&mstk=AUtExfDneeXstxsJJa-lAbwH6KLrfb4L1Xl8YN8JMOFyMIig53APgBqjnlZJK9_6-y-NSkEbefiHM1hUCcnzgaCrglvbmtuN3xIKihQKmGMiYZRfC-eIOzidR8yntEPfKEcmrTLVi7VyQ-Cd-ewuIPuczpbKVI3KCyePcM04hXRG19CRHys&csui=3&ved=2ahUKEwi6weuo1teTAxW0TkEAHTYWEHwQgK4QegQIARAE], Watling Street [https://johnhiggs.com/books/watling-street/], William Blake [https://www.google.com/search?q=William+Blake+vs+The+World&oq=order+of+john+higgs+books+pulished&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgcIAhAhGI8CMgcIAxAhGI8C0gEINzU2N2oxajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&mstk=AUtExfDneeXstxsJJa-lAbwH6KLrfb4L1Xl8YN8JMOFyMIig53APgBqjnlZJK9_6-y-NSkEbefiHM1hUCcnzgaCrglvbmtuN3xIKihQKmGMiYZRfC-eIOzidR8yntEPfKEcmrTLVi7VyQ-Cd-ewuIPuczpbKVI3KCyePcM04hXRG19CRHys&csui=3&ved=2ahUKEwi6weuo1teTAxW0TkEAHTYWEHwQgK4QegQIARAG], Bond and The Beatles [https://www.google.com/search?q=Love+and+Let+Die%3A+Bond%2C+The+Beatles+and+the+British+Psyche&oq=order+of+john+higgs+books+pulished&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgcIAhAhGI8CMgcIAxAhGI8C0gEINzU2N2oxajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&mstk=AUtExfDneeXstxsJJa-lAbwH6KLrfb4L1Xl8YN8JMOFyMIig53APgBqjnlZJK9_6-y-NSkEbefiHM1hUCcnzgaCrglvbmtuN3xIKihQKmGMiYZRfC-eIOzidR8yntEPfKEcmrTLVi7VyQ-Cd-ewuIPuczpbKVI3KCyePcM04hXRG19CRHys&csui=3&ved=2ahUKEwi6weuo1teTAxW0TkEAHTYWEHwQgK4QegQIARAH], Doctor Who [https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/exterminate-regenerate-the-story-of-doctor-who-john-higgs/7806409?ean=9781399614788&next=t], and most recently David Lynch in Lynchian [https://www.google.com/search?q=Lynchian&oq=order+of+john+higgs+books+pulished&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgcIAhAhGI8CMgcIAxAhGI8C0gEINzU2N2oxajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&mstk=AUtExfDneeXstxsJJa-lAbwH6KLrfb4L1Xl8YN8JMOFyMIig53APgBqjnlZJK9_6-y-NSkEbefiHM1hUCcnzgaCrglvbmtuN3xIKihQKmGMiYZRfC-eIOzidR8yntEPfKEcmrTLVi7VyQ-Cd-ewuIPuczpbKVI3KCyePcM04hXRG19CRHys&csui=3&ved=2ahUKEwi6weuo1teTAxW0TkEAHTYWEHwQgK4QegQIARAI] (2025). John’s also worked in video games design. At one point here, he compares writing to programming, and I kinda regret not digging in more to ask him about game theory and the commonalities between world building and the creative process. We got everything else covered though. Order, chaos and the future of counterculture. Rest assured. Much of what we cover (the creative process, quitting jobs, proof that book reviews don’t count and that the “metric-led online world is bollocks”) align with the Niche ID ethos, but also work as compelling frameworks for the “random and extraordinary” world that we forever exist (and continue to resist) in. Enjoying Niche ID? Thank you for following the show and sharing with your friends <3 Niche ID newsletter: https://lauramarkwardt.substack.com/

Professor Leigh Wilson: Spiracle audiobooks, the indie small press, experimental novels

In conversation with Professor Leigh Wilson, in the School of Humanities (English Literature) at University of Westminster. Leigh is co-editor of Contemporary Women’s Writing and works on modernism, the role of publishing in literary culture, and the experimental novel through the 20th century. She also co-runs a project on the Contemporary Small Press [http://www.contemporarysmallpress.com] at Westminster. This work brought Leigh together with audio producer, Kate Bland, to found Spiracle [https://www.spiracleaudiobooks.com/] in 2022, an independent literary hub specialising in audiobooks, articles and podcasts. In this episode, Leigh shares her take on communal literary culture, the magic of being "mesmerised by a voice" and why she engages her students to engage with audio for a “deeper, immersive experience.” Does listening count as reading? Leigh says yes, it does. So now you know. Enjoying Niche ID? Thank you for comments, reviews, following the show and sharing with friends <3 Niche ID newsletter: https://lauramarkwardt.substack.com/

Alison Williams: War Hall: Theatre of the Mind, Gibson Banner guitars, synchronicity, The Art Spirit

In conversation with Alison Williams, the creative polymath behind the Guardian-recommended podcast, War Hall: Theatre of the Mind [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-hall/id1861527488], starring 96-year-old cinema legend Angela Allen. The first series of War Hall is grounded in the rich social audio history of Walthamstow’s assembly Hall and the words from a 1930/40s brochure of that time via Alison, sum it up: "The bombs were falling all around but the music was divine" Alison has also held roles at Film London, working from Pinewood Studios. She master-minded Moomins: The Woman Who Fell In Love With An Island exhibition at Walthamstow Wetlands that ran from 2021 to 2022, and she’s currently at PRS Foundation [https://prsfoundation.com/], which is the UK's leading charitable funder of new music and talent development. This conversation goes everywhere. It’s packed with art (Robert Henri, Delia Derbyshire, Disney, Lynch), creativity against all odds and (of course!) some magical thinking. It's really worth checking out the the accompanying Niche ID newsletter [https://lauramarkwardt.substack.com/] on this one for more links, visuals and rabbit holes. Don’t miss Alison's The War Hall bonus episode [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-hall/id1861527488] being released on 8th May 2026 for VE Day. Enjoying Niche ID? Thank you for following the show and sharing with your friends <3 War Hall: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-hall/id1861527488 Niche ID newsletter: https://lauramarkwardt.substack.com/

Jessie Hyman of Pruzan: Fandoms, non-measurables, the Marathon

Most runners move to a new city, and join their local track club to find their people. Pruzan [https://pruzanrunning.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoqk1F-Cfo-ayDkpa2L_DdEk7oAbsr4zCDBFhhlCKK4ApV3xV8Ex]’s Jessie Hyman [https://www.instagram.com/tenniswithhemingway/] co-founded a whole new brand. Settling in London from NYC, Jessie links Pruzan’s 2022 origin story not just to the search for the perfect pair of marathon shorts [https://pruzanrunning.com/products/marathon-shorts-tm], but to her search for a sense of self, and ultimately, a performance running community that moves through the world like she does. Discovering the women’s running collective, Hot Boys Athletics [https://www.instagram.com/hotboysathletics/], was the unlock Jessie was looking for, and she hit her stride. Today, Jessie combines real feedback from her friends in training with her background leading user insights at Spotify to iterate on products that, “don’t look like anyone else.” We talk about that point of difference, alongside fashion, fandoms and non-measurables that sit behind definitions of success. Jessie tells me “As runners, we’re all just chasing that race experience that feels like you’re floating. It’s once in a blue moon,” she says, “but may we all have it a few times.” Enjoy. @pruzan [https://www.instagram.com/pruzanrunning/] Support charity: water [https://www.charitywater.org/uk/jessie-orla/jessie-orla-london-marathon-2026] with Jessie this 2026 London Marathon. Enjoying Niche ID? Please follow the show and share with your friends. Subscribe to the ⁠Niche ID newsletter⁠ [https://lauramarkwardt.substack.com/] for episode updates.