Niche to Meet You

Niche to Meet You

Niche to Meet You is an investigative storytelling podcast about niche subcultures and hobbies that'll re-introduce you to your neighbors in technicolor. Hosted by Leslie Eiler Thompson, Niche to Meet You has the charm of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and the investigative curiosity and storytelling of Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History. We’ve covered Professional Santas, Warhammer 40,000, Wild Turkey Conservation, Speed Cubing, Dog Agility, and more. Welcome in...it'll be so Niche to Meet You.

Episodes

History, science, and Leslie tries to beat a national champ.

LINKS:

  • Join the Niche List (our monthly newsletter…er, Nicheletter) and BE SURPRISED when we announce something HUGE in a few days.
  • Have feedback or just want to say hi? Email us: hello@nichetomeetyou.show
  • Get your own flippable Springbok puzzle. You can get 10% off your order with code: NICHEPUZZLE10. Shop for puzzles HERE

EPISODE NOTES:

Where’d the puzzl...

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February 21, 2025 36 mins

Community, belonging, and solving puzzles (really fast).

LINKS:

  • Join the Niche List (our monthly newsletter…er, Nicheletter) and get a special announcement on April 6th
  • Have feedback or just want to say hi? Email us: hello@nichetomeetyou.show
  • Want to get into puzzling (you should!)? Start with Springbok, where you can get 10% off your order with code: NICHEPUZZLE10. Shop for puzzles HERE
  • The 2023 Op-ed by Danté Stewart for th...
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The Happiness Lab comes to Niche to Meet You.


EPISODE NOTES:

Let's go on a field trip to The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos. Laurie is a cognitive scientist at Yale and her course titled "Psychology and the Good Life" became the ...

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Our favorite Santas read the famous poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas."

  • Email us! Who are you? What's your niche? What do you like about this show?
  • Find pictures from Leslie’s time with Santas here.
  • Looking to give a tax-deductible gift? Consider giving to this project. More information here.
  • TELL A FRIEND ABOUT US! Is there someone who should know about this project? Tell them. Seriously, just text them. Now!
  • Find us on Instagram, o...
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The origins of the professional Santa.

  • Email us with your favorite part of this episode or what it made you think about! 
  • TELL A FRIEND ABOUT US! Is there someone who should know about this project? Tell them. Seriously, just text them. Now!
  • Find us on Instagram, or join our email list.
  • Find pictures from Leslie’s time with Santas here.

EPISODE NOTES:

This first episode in the Professional Santa miniseries is about his...

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Meet the Santas behind the beard.

  • Email us with your favorite part of this episode or what it made you think about! 
  • TELL A FRIEND ABOUT US! Is there someone who should know about this project? Tell them. Seriously, just text them. Now!
  • Find us on Instagram, or join our email list.
  • Find pictures from Leslie’s time with Santas here.

EPISODE NOTES:

In the second episode of our Professional Santa miniseries we meet the fo...

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Why Santa matters.

  • Email us with your favorite part of this episode or what it made you think about! 
  • TELL A FRIEND ABOUT US! Is there someone who should know about this project? Tell them. Seriously, just text them. Now!
  • Find us on Instagram, or join our email list.
  • Find pictures from Leslie’s time with Santas here.

EPISODE NOTES:

The final episode in our series about professional Santas ends with relevance – why havi...

Some moments that didn’t make the Wild Turkey Conservation miniseries.


EPISODE NOTES:

This week is Thank...

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Coming December 6th (St. Nicholas Day) – a three-episode series about Santa and the folks who portray him. 


EPISODE NOTES:

Christmas is about more than just presents and decorations—it's about the spirit...

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Meet dog agility hobbyist, Toast, along with her human companion, Amy.


EPISODE NOTES:

This Niche vignette visits Toast and her companion Amy as they practice dog agility in their front yard. You’l...

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David Brooks likes early Taylor Swift and helps us listen better.


EPISODE NOTES:

This is a really, truly, amazing special treat. 

David Brooks is a big deal–has landed on NYT’s bestseller list...

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September 13, 2024 11 mins

This is the story of Niche to Meet You.


EPISODE NOTES:

Welcome to Niche to Meet You. With our recent placement on Apple’s New & Noteworthy home page section and charting in the top 200 of the...

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Introducing the Wild Turkey Conservation niche. And y’all, it is definitely wild. 

GO DEEPER WITH NICHE TO MEET YOU (WEBSITE):


Want more about Wild Turkeys? 

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Meet the Wild Turkey people. 


EPISODE NOTES:

This is episode 2 in the 4 part mini-series about Wild Tu...

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Where Wild Turkey Conservation REALLY got its start. 


EPISODE NOTES:

At this point in a Niche to Meet ...

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Wild Turkey Conservation matters, and here’s why.


Want to go deeper with Wild Turkeys? 


EPISODE NOTES:

Make no mistake, the Wild Tu...

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Coming August 16th: a 4-part miniseries about the Wild Turkey Conservation niche. It’s an important story about belonging, community, mending seemingly irreparable gaps and changing the world. 

Learn more about the show, read a transcript, and give feedback at Nichetomeetyou.show/wild-turkey

Support the work by sharing it with a friend and buying us a pizza

SHOW CREDITS: 

Senior producer/host: Leslie Thompson (IG: @le...

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Three wildly different niches that all find their purpose in being on the road. 

Learn more about the show, read a transcript on Apple Podcasts, and give feedback

EPISODE NOTES:

We all have our "third spaces," those social surroundings that aren't our homes or workplaces. These are the places where we feel a sense of belonging, comfort, and community—like cafés, bookstores, or even the local bar where everybody knows your name. B...

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Join us at Waffle House to talk about making old things beautiful again.

Learn more about the show, read a transcript, and give feedback

EPISODE NOTES:

Join us in a Waffle House booth as we meet Rick Blankenship–a masterful vintage car radio restorer. As we savored the Southern charm of the setting, Rick shared about his work of restoring vintage radios to their original glory while integrating modern features like Bluetooth, offering...

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A deeper look at lingering questions after the 4-part miniseries. 

This is a special bonus episode of Niche to Meet You following our mini-series about Warhammer 40,000. The Niche to Meet You podcast profiles little-known hobbies and niche subcultures where misfits are making meaning. 

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