John Higgs is a writer whose work explores the strange ideas, hidden connections and stories that shape culture. His books have taken in subjects including Timothy Leary, the KLF, William Blake, James Bond, The Beatles, Doctor Who, British identity and the future, often finding unexpected narratives in subjects we thought we already understood.
His books include The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds, Stranger Than We Can Imagine: Making Sense of the Twentieth Century, Watling Street, The Future Starts Here, William Blake vs the World and Love and Let Die: James Bond, The Beatles and the British Psyche.
Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked in television, radio and video games, directing more than 100 episodes of children’s television.
John is a prolific public speaker and has appeared at venues and festivals including Tate Britain, the British Library, Sotheby’s, Latitude, Wilderness, Brighton Festival and the World Science Fiction Convention.
Discover more about John Higgs, his books and current projects at johnhiggs.com.
[2026-08-25 20:03:21] Finbarre:
Welcome to Tarot DMs with Finbarre. My guest today is the writer John Higgs, a man whose books have a habit of taking subjects you thought you understood and rearranging them until they’re even stranger than before. He’s written about Timothy Leary, the KLF, William Blake, James Bond, The Beatles, Doctor Who, the 20th century, the future, British identity, and, recently, David Lynch.
Before becoming a full-time writer, John worked in television, radio and video games. He reviewed games for Cybernet, directed children’s television and, at the age of 40, made a decision that he later summed up rather beautifully: he’d rather risk being penniless than bitter.
His work is fascinated by coincidences, competing realities, imagination, counterculture, and the stories hiding under the stories we think we already know. So John, three cards are here, and they all have questions.
[2026-08-25 20:05:06] John Higgs:
Hi, Finbarre. Hello. Thanks for that lovely introduction. I’m just trying to work out how to use this voice note thing. And if you can hear this, then that’s got to be a good thing. I hope all is well. I’m keen to see what card you have found for me.
[2026-08-25 20:06:42] Finbarre:
John, before I reveal your first card, I need to ask, as someone who is well-versed with the rum and the uncanny and the downright peculiar, what’s the strangest thing that’s happened to you recently?
[2026-08-25 20:08:14] John Higgs:
The strangest thing, I mean, the strangest thing today has just been reading about the death of Dolly Parton, which I was just reading about before this call. It sort of came out of the blue. That sort of shook me a little bit. She was a good person under every definition of that phrase.
But strange, strange. I mean, well, strange happened.
I was involved in anointing a local postman as the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex. About a month or so back, there was a Duke and Duchess of Sussex and they sort of went AWOL. So we thought we needed a new one, and we thought Chris would be perfect for it.
So there was a strange ritual on a roundabout at the bottom of Burgess Hill, which is the very centre of Sussex, on the eve of Sussex Day. That seemed to surprise a lot of people driving around the roundabout. That was an odd thing. That’s probably quite strange.
[2026-08-25 20:10:34] Finbarre:
You’ve utterly knocked me sideways. I didn’t know about Dolly. The cards didn’t reveal that one.
My goodness. We’ve lost a very bright light in the world. She was, as you say, a wonderful lady.
The ritual that you’re involved with on the roundabout is a complete tone shift. And did you crown them? I mean, you said anointed. I imagine no oils were involved. How did you transform them from being commoners to royalty, nobility, whatever it would be?
[2026-08-25 20:12:11] John Higgs:
Yeah, there was a crown. I think my friend Eric had got it off eBay. He needed a crown. He needed red lipstick. We put red lipstick on him in honor of Sussex’s greatest son, Robert Smith of the Cure. He was tempted with hagstones. He had to sing Sussex by the Sea. There was a certificate. He wanted a certificate. So I don’t know about you, but that all sounds legitimate to me. I think that sounds like a new Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
I believe the old pretenders are trying to come back to fight him for the role. We’ll see how that turns out. But in my mind, that’s the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is Chris.
[2026-08-25 20:14:30] Finbarre:
So say we all. I’ve got your first card here, John.
Now, I had absolutely no idea which deck to use. I was going to default to the Rider-Waite-Smith, which we’ve been using for most of this month, but then it occurred to me that a little while ago, I think it was back in 2022, you released a book called Love and Let Die, which is Bond, The Beatles and the British psyche.
And I realised that I have the deck from Live and Let Die, and I also have the Red Album and the Blue Album, which I use as the background.
So, without further ado, you have The Hierophant.
[2026-08-25 20:14:32] Finbarre:
[2026-08-25 20:15:39] Finbarre: What vibes do you get here?
[2026-08-25 20:16:25] John Higgs:
Well, that is an excellent deck and an excellent background. Yeah, I like that a lot. The Hierophant, we kind of could have done with one of those when we were coming up with a ritual to anoint a new Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the roundabout.
He would have understood what the ritual should have been, I’m sure. Whereas we were just winging it, basically. I think we’re all just sort of winging it. Whether we get by without the Hierophant or not, I don’t know. But lovely deck, interesting first card. And let’s see where this goes. I’m liking this.
[2026-08-25 20:17:20] John Higgs: Extra points for the bird nest in the beard
[2026-08-25 20:18:56] Finbarre:
If this card was on the roundabout with you, this chap with the incredible beard, he’d have strolled over to you and he’d have asked you a question something like this.
I’m thinking William Blake, distrusted authority, while institutions like the monarchy and James Bond, and of course the institution that is Doctor Who, survive because people keep investing them with meaning.
When you write, are you more interested in belief or structure?
[2026-08-25 20:19:37] John Higgs: Also like the way he is hovering an inch off the ground, like Fenchurch in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (- Finbarre: 😂 -)
[2026-08-25 20:22:07] John Higgs:
Oh, that’s a question. You say, when I write, am I more interested in belief or structure?
And I assume you’re not talking about the craft of writing, because obviously structure is far more important than belief in that.
I think I’m concerned more with value. I think I’m concerned more with what is worth bringing to the fore and what is worth focusing on a little more.
I think the idea is that you’re trying to come up with a better version of our story, and culture, and all those things. And you’re trying to focus on the sparkly, wonderful, useful, good things. I think that’s what we’re trying to do.
Belief is impossible to avoid, as much as it’s good to try and avoid it, to not believe your own bullshit, as Robert Anton Wilson always advised us.
Structure is just the way our minds work. They’re going to find structure in the wildest chaos. Those will always be there.
But yeah, so I think I focus more on value, I would say.
[2026-08-25 20:24:35] Finbarre:
You mentioned not believing your own bullshit. As a writer, what are the warning signs when you discover that you’ve started to do that?
[2026-08-25 20:26:32] John Higgs:
I guess the warning signs are that you hadn’t stopped to check yourself because, you know, you’re always going to be doing it. We’re always doing it. It’s entirely natural. It’s the way we think.
And if you don’t, every now and again, just pull yourself up and go, “Hang on, let’s just look at this from some other angles,” you will be doing it.
And, you know, you have to do it at times. You do have to have a point of purpose and a perspective to the thing you’re writing. It can’t be avoided.
It’s just when it’s blindly adopted, I think, that’s the problem. That’s the thing you’ve got to watch out for.
But yeah, there’s no one other than yourself who reminds you to do it, alas.
[2026-08-25 20:29:04] Finbarre:
I detected a touch of regret in that wisdom. Thank you so much for that, John.
Okay, we have your second card. This is the Wild card, and I’ll draw this from the deck.
It could be any of them, any of the 76. We’ve got one card that’s pre-selected, the Anchor card.
That was The Hierophant, the chap with the little eggs in his beard and the fabulous trousers.
And we’ll have a gift card for you at the end. This is the one that’s passed down from the previous guest.
So the second card could be anything. I’m going to shuffle the cards. You say stop, and I’ll tell you what it is.
[2026-08-25 20:30:03] John Higgs: Stop!
[2026-08-25 20:31:12] Finbarre: Oh! Hello. Now these Minor Arcana cards are rather mysterious and give little away. You get the Six of Wands.
[2026-08-25 20:31:25] Finbarre:
[2026-08-25 20:33:30] John Higgs: I am not knowledgeable enough about the tarot to interpret that, but I admire the campness of the wands. They are very Yellow Submarine Pepperland (- Finbarre: 😂 -)
[2026-08-25 20:35:13] Finbarre:
In many other decks like the Rider-Waite-Smith, the Six of Wands is represented by a chap and a horse, and he’s flanked by his footman.
And this knight has a laurel crown and also a laurel hanging from his lance or his staff in this. And it’s a card of public recognition.
It’s when you’ve arrived and you’ve got confidence.
It’s to do with encouraging news. It’s victory. So, it’s a good card.
If this was a question, it would be something along the lines of how well you’ve done.
And I’m thinking that your books have got incredible praise from writers and artists like Alan Moore, Terry Gilliam and others.
When people have seen your work and liked it, I’m curious to know whose approval meant the most to you personally.
[2026-08-25 20:39:38] John Higgs: (- Finbarre: 😮 -)
Oh, that’s a hard question. I kind of, I think I kind of blank a lot of that out. You know, I don’t like read reviews. I kind of feel they’re none of my business. And, you know, it’s not like if they make a good point, you can go back in the time machine and change what you’ve written.
The book’s sort of done and you’re working on the next one and your mind’s in a different place and all opinions on your work are entirely valid, whoever they’re from, whether they’re positive or negative, whether they’re by, you know, someone you utterly admire or someone you’ve never met. They’re all equally sort of valid. And you can’t sort of get too emotionally invested in them or personally invested in them.
There are things that, that, that do sort of land nicely on me though. There’s, there’s a, one was, I became, my name became the name of a block in Mega City One in a Judge Dredd cartoon in 2000 AD. It was a John Higgs block. That’s not bad, is it? That’s pretty good.
And the other, I was told by someone who used to work at Wellington Public Library in New Zealand that I was among the most stolen authors from Wellington Public Library in New Zealand, along with William Burroughs, if I remember correctly. Very, very pleased with that.
So yeah, there are things that come along in the, you just, you just smile inwardly at and, you know, enjoy. Those are lovely.
[2026-08-25 20:45:23] Finbarre:
I can’t think of a greater accolade than a city block from Mega City One being named after your good self.
Hopefully not too many. Are they block wars that they have? Not too many visits from Mean Machine Angel?
I’ve not read those comics since about 1987. A friend of my dad’s used to smuggle them to me when I was about 10.
And I probably shouldn’t have been reading them at that age, but I love them so much.
We have a third card. This is your guest card, and this one’s been given to you by the director James Crow, the screenwriter Simon Cluett, who have created a film called Harbinger.
And these two creators of horror have brought you...
[2026-08-25 20:46:48] Finbarre:
[2026-08-25 20:47:30] Finbarre:
Considering this position close to that balcony, it’s probably appropriate that you have The Hanged Man.
[2026-08-25 20:48:50] John Higgs:
Yeah, well, fair enough. Thanks for that, horror guys!
I suppose if it comes after a card signifying victory, someone’s going to string you up afterwards.
I like the way, you know, he’s just trying to read his book and, like, catch some butterflies. Doesn’t seem that bad, does it?
I’m not sure the punishment fits the crime there.
How would you interpret The Hanged Man?
[2026-08-25 20:48:57] Finbarre:
In case you’re thinking about, oh my goodness, that’s terrible. The Hanged Man is one of my favorite cards because it represents an altered perspective. So very similar to Odin hanging from Yggdrasil, reaching down to grab the handful of runes, a little bit like, I’m sure there’s a William Blake painting in a similar vein.
It’s a card of sacrifice, but also learning. And I think if it was a piece of music, it would be Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Is In).
[2026-08-25 20:50:20] John Higgs:
That sounds a wonderful card, and I should probably get one of those and put it above my laptop when I’m working, because that’s a reminder what I should be doing when I’m writing. That’s a different perspective of exactly what we’re trying to find and achieve. Excellent, so I’m delighted by that. What a great card.
[2026-08-25 20:51:51] Finbarre:
With everything being upside down and the world is seen differently, this card is making me think of David Lynch. And to my knowledge, he resisted explaining his work.
And he seemed to be keen for people to sit with uncertainty rather than try and resolve it.
When writing your most recent work, how did you understand him? Or how did you learn to kind of be attuned with David Lynch?
[2026-08-25 20:55:21] John Higgs:
Yeah, that’s exactly right, really.
He did not want to explain his work. He just wanted you to experience it and to sit with your own feelings.
He did not want there to be a sort of rational, left-brain justification for everything so that you go, “Okay, I understand what that is now,” and I can just forget it and move on because I understand it. It’s much more experiential.
I guess that book you’re referring to, which was written in a mad couple of months about a year ago now, was a, I don’t know, not so much a love letter, but just a sort of recognition that he affected us in a way that other filmmakers didn’t.
What he was doing was extraordinary and of great value, and we will miss him because there’s no one else like him.
But yes, it was just about, you know, he was not a rational man.
I think he would have loved Tarot. He was very, very comfortable with the irrational.
[2026-08-25 20:57:29] Finbarre: If you had to pick a single film made by David Lynch as your favourite (a tricky call I know), which one would you reach for?
[2026-08-25 20:58:55] John Higgs: If I HAD to - and the idea is madness - I think I would go for Mulholland Drive
[2026-08-25 20:59:12] Finbarre: My wife’s FAVOURITE!
[2026-08-25 20:59:29] John Higgs: But not yours?
[2026-08-25 21:01:06] Finbarre:
I have a confession. Yes, my name is Finbarre, I’m approaching 50, and I haven’t seen so many of his films. It is criminal. Or television programmes, for that matter. I’ve never seen Twin Peaks.
Although I did have the soundtrack to Fire Walk with Me, which, as a teenager, was my make-out tape of choice.
How many of his films have I seen? I’ve seen Blue Velvet. Loved it. And I think I would have to say Dune, in some ways, very small ways, even better than the cinematic masterpieces that are being created now.
I love that film so much because it was just so weird. It was like, I don’t know, Star Wars’ freaky cousin. To my young eyes, anyway.
John, I realise that we haven’t picked a card for the next guest. If you have a tarot deck there, could you select a card? Or, if not, if you want to pick one at random, there’s a good selection at cardmeanings.com. If you’d like to go there, pick one of those.
Because I’d like to have a present for the next person, and I’ll say it’s from you.
[2026-08-25 21:03:16] John Higgs:
Oh, Finbarre, you are very lucky to have all those Lynch films and television ahead of you.
They’re patient. They’ll sit and they’ll wait for whenever you want them. But to get to see them all and experience them all for the first time is a wonderful thing. It’s a great thing.
I would suggest that after you’ve seen Fire Walk with Me, you might not think it’s the best make-out soundtrack.
But hey, let me just look for a card. One second.
[2026-08-25 21:04:46] John Higgs: Okay having glanced out of the window and seen the nearly full moon, I can’t think of anything better to bequeath than...
[2026-08-25 21:04:56] John Higgs:
[2026-08-25 21:05:04] John Higgs:
[2026-08-25 21:06:02] Finbarre: From the Thoth deck I see!
[2026-08-25 21:06:28] John Higgs: Every fool’s house must have a deck! (- Finbarre: 😂 -)
[2026-08-25 21:08:50] Finbarre:
John, thank you so much for joining me on Tarot DMs. This weekend when I delve my hand into my wife’s DVD collection and pull out a David Lynch classic, I will raise my popcorn bucket to you and thank you for the recommendation.
[2026-08-25 21:09:31] John Higgs:
I hope you enjoy it, Finbarre. Thanks for having me.