Niche ID with Laura Markwardt

Berlin-based strategist and cultural researcher, Viktor Wendt, straddles the space between the real and virtual worlds. These days, he tells me he’s “using the book as an algorithm.” And yet, the scroll’s always calling. He’s not alone. For many of us, our social feed is the key to networks, reward systems and connection, simultaneously soothing, over-stimulating and aggregating us every time we reach for it. That aggregated creep of cultural “hyper-hegemony” is real, and it’s a theme Viktor visits often in his Substack, Substanz.Our conversation centres on a book recommendation from Viktor: Filterworld: How Algorithms Make Everything The Same by The New Yorker columnist1, Kyle Chayka. Two years after Chayka called the algorithmic dragnet “inescapable,” we revisit that ongoing tension, alongside IRL cultural recommendations that Viktor calls our, “human glue.” We discuss the pervasive reach of the algorithm, and how it incentivises rage-bait, shapes our tastes, behaviours and measures of ‘success’ across almost every part of our lives.None of these themes are new. Like the concept of “aspiring to sell-out” we’ve grown to normalise it. And now it’s in the water. To end on hope: this isn’t an anti-tech stance, it’s a pragmatic, pro-human one. A stance that encompasses surprise, serendipity and sharing, often offline, together.

Feel the fear. And listen anyway.London-based author Max Lury won the Curtis Brown Prize in 2022 (No Ghosts), and the Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize in 23/24 (Santa Fe).And yet, Max tells me he still can’t quite articulate the haunting feeling of absence and drift that emanates from our current technological moment.Fragments of it are captured through themes and scenes from his debut novel, No Ghosts, like friendship, memory, empty spaces, symbols and impermanence.Max calls his approach, “surrendering to things that don’t make a lot of sense.”Trusting ourselves to sit in that discomfort, even channelling these uncertain states of being towards something generative, represents hope, building presence from absence. Even if, like the characters in No Ghosts, we’re stuck in a loop performing past versions of ourselves. A genre-spanning conversation that dances between discomfort, fear and fascination. Enjoying Niche ID? Thank you for following the show, leaving a review and sharing with your friends <3Subscribe to the Niche ID newsletter: https://lauramarkwardt.substack.com/

Matt Willocks, Director at Good Sport Magazine and Studio joins me to talk about his recent essay, The Future is Trail. In the piece, Matt uses his background in ecology and the theory of Optimal Distinctiveness to examine how niche outdoor sports are redefining sports culture. The conversation ranges across analogue aesthetics, a complicated relationship with technology, and Matt’s run crew, AM:PM in the context of belonging, “We can be for anyone, but we can't be for everyone,” he tells me.Thinking about ideas around ‘belonging’ more broadly is something I’ve taken away with me. Specifically the paradox at the heart of how we align with groups and interests that come to define our identities. We want to feel part of something, and be validated by a group. And yet we also want to feel unique, autonomous, and self-defined. For many, the ‘optimal zone’ is at the edges: finding a group that’s small or specific enough that it makes us feel special compared to the mainstream. Chosen community is an act of self-expression, and as ‘unique’ as each one of us feels, that search for belonging unites us all. Links → @willocks_, Good Sport Magazine, Good Sport SubstackEnjoying Niche ID? Thank you for following the show, leaving a review and sharing with your friends <3Subscribe to the Niche ID newsletter: https://lauramarkwardt.substack.com/

Artist and architect, Hanna Benihoud established her own independent North London Studio in 2016. A decade later, she’s made her mark across the city designing large-scale sculptures, murals, and immersive installations.Hanna maintains a prolific, interdisciplinary output by keeping some activities just for herself. Not monetised, off the market and off the main grid. No irony intended, but it’s an approach that pays off.Case in point: Hanna’s a stealth “one-woman ambassador” for (steady-state cardio, 90s classic) step aerobics, without posting a single Triple-Knee on her feed. Insert your own fire emoji here.Ambition lives separately and success is measured through metrics Hanna’s set in advance with her “half-hippie, half-corporate” mentor, “I have it posted on my monitor. Tell stories. Make things. Get paid.” she tells me. “One thing doesn’t need to connect to the other. But if I’m doing those things, I’m living a successful life.” TLDR: A conversation that begins with architecture ends with laser tag, via domestic pitch decks, iconic graffiti (RIP Helch), secret social accounts and the true story of proposing in a dark room wearing a balaclava. Hanna’s also renovating her home on Youtube. And that project’s definitely not a secret.Links → Hanna’s Studio, (non-secret) @hanna_benihoud_studio, and her Youtube project. Enjoying Niche ID? Thank you for following the show, leaving a review and sharing with your friends <3Subscribe to the Niche ID newsletter: https://lauramarkwardt.substack.com/

In conversation with Sj Hockett (she/her/they) creative and founder of IRL.Sport: ‘An independent online and print publication exploring sports and movement from an outside perspective.’ Manchester-based Sj resides with her partner Izzi and KhⒶos, the pug cross. She’s worked in apparel design and visual identity for international cycling brand, MAP, as a Creative Director for Knog and Design Director for Space Between. Currently working on creative projects with Work in Progress Ldn, and Domino Records. The curation and design behind IRL Sports (IG here) is influenced by the flow state in motion, intersections across riding and skate culture, and the classic DIY ethos of punk zines: passion-led stories born of obsessive fandoms that burned hard and fast.Sj’s own obsession with sport began through documenting the competitive cycling world, and culminated in commissions across international races like the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.Sj studied Physics at Leeds, and that scientific background informs her stoic relationship with creative uncertainty. It’s a physical worldview equally grounded in both logic and poetry.Enjoying Niche ID? Thank you for following the show and sharing with your friends <3Subscribe to the Niche ID newsletter: https://lauramarkwardt.substack.com/

Creative advisor and entrepreneur, Kel Rakowski ( of @h_e_r_s_t_o_r_y) joins me with her dog, Mishka, at home in Brooklyn to talk about her three pillars of focus: creativity, process and taste.A self-identified “late-bloomer,” Kel’s personal story starts with making friends on the internet as a teen, and spans coming out, founding (and selling) a multi-million dollar business, losing her creative self, finding her creative self and growing her Popular Substack to 10k+ 📈 subscribers. But no hero’s journey happens overnight. Kel spent two years experimenting with her output before she honed her focus. Her style of research-as-creative-practice is unguarded, honest and full of practical advice that’s grounded in her own obsessions. She calls it, “Getting to know yourself to get to know your work.” TLDR: You start by committing consistently to the creative work, any creative work, and the self comes next.Enjoying Niche ID? Thank you for following the show and sharing with your friends <3Subscribe to the Niche ID newsletter: https://lauramarkwardt.substack.com/[Cover icon photo credit: Dahlia Dandashi]

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 nicheTaste, discernment and curationThe ambition of ‘the thing’Acting into significanceDefining your own terms of successGratitude 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 <3Niche ID newsletter: https://lauramarkwardt.substack.com/

"If you haven't seen the humour in something, you haven't seen the truth." That's Sussex-based author, John Higgs, 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 (2012) or his follow-up, Stranger Than We Can Imagine: Making Sense of the 20th Century. He’s also written books on Timothy Leary, Watling Street, William Blake, Bond and The Beatles, Doctor Who, and most recently David Lynch in Lynchian (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 <3Niche ID newsletter: https://lauramarkwardt.substack.com/

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 at Westminster. This work brought Leigh together with audio producer, Kate Bland, to found Spiracle 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 <3Niche ID newsletter: https://lauramarkwardt.substack.com/

In conversation with Alison Williams, the creative polymath behind the Guardian-recommended podcast, War Hall: Theatre of the Mind, 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, 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 on this one for more links, visuals and rabbit holes. Don’t miss Alison's The War Hall bonus episode being released on 8th May 2026 for VE Day. Enjoying Niche ID? Thank you for following the show and sharing with your friends <3War Hall: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-hall/id1861527488Niche ID newsletter: https://lauramarkwardt.substack.com/