diff --git a/deps.edn b/deps.edn
index 43b0dc2a6..f931a0ace 100644
--- a/deps.edn
+++ b/deps.edn
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 
         com.nextjournal/beholder {:mvn/version "1.0.0"}
 
-        io.github.nextjournal/markdown {:mvn/version "0.2.44"}
+        io.github.nextjournal/markdown {:mvn/version "0.3.69"}
 
         com.taoensso/nippy {:mvn/version "3.1.1"}
         mvxcvi/multihash {:mvn/version "2.0.3"}
diff --git a/notebooks/how_clerk_works.clj b/notebooks/how_clerk_works.clj
index 14af0ca6c..d031efb15 100644
--- a/notebooks/how_clerk_works.clj
+++ b/notebooks/how_clerk_works.clj
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 ;; # How Clerk Works 🕵🏻‍♀️
-^{:nextjournal.clerk/toc? true}
+^{:nextjournal.clerk/toc true}
 (ns how-clerk-works
   (:require [next.jdbc :as jdbc]
             [nextjournal.clerk :as clerk]
diff --git a/notebooks/viewers/custom_markdown.md b/notebooks/viewers/custom_markdown.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1d4c0422f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/notebooks/viewers/custom_markdown.md
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+# Customizable Markdown
+
+Playground for overriding markdown nodes
+
+```clojure
+^{:nextjournal.clerk/visibility #{:hide-ns}}
+(ns ^:nextjournal.clerk/no-cache viewers.custom-markdown
+  (:require [nextjournal.clerk :as clerk]
+            [nextjournal.clerk.viewer :as v]))
+```
+
+```clojure
+(clerk/set-viewers! [{:name :nextjournal.markdown/text 
+                      :transform-fn (v/into-markup [:span {:style {:color "#64748b"}}])}
+                     {:name :nextjournal.markdown/ruler
+                      :transform-fn (constantly 
+                                     (v/html [:div {:style {:width "100%" :height "80px" :background-position "center" :background-size "cover"
+                                                            :background-image "url(https://www.maxpixel.net/static/photo/1x/Ornamental-Separator-Decorative-Line-Art-Divider-4715969.png)"}}]))}])
+```
+
+## Sections
+
+with some _more_ text and a ruler.
+
+---
+
+Clerk parses all _consecutive_ `;;`-led _clojure comment lines_ as [Markdown](https://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown). All of markdown syntax should be supported:
+
+### Lists
+
+- one **strong** hashtag like #nomarkdownforoldcountry
+- two ~~strikethrough~~
+
+and bullet lists
+
+- [x] what 
+- [ ] the
+
+### Code
+
+    (assoc {:this "should get"} :clojure "syntax highlighting")
+
+---
+
+### Tables
+
+Tables with specific alignment.
+
+| feature |    |
+|:-------:|:---|
+|   One   |✅  |
+|   Two   |✅  |
+|  Three  |❌  |
+
+---
diff --git a/notebooks/viewers/in_text_eval.clj b/notebooks/viewers/in_text_eval.clj
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e271f4041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/notebooks/viewers/in_text_eval.clj
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+;; #  📝 _In-Text_ Evaluation
+^{:nextjournal.clerk/visibility #{:hide-ns :hide} :nextjournal.clerk/toc true}
+(ns ^{:nextjournal.clerk/no-cache true} viewers.in-text-eval
+  (:require [nextjournal.clerk :as clerk]
+            [nextjournal.clerk.viewer :as v]
+            [nextjournal.markdown.transform :as markdown.transform]))
+
+;; Being able to override markdown viewers allows us to get in-text evaluation for free:
+
+^{::clerk/viewer clerk/hide-result}
+(defonce num★ (atom 3))
+#_(reset! num★ 3)
+
+^{::clerk/visibility :show}
+(clerk/set-viewers! [{:name :nextjournal.markdown/monospace
+                      :transform-fn (comp eval read-string markdown.transform/->text)}
+                     {:name :nextjournal.markdown/ruler
+                      :transform-fn (constantly
+                                     (v/with-viewer :html [:div.text-center (repeat @num★ "★")]))}])
+;; ---
+^{::clerk/viewer clerk/hide-result}
+(defn slider [var {:keys [min max]}]
+  (clerk/with-viewer
+    {:fetch-fn (fn [_ x] x)
+     :transform-fn (fn [var] {:var-name (symbol var) :value @@var})
+     :render-fn `(fn [{:as x :keys [var-name value]}]
+                   (v/html [:input {:type :range
+                                    :min ~min :max ~max
+                                    :value value
+                                    :on-change #(v/clerk-eval `(reset! ~var-name (Integer/parseInt ~(.. % -target -value))))}]))}
+    var))
+
+;; Drag the following slider `(slider #'num★ {:min 1 :max 40})` to control the number of stars (currently **`(deref num★)`**) in our custom horizontal rules.
+
+;; ---
diff --git a/notebooks/viewers/markdown.clj b/notebooks/viewers/markdown.clj
index 842ca34d5..686308488 100644
--- a/notebooks/viewers/markdown.clj
+++ b/notebooks/viewers/markdown.clj
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 ;; # Markdown ✍️
 (ns markdown (:require [nextjournal.clerk :as clerk]))
 
-(clerk/md "### Text can be\n * **bold**\n * *italic\n * ~~Strikethrough~~\n
+(clerk/md "### Text can be\n * **bold**\n * *italic*\n * ~~Strikethrough~~\n
 It's [Markdown](https://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/), like you know it.")
diff --git a/resources/viewer-js-hash b/resources/viewer-js-hash
index 514af5ec4..738ba6003 100644
--- a/resources/viewer-js-hash
+++ b/resources/viewer-js-hash
@@ -1 +1 @@
-qwFLBeeD9jQbcqC1zFhsiitXFpP
\ No newline at end of file
+3psx9ELzW9wRaYsqhrcBg9eFzXDj
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/nextjournal/clerk.clj b/src/nextjournal/clerk.clj
index 2028d1fec..d0d896272 100644
--- a/src/nextjournal/clerk.clj
+++ b/src/nextjournal/clerk.clj
@@ -361,7 +361,8 @@
 
 (def clerk-docs
   (into ["notebooks/markdown.md"
-         "notebooks/onwards.md"]
+         "notebooks/onwards.md"
+         "notebooks/viewers/custom_markdown.md"]
         (map #(str "notebooks/" % ".clj"))
         ["hello"
          "how_clerk_works"
@@ -378,6 +379,7 @@
          "viewers/html"
          "viewers/image"
          "viewers/image_layouts"
+         "viewers/in_text_eval"
          "viewers/markdown"
          "viewers/plotly"
          "viewers/table"
diff --git a/src/nextjournal/clerk/hashing.clj b/src/nextjournal/clerk/hashing.clj
index 4845fcb97..f233b184e 100644
--- a/src/nextjournal/clerk/hashing.clj
+++ b/src/nextjournal/clerk/hashing.clj
@@ -198,16 +198,18 @@
                 (and doc? (n/comment? node))
                 (-> state
                     (assoc :nodes (drop-while n/comment? nodes))
-                    (update :blocks conj {:type :markdown :text (apply str (map (comp remove-leading-semicolons n/string)
-                                                                                (take-while n/comment? nodes)))}))
+                    (update :blocks conj {:type :markdown
+                                          :doc (-> (apply str (map (comp remove-leading-semicolons n/string)
+                                                                   (take-while n/comment? nodes)))
+                                                   markdown/parse
+                                                   (select-keys [:type :content]))}))
                 :else
                 (update state :nodes rest)))
        (merge (select-keys state [:blocks :visibility])
               (when doc?
                 (-> {:content (into []
                                     (comp (filter (comp #{:markdown} :type))
-                                          (map (comp markdown/parse :text))
-                                          (mapcat :content))
+                                          (mapcat (comp :content :doc)))
                                     blocks)}
                     markdown.parser/add-title+toc
                     (select-keys #{:title :toc})
diff --git a/src/nextjournal/clerk/sci_viewer.cljs b/src/nextjournal/clerk/sci_viewer.cljs
index 431a464dd..8b0281461 100644
--- a/src/nextjournal/clerk/sci_viewer.cljs
+++ b/src/nextjournal/clerk/sci_viewer.cljs
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@
   (reduce
     (fn [acc {:as item :keys [content children]}]
       (if content
-        (let [title (-> content first :text)]
+        (let [title (md.transform/->text item)]
           (->> {:title title
                 :path (str "#" (uri.normalize/normalize-fragment title))
                 :items (toc-items children)}
@@ -1027,9 +1027,10 @@ black")}]))}
   (html (katex/to-html-string tex-string)))
 
 (defn html-viewer [markup]
-  (if (string? markup)
-    (html [:div {:dangerouslySetInnerHTML {:__html markup}}])
-    (r/as-element markup)))
+  (r/as-element
+   (if (string? markup)
+     [:span {:dangerouslySetInnerHTML {:__html markup}}]
+     markup)))
 
 (defn reagent-viewer [x]
   (r/as-element (cond-> x (fn? x) vector)))
@@ -1039,15 +1040,6 @@ black")}]))}
 (def plotly-viewer (comp normalize-viewer plotly/viewer))
 (def vega-lite-viewer (comp normalize-viewer vega-lite/viewer))
 
-(defn markdown-viewer
-  "Accept a markdown string or a structure from parsed markdown."
-  [data]
-  (cond
-    (string? data)
-    (markdown/viewer data)
-    (and (map? data) (contains? data :content) (contains? data :type))
-    (with-viewer :hiccup (md.transform/->hiccup markdown/default-renderers data))))
-
 (def expand-icon
   [:svg {:xmlns "http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" :viewBox "0 0 20 20" :fill "currentColor" :width 12 :height 12}
    [:path {:fill-rule "evenodd" :d "M5.293 7.293a1 1 0 011.414 0L10 10.586l3.293-3.293a1 1 0 111.414 1.414l-4 4a1 1 0 01-1.414 0l-4-4a1 1 0 010-1.414z" :clip-rule "evenodd"}]])
@@ -1101,7 +1093,6 @@ black")}]))}
    'notebook-viewer notebook
    'katex-viewer katex-viewer
    'mathjax-viewer mathjax-viewer
-   'markdown-viewer markdown-viewer
    'code-viewer code-viewer
    'foldable-code-viewer foldable-code-viewer
    'plotly-viewer plotly-viewer
diff --git a/src/nextjournal/clerk/view.clj b/src/nextjournal/clerk/view.clj
index 1683c0461..91c614171 100644
--- a/src/nextjournal/clerk/view.clj
+++ b/src/nextjournal/clerk/view.clj
@@ -152,7 +152,10 @@
 
 (defn describe-block [{:keys [inline-results?] :or {inline-results? false}} {:keys [ns]} {:as cell :keys [type text doc]}]
   (case type
-    :markdown [(v/md (or doc text))]
+    :markdown [(binding [*ns* ns]
+                 (v/describe (cond
+                               text (v/md text)
+                               doc (v/with-md-viewer doc))))]
     :code (let [{:as cell :keys [result]} (update cell :result apply-viewer-unwrapping-var-from-def)
                 {:keys [code? fold? result?]} (->display cell)]
             (cond-> []
diff --git a/src/nextjournal/clerk/viewer.cljc b/src/nextjournal/clerk/viewer.cljc
index 66497c2c6..22c13a78b 100644
--- a/src/nextjournal/clerk/viewer.cljc
+++ b/src/nextjournal/clerk/viewer.cljc
@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@
             [clojure.walk :as w]
             #?@(:clj [[clojure.repl :refer [demunge]]
                       [nextjournal.clerk.config :as config]]
-                :cljs [[reagent.ratom :as ratom]]))
+                :cljs [[reagent.ratom :as ratom]])
+            [nextjournal.markdown :as md]
+            [nextjournal.markdown.transform :as md.transform]
+            [lambdaisland.uri.normalize :as uri.normalize])
   #?(:clj (:import (java.lang Throwable)
                    (java.awt.image BufferedImage)
                    (javax.imageio ImageIO))))
@@ -153,7 +156,7 @@
 
 (defn inspect-leafs [opts x]
   (if (wrapped-value? x)
-    [(->viewer-fn 'v/inspect) (describe x opts)]
+    [(->viewer-eval 'v/inspect) (describe x opts)]
     x))
 
 (defn fetch-all [opts xs]
@@ -166,6 +169,17 @@
 (defn var-from-def? [x]
   (and (map? x) (get-safe x :nextjournal.clerk/var-from-def)))
 
+(declare with-viewer)
+
+(defn with-md-viewer [{:as node :keys [type]}]
+  (with-viewer (keyword "nextjournal.markdown" (name type)) node))
+
+(defn into-markup [mkup]
+  (let [mkup-fn (if (fn? mkup) mkup (constantly mkup))]
+    (fn [{:as node :keys [text content]}]
+      (with-viewer :html
+        (into (mkup-fn node) (cond text [text] content (map with-md-viewer content)))))))
+
 (declare !viewers)
 
 ;; keep viewer selection stricly in Clojure
@@ -206,10 +220,9 @@
    {:name :latex :render-fn (quote v/katex-viewer) :fetch-fn fetch-all}
    {:name :mathjax :render-fn (quote v/mathjax-viewer) :fetch-fn fetch-all}
    {:name :html :render-fn (quote v/html) :fetch-fn fetch-all}
-   {:name :hiccup :render-fn (quote v/html)} ;; TODO: drop once markdown doesn't use it anymore
    {:name :plotly :render-fn (quote v/plotly-viewer) :fetch-fn fetch-all}
    {:name :vega-lite :render-fn (quote v/vega-lite-viewer) :fetch-fn fetch-all}
-   {:name :markdown :render-fn (quote v/markdown-viewer) :fetch-fn fetch-all}
+   {:name :markdown :transform-fn (comp with-md-viewer md/parse)}
    {:name :code :render-fn (quote v/code-viewer) :fetch-fn fetch-all :transform-fn #(let [v (value %)] (if (string? v) v (with-out-str (pprint/pprint v))))}
    {:name :code-folded :render-fn (quote v/foldable-code-viewer) :fetch-fn fetch-all :transform-fn #(let [v (value %)] (if (string? v) v (with-out-str (pprint/pprint v))))}
    {:name :reagent :render-fn (quote v/reagent-viewer)  :fetch-fn fetch-all}
@@ -243,8 +256,71 @@
    {:pred string? :render-fn (quote v/string-viewer) :fetch-opts {:n 100}}
    {:pred number? :render-fn '(fn [x] (v/html [:span.tabular-nums (if (js/Number.isNaN x) "NaN" (str x))]))}])
 
+(def markdown-viewers
+  [{:name :nextjournal.markdown/doc :transform-fn (into-markup [:div.viewer-markdown])}
+
+   ;; blocks
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/heading
+    :transform-fn (into-markup
+                   (fn [{:as node :keys [heading-level]}]
+                     [(str "h" heading-level) {:id (uri.normalize/normalize-fragment (md.transform/->text node))}]))}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/image :transform-fn #(with-viewer :html [:img (:attrs %)])}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/blockquote :transform-fn (into-markup [:blockquote])}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/paragraph :transform-fn (into-markup [:p])}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/ruler :transform-fn (into-markup [:hr])}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/code
+    :transform-fn #(with-viewer :html
+                     [:div.viewer-code
+                      (with-viewer :code
+                        (md.transform/->text %))])}
+
+   ;; marks
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/em :transform-fn (into-markup [:em])}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/strong :transform-fn (into-markup [:strong])}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/monospace :transform-fn (into-markup [:code])}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/strikethrough :transform-fn (into-markup [:s])}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/link :transform-fn (into-markup #(vector :a (:attrs %)))}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/internal-link :transform-fn (into-markup #(vector :a {:href (str "#" (:text %))}))}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/hashtag :transform-fn (into-markup #(vector :a {:href (str "#" (:text %))}))}
+
+   ;; inlines
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/text :transform-fn (into-markup [:span])}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/softbreak :transform-fn (fn [_] (with-viewer :html [:span " "]))}
+   #?(:clj {:name :nextjournal.markdown/inline :transform-fn (comp eval read-string md.transform/->text)})
+
+   ;; formulas
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/formula :transform-fn :text :render-fn 'v/katex-viewer}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/block-formula :transform-fn :text :render-fn 'v/katex-viewer}
+
+   ;; lists
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/bullet-list :transform-fn (into-markup [:ul])}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/numbered-list :transform-fn (into-markup [:ol])}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/todo-list :transform-fn (into-markup [:ul.contains-task-list])}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/list-item :transform-fn (into-markup [:li])}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/todo-item
+    :transform-fn (into-markup (fn [{:keys [attrs]}] [:li [:input {:type "checkbox" :default-checked (:checked attrs)}]]))}
+
+   ;; tables
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/table :transform-fn (into-markup [:table])}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/table-head :transform-fn (into-markup [:thead])}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/table-body :transform-fn (into-markup [:tbody])}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/table-row :transform-fn (into-markup [:tr])}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/table-header
+    :transform-fn (into-markup #(vector :th {:style (md.transform/table-alignment (:attrs %))}))}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/table-data
+    :transform-fn (into-markup #(vector :td {:style (md.transform/table-alignment (:attrs %))}))}
+
+   ;; ToC via [[TOC]] placeholder ignored
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/toc :transform-fn (into-markup [:div.toc])}
+
+   ;; sidenotes
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/sidenote
+    :transform-fn (into-markup (fn [{:keys [attrs]}] [:span.sidenote [:sup {:style {:margin-right "3px"}} (-> attrs :ref inc)]]))}
+   {:name :nextjournal.markdown/sidenote-ref
+    :transform-fn (into-markup [:sup.sidenote-ref])}])
+
 (defn get-all-viewers []
-  {:root  default-viewers
+  {:root (concat default-viewers markdown-viewers)
    :table default-table-cell-viewers})
 
 (defonce
diff --git a/test/nextjournal/clerk/hashing_test.clj b/test/nextjournal/clerk/hashing_test.clj
index f9c7e4c80..68fec5803 100644
--- a/test/nextjournal/clerk/hashing_test.clj
+++ b/test/nextjournal/clerk/hashing_test.clj
@@ -38,20 +38,18 @@
 (deftest parse-clojure-string
   (testing "is returning blocks with types and markdown structure attached"
     (is (match? (m/equals {:blocks [{:type :code, :text "^:nextjournal.clerk/no-cache ^:nextjournal.clerk/toc (ns example-notebook)", :ns? true}
-                                    {:type :markdown, :text " # 📶 Sorting\n"}
-                                    {:type :markdown, :text " ## Sorting Sets\n The following set should be sorted upon description\n"}
+                                    {:type :markdown, :doc {:type :doc :content [{:type :heading}]}}
+                                    {:type :markdown, :doc {:type :doc :content [{:type :heading}
+                                                                                 {:type :paragraph}]}}
                                     {:type :code, :text "#{3 1 2}"}
-                                    {:type :markdown, :text " ## Sorting Maps\n"}
+                                    {:type :markdown, :doc {:type :doc :content [{:type :heading}]}}
                                     {:type :code, :text "{2 \"bar\" 1 \"foo\"}"}],
                            :visibility #{:show},
                            :title "📶 Sorting",
                            :toc {:type :toc,
                                  :mode true,
-                                 :children [{:type :toc,
-                                             :content [{:type :text, :text "📶 Sorting"}],
-                                             :heading-level 1,
-                                             :children [{:type :toc, :content [{:type :text, :text "Sorting Sets"}], :heading-level 2}
-                                                        {:type :toc, :content [{:type :text, :text "Sorting Maps"}], :heading-level 2}]}]}})
+                                 :children [{:type :toc :children [{:type :toc}
+                                                                   {:type :toc}]}]}})
                 (h/parse-clojure-string {:doc? true} notebook)))))
 
 (deftest no-cache?
diff --git a/test/nextjournal/clerk/viewer_test.clj b/test/nextjournal/clerk/viewer_test.clj
index ffd49e669..bdcd50639 100644
--- a/test/nextjournal/clerk/viewer_test.clj
+++ b/test/nextjournal/clerk/viewer_test.clj
@@ -65,9 +65,29 @@
     (is (= :full
            (:nextjournal/width (v/wrapped-with-viewer (v/table {:nextjournal.clerk/width :full} {:a [1] :b [2] :c [3]})))))))
 
+(defn viewer-eval-inspect? [x] (= x (v/->viewer-eval 'v/inspect)))
+
 (deftest describe
   (testing "only transform-fn can select viewer"
-    (is (match? {:nextjournal/value "Hello _markdown_!", :nextjournal/viewer {:name :markdown}}
+    (is (match? {:nextjournal/viewer {:name :html}
+                 :nextjournal/value [:div.viewer-markdown
+                                     [viewer-eval-inspect?
+                                      {:nextjournal/viewer {:name :html}
+                                       :nextjournal/value [:p
+                                                           [viewer-eval-inspect?
+                                                            {:nextjournal/viewer {:name :html}
+                                                             :nextjournal/value [:span "Hello "]}]
+                                                           [viewer-eval-inspect?
+                                                            {:nextjournal/viewer {:name :html}
+                                                             :nextjournal/value [:em
+                                                                                 [viewer-eval-inspect?
+                                                                                  {:path [],
+                                                                                   :nextjournal/value [:span "markdown"]
+                                                                                   :nextjournal/viewer {:name :html}}]]}]
+                                                           [viewer-eval-inspect?
+                                                            {:nextjournal/viewer {:name :html}
+                                                             :nextjournal/value [:span "!"]}]]}]]}
+
                 (v/describe (v/with-viewer {:transform-fn (comp v/md :foo)}
                               {:foo "Hello _markdown_!"})))))