Schauer Thoughts

This week on Schauer Thoughts we’re discussing two rising trends: going analog and online gambling! These near-anagrams are causing quite the concern so we’re pulling back the Schauer curtain to take a better look at the nasty bits while also addressing solutions to scummy business practices. This is a judgement free zone - if you are struggling with any addiction issues I’ve linked resources below. Also as someone who has gotten sober (albeit after 10+ tries) I would strongly encourage you give yourself some grace. Grace is not forgiveness, it’s freedom of movement, and considering that people with addictions often hide away, grace is necessary to come out into the light and see hope on the horizon.  No need to rush, the others and I will just be listening to “No-No Song” by Ringo Star on the record player I got in college. Books from MIT Press (Not Sponsored - Please Sponsor Me) Decolonizing Design - Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall Sweet and Deadly - Murray Carpenter  Lucretius and the Bat with Blue Eyes - Andrea Moro Phenology - Theresa M. Crimmins Letterlocking - Jana Dambrogio and Daniel Starza Smith General Resources: Scientists Finally Figured Out the Math Behind How You See Color https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/math/a70784732/color-theory-schrodinger/  Analog is back, and my millennial heart couldn’t be happier https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/17/analog-is-back-and-my-millennial-heart-couldnt-be-happier  The Analog Life Project: Some Things To Know Before We Get Started  https://substack.com/home/post/p-181708555 Creative Reuse Centers https://artofrecycle.org/our-neighbors $230 notebooks, digital cameras and tiny dollhouse furniture: How Gen Z’s desire to get offline is a boon for businesses https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/03/going-analog-gen-z-desire-to-get-offline-small-business-boost.html#:~:text=Part%20of%20%22going%20analog%22%20involves,of%20the%20University%20of%20Pennsylvania. Fortune Business Insights - Art & Craft Materials Market Size, etc. https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/art-craft-materials-market-109031 Celebrities at the Super Bowl: The ‘Who Will Attend the Big Game? Prediction Market https://www.covers.com/entertainment/celebrities-at-super-bowl-prediction-market Gambling Addiction Help Resources  European Safer Gambling Week (Nov. 17-23) https://safergambling.eu/get-support/#:~:text=please%20contact%20us.-,Helplines,0)%2078%2015%2010%2020 Getting help for gambling by European country Help by State https://www.ncpgambling.org/help-treatment/help-by-state/      Getting help for gambling by state SMART Recovery https://smartrecovery.org/gambling-addiction Provides help for gambling addiction for the US, Canada, UK, Australia, as well as global populations Evive  https://www.getevive.com/ Support platform offering education, community, digital tools, and personalized resources for all people struggling with gambling problems Gamban https://gamban.com/  Gambling blocking app as well as tools to help you or a loved one quite online gambling  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy Women’s History Month! This week we’re discussing the wonderful women of STEAM (yes, we include the arts here) that have had their work stolen, co-opted, or overlooked by men and the dominant culture. Thank you to all the women in academia, research, creative fields, business, politics, etc. who persist, push back, and put men in check - I absolutely cannot wait to read your stories and studies, I know they’ll be *chefs kiss.* I know I mispronounced a lot in this episode, as always feel free to shoot me a DM or comment with correct pronunciation, I really do appreciate the help. Also yes, I meant to say “retrograde menstruation” not “reverse menstruation” - the world simply escaped me. Make sure to like and subscribe on Youtube, rate me 5 stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, any place you’re listening to this podcast. Y’all are the best. Resources: Music as a scientific metaphor for mind and brain  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763426001004 Prescriptive and Descriptive Grammar: Functions, Distinctions, and Pedagogical Relevance  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/400585909_Prescriptive_and_Descriptive_Grammar_Functions_Distinctions_and_Pedagogical_Relevance  Women’s History Month: Celebrating Trailblazing Women in Science and Advancing Women’s Representation in STEM https://ssp.org/news/womens-history-month/  Matilda effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda_effect  Woman As An Inventor  https://www.jstor.org/stable/25118273?seq=7 Read this if you want true catharsis. 19 Groundbreaking Discoveries by Women That Were Credited to Men https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/g5026/female-discoveries-credited-to-men/ The patent system is failing women when over 90 percent of patents are held by men  https://newrepublic.com/article/132327/patent-system-failing-women-90-percent-patents-held-men The theft of women’s art https://www.varsity.co.uk/arts/29055#google_vignette These discoveries saved billions of lives https://www.weforum.org/stories/2018/03/the-50-most-important-life-saving-breakthroughs-in-history/ Why Storytelling Is a Leadership Superpower, According To Neuroscientists  https://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2026/03/22/why-storytelling-is-a-leadership-superpower-according-to-neuroscientists/  The women who made modern vaccines work https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/the-women-who-made-modern-vaccines-work Repeatedly occurring retrograde menstruation intensifies central sensitization driven by neuroinflammation in endometriosis models https://www.jci.org/articles/view/194136  Books: Reading in the Brain: The New Science of How We Read - Stanislas Dehaene  Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst - Robert M. Sapolsky A Philosophy of Shame - Frederic Gros Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America - Laila Lalami Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’ve arrived at the fourth and final installment of the creating your own self-curriculum series, this week we’re getting into reframing our concept of time to enable us to effectively and efficiently manage it. I hope you’ve enjoyed all these Schauer Thoughts and I hope you feel inspired or at least just a little bit better about pursuing self-education, I believe in you. Here comes a barrage of books and resources, can’t wait to chat next week! Learn for Fun or Free or Fun & Free Substack: https://substack.com/@sarahschauer/note/p-175242020  Use these sites for a free syllabus if you want structure guidance on a specific topic. Resources: Decisionscape: How Thinking Like an Artist Can Improve Our Decision-Making - Elspeth Kirkman  Future Tense: Why Anxiety is Good for You (Even Though It Feels Bad) - Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, PhD The Secret Lives of Color - Kassia St. Clair  This Is Your Brain on Birth Control: How the Pill Changes Everything - Sarah E. Hill, PhD The Menopause Brain - Lisa Mosconi, PhD The Cancer Journals - Audre Lorde  The Black Angels: The Untold Story of the Nurses Who Helped Cure Tuberculosis - Maria Smilios Hate: The Uses of A Powerful Emotion - Seyda Kurt A Philosophy of Shame - Frederic Gros  Uncommon Measure: A Journey Through Music, Performance, and the Science of Time by Natalie Hodges Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience - Mihaly Csikszemtmihalyi  Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst - Robert M. Sapolsky The Order of Time - Carlo Rovelli The Emotional Calendar - John R. Sharp, MD Freedom is a Constant Struggle - Angela Davis The Denial of Death - Ernest Becker Attention: Beyond Mindfulness - Gay Watson The Hoarders - Scott Herring Why Every Power Player Uses Military Time (and You Should Too) https://sociallifemagazine.com/the-archive/military-time-power-players-precision/#:~:text=The%20Cognitive%20Rewiring%20That%20Creates,that%20capacity%20toward%20strategic%20thinking. Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory - https://www.thetimeparadox.com/zimbardo-time-perspective-inventory/  His book: The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life - Philip Zimbardo Websites for Studying with Others: StudyStream - https://www.studystream.live/  Study Together -https://www.studytogether.com/ Flow Club - https://www.flow.club/vs-focusmate?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google-ads&utm_campaign=Kaya%20Competitors&utm_term=focusmate%20adhd&utm_content=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21294453254&gbraid=0AAAAAon1RgHarc25k-ISGhCvY-DiMpHv2&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9-PNBhDfARIsABHN6-1FzBTKoNGfimPRsQqzvMy9IinNjZmghxFAESMlE9fKJ79PD_194ecaAjciEALw_wcB  Cool App for Binaural Beats: Moongate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’ve discussed healthy habits, desire and interception, but now is the time to focus our artist eyes! This week on Schauer Thoughts we’re going over an abridged understanding of design elements and factors to consider when creating your own course curriculum. I strongly encourage mood boarding this episode but taking notes or just listening are fine as well. Enough chit chat - to the communal Schauer we go! My Substack Post: How To Start Researching as a Hobby https://substack.com/home/post/p-168506463  Resources to Learn for Fun & Free (or Fun & Free) https://substack.com/home/post/p-175242020  I also give tips on how to create your own “syllabus” with these resources.  Resources: Ruth Asawa and the Artist-Mother at Midcentury - Jordan Troeller To Photograph Is To Learn How To Die - Tim Carpenter Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose - Constance Hale The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know  - Shawn Coyne Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People - G. Richard Shell This Is What It Sounds Like - Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas The Psychology of Fashion - Carolyn Mair Your Brain on Art - Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art - James Nestor This is the book on breathing I was talking about. Decisionscape: How Thinking Like an Artist Can Improve Our Decision-Making - Elspeth Kirkman I also wanted to recommend this book for understanding the importance of “word tense” when it comes to internal thoughts and rumination - I cannot stress this enough. She goes through first person, third, active, passive - language really does shape a lot of our decisions and life.  Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think In Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions - Temple Grandin  The Activism of Art: A Decentered Anthology - Dipti Desai and Stephen Duncombe The Knowledge Illusion: Why We Never Think Alone - Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach  The 7 Principles of Design and How To Use Them (w/ Infographic)  https://www.vistaprint.com/hub/principles-of-design#:~:text=The%20principles%20of%20design%20are,Proportion%2C%20Movement%20and%20White%20Space Not sponsored by Vistaprint lol Chronic Back Pain Makes the World Sound Harsher https://neurosciencenews.com/chronic-pain-sound-sensitivity-30237/  Scientists have found a fascinating link between breathing and memory https://www.psypost.org/scientists-have-found-a-fascinating-link-between-breathing-and-memory/ Nature Exposure Triggers Brain Reset   https://neurosciencenews.com/nature-brain-reset-30204/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They explore desire, interoception, and how bodily awareness fuels self-directed learning. Topics include motivation versus punishment, starting hard things, and designing curricula that actually motivate learners. Conversations touch on storytelling, AI, the polyvagal debate, and research linking self-objectification to blunted bodily sensation. Movement, affect, and practical ways to notice inner signals round out the discussion.

A lively guide to building your own personal curriculum with practical design tips. Topics include visual thinking, top-down vs bottom-up learning, and using movement and gestures to teach math. Hear strategies for researching as a hobby, data literacy, and framing goals as metacognitive growth. Also: linking physical health, memory techniques, and creative parallels like fiber arts to boost learning.

It’s time! We’re discussing the ever so popular trend on Tiktok called the “Divorce Effect.” If you’re new to any of my content, this is a topic near and dear to my heart - I support anyone breaking from the systems and roles at be, especially if it’s causing mental and physical unwellness. We’re covering a lot of ground this week, from neuroscience to psychology to the immune system, we’ll also be taking a brief trip to the 80’s and then back to present day with a refreshed perspective on glowing up post marital dissolution. Thank you all for listening and joining me, I’m so happy you’ve joined this week’s communal Schauer. More Information on Book Club: https://substack.com/home/post/p-186705166  Resources: Reading in the Brain - Stanislas Dehaene  Behave - Robert Sapolsky  Thinking in Systems: A Primer - Donella Meadows  An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System - Matt Richtel Decisionscape: How Thinking Like An Artist Can Improve Out Decision-Making - Elspeth Kirkman Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle - Emily Nagoski Beyond the Blood-Brain Barrier: New “Smart Gate” Shielding the Brain  https://neurosciencenews.com/base-barrier-cells-neuroscience-30092/ Researchers Identify Novel Gatekeeper Cell in the Brain https://bioengineer.org/researchers-identify-novel-gatekeeper-cell-in-the-brain/ 154 Visual Phenomena & Optical Illusions with Explanations - Michael Bach  https://michaelbach.de/ot/index.html  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uh-oh, the communal Schauer is getting intimate this week, intellectually intimate that is. We’re going over the new sensation sweeping the nation ~intellectual intimacy~ so get ready for a smattering of everything - from psychology to neuroscience to what’s happening in my relationship, no pumice stone will go unturned. Time to sit back and relax (to the best of your ability) because we’re starting with the gnarliest knots this nation has failed to address, welcome to Schauer Thoughts. Additionally: I do really apologize for this week’s sort of choppy presentation, there’s a Vyvanse shortage and my brain was truly struggling to organize thoughts. I hope everything made some semblance of sense. <3 Thank you to all the people who send me DMs, helpful commenters, resourceful individuals, and those who just further meaningful conversation along, you all give me hope for the future. I appreciate your efforts to much and I’m wishing you nothing but the best. NEW Book Club  https://open.substack.com/pub/sarahschauer/p/new-book-club?r=3yb1cq&utm_medium=ios Starting February 15 & 16 Resources: Radical Intimacy - Sophie K. Rosa Frames of Mind: Theta Theory of Multiple Intelligences - Howard Gardner Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst - Robert Sapolsky Quote From Substack https://substack.com/@afterdinnerconversation/note/c-151186676?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=3yb1cq  Role of Intellectual Intimacy in Psychological Well-Being: The Cognitive Connection https://www.researchgate.net/publication/387520981_Role_of_Intellectual_Intimacy_in_Psychological_Well-being_The_Cognitive_Connection Neurodivergent Mind: When Your Common Sense Is Not Common https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/living-with-emotional-intensity/202602/neurodivergent-mind-when-your-common-sense-is-not The archeology of intimacy  https://substack.com/home/post/p-173747521  To be intimate with someone who is flawed requires us to expose our own flaws https://substack.com/home/post/p-183443032 “I’m Not Terribly Lonely”: Advancing the Understanding of Intimacy Among Older Adults https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9163450/ It Doesn’t Hurt to Ask: Question-Asking Increases Liking https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/Huang%20et%20al%202017_6945bc5e-3b3e-4c0a-addd-254c9e603c60.pdf  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gather round my gaggle of geeks and gays, we’re tackling “womb envy” yet again! Huzzah! A commentary on the ills patriarchy has bestowed upon society, we are blessed to carry their cognitive loads to term and birth new stress-related ailments for all to acquire.  No but seriously, this week we’re discussing the new research I’m drooling at the faucet over as well as wrapping up our short series on “womb envy.” Make sure to wear sandals to this week’s communal Schauer, I mean it IS what Jesus would do. Nuance: I don’t actually think that researchers and writers at Scientific American are writing articles and doing studies just for me - that was a joke. Sometimes people who aren’t men can make jokes too. Information for New Book Club: https://substack.com/home/post/p-186705166 Immigration Resources Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-185913344  Includes free Ebooks from Haymarket Books Stay tuned for the magazine club!  Resources:  Scientists Cure Pancreatic Cancer Using New Therapy That Eliminated Tumors with No Major Side Effects https://dailygalaxy.com/2026/01/scientists-cure-pancreatic-cancer-breakthrough-treatment/ Selective Sound: Why Do Some People with Schizophrenia Hear Voices? https://static.scientificamerican.com/dam/m/5de541c65719ff73/original/SciAm_02_2026.pdf What Are Binaural Beats? https://www.webmd.com/balance/what-are-binaural-beats Detecting Dementia Using Lexical Analysis: Terry Prachett’s Discworld Tells a More Personal Story https://www.researchgate.net/publication/399826710_Detecting_Dementia_Using_Lexical_Analysis_Terry_Pratchett's_Discworld_Tells_a_More_Personal_Story  Cancer might protect against Alzheimer’s - this protein helps explain why https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00222-7 Womb envy: The cause of misogyny and even male achievement?  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251547431_Womb_envy_The_cause_of_misogyny_and_even_male_achievement Understanding the Characteristics of Envy and How to Grow Past It https://www.healthline.com/health/relationships/characteristics-of-an-envious-person Europe’s Journal of Psychology https://ejop.psychopen.eu/index.php/ejop/article/view/110/110.pdf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the wonderful, winding world of Schauer Thoughts! This week we’re meandering through new research from MIT on the rest and digest system, as well as making a sharp turn into “womb envy.” Is the rest and digest system related to womb envy? Not really. I mean, potentially? There is definitely a glandular route through the endocrine system, but I’m not taking that road today! Today I’m just covering two separate topics because I wanted to! Huzzah. Tear. Pour. Live More. Go to https://LIQUIDIV.com and get 20% off your first order with code SCHAUER at checkout. “Wait, so what are today’s separate topics?” Rest & digest and then “womb envy.” Thank you again for joining me in the communal Schauer! There’s a joke to be made about “womb envy” and a “baby Schauer” - please let me know if you come up with anything solid! Enjoy the episode.  Nuance for why I “don’t want to get philosophical,” spoiler! It’s not because I don’t like philosophy, it’s because we’re going to get into “zero-sum” thinking and game theory and this is where people are going to argue about what economic systems are the “best” and people feel *compelled* to play devil’s advocate.  Resources:  Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst - Robert M. Sapolsky Could It Be ADHD or… Narcolepsy? - Discover Science, November/December 2025 Edition Cancer Spreads at Night - Lea Milling Korsholm, Exploring Science Squishy Math - Kelsey Houston-Edwards, Scientific American, Ultimate Math Edition, Fall/Winter 2025 The Denial of Death - Ernest Becker  Your brain does something surprising when you don’t sleep https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260119234937.htm Article from Jan. 20 Attentional failures after sleep deprivation are locked to joint neuromuscular, pupil and cerebrospinal fluid flow dynamics https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-025-02098-8 Parietal alpha frequency shapes own-body perception by modulating the temporal integration of bodily signals  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-67657-w Scientists Found the Brain Rhythm that Makes Your Body Feel Like Yours  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260114080325.htm#:~:text=Researchers%20at%20Karolinska%20Institutet%20studied,sense%20of%20self%20is%20disturbed.%22 REM alpha rhythm: diagnostic for narcolepsy? (2006 - a bit dated) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16751726/  FDA Clears First Blood test Used in Diagnosing Alzheimer’s Disease https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-clears-first-blood-test-used-diagnosing-alzheimers-disease  Europe’s Journal of Psychology https://ejop.psychopen.eu/index.php/ejop/article/view/110/110.pdf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices