Schauer Thoughts

You read that right, a recipe for Alzheimer’s. This week on Schauer Thoughts we’re doubling back on a previous episode with some new and very interesting information!

Join me on a journey through the body to the brain and out again and please, tip your waiter.

“Why is this caption so short?”

Because I have limited letter allowance and a lot of sources.

86 that attitude and enjoy!

Previous episode I keep referring to:

July 22, “The Good, The Bad, the Incredibly Nuanced”

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0FrRNutkWpakiUg8i0ANi6

I would strongly prefer you listen to this first.

Toxic Thoughts Stand Up Event Link

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/toxic-thots-a-queer-comedy-show-tickets-1997497195884?aff=oddtdtcreator

Books:

A Silent Fire: The Story of Inflammation, Diet & Disease - Shilpa Ravella

Loved this book, 10/10. Most of my information on inflammation, LDL cholesterol, fatty acids (long chain vs short chain) and much more I discuss can be found in this book broken down with exquisite detail.

The Human Brain Book: A Visual Guide to Structure and Function - Rita Carter

Anything I mentioned about brain functioning, signaling, neurotransmitters, olfaction, etc. can be found in this book. I would highly recommend this one if you’re looking to learn a lot on the brain.

Pg. 204 - the adult brain

Pg. 206 - the aging brain

Pg. 208 & 209 - Parkinsons, Dementia, & Alzheimer’s information

Plastic: The Secret History and Shocking Future of Big Oil’s Biggest Bet - Beth Gardiner

All of the information on the history of plastic, microplastics in the brain and body, as well as petrochemical points are in this book.

The Menopause Brain: New Science Empowers Women to Navigate the Pivotal Transition with Knowledge and Confidence - Lisa Mosconi, PhD

Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer’s - Charlies Piller

Loving this book so far, it’s also great at breaking down the basics of Alzheimer’s and treatment directions if you’d like to know more.

Sources Online:

An Unexpected Way to Upcycle: Plastic Waste Transforms into Soap

https://news.vt.edu/articles/2023/08/science-plastics-upcycle-soaps-guiliang-greg-liu.html

Scientists Turn One of the World’s Hardest-To-Recycle Plastics Into Engine Oil

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-turn-one-of-the-worlds-hardest-to-recycle-plastics-into-engine-oil/

Virginia Tech researcher finds a new method for recycling polystyrene

https://news.vt.edu/articles/2022/08/one-industrys-trash-polystyrene.html

Developing synthetic polymers to study neurological diseases

https://news.vt.edu/videos/k/2023/03/1_u4j8cu1b.html

Bioaccumulation of microplastics in decedent human brains

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03453-1

What does disease smell like?

https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/what-does-disease-smell-like

Carvone: One Molecule, Two Different Scents and Flavors

https://www.acsh.org/news/2018/08/01/carvone-one-molecule-two-different-scents-and-flavors-13255

Side note, if you’re in LA and want to learn more about different scents and how to do scent analysis, I would highly recommend checking out a course at The Institute of Art and Olfaction, I’ve taken a couple classes there and I loved it. https://artandolfaction.com/

Evaluation of neurobiochemical and behavioral responses to carvone nanoemulsion: A neuroprotective approach for Alzheimer’s disease-associated dementia in a rat model

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006899326000016

PEG Lipids: Definition, Structure & Key Applications

https://www.biochempeg.com/article/429.html

Arachnoid Granulation Morphologies Associate with B-Amyloid and Tau Pathology in Older Adults

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12622154/

Reminder: This is a pre-print!

Amyloid, APP, and Electrical Activity of the Brain

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7222965/

Inhaling high-dose CO2 clears Alzheimer’s proteins from the brain

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2580471-inhaling-high-dose-co2-clears-alzheimers-proteins-from-the-brain/

Effects of the Percutaneous Carbon Dioxide Therapy on Post-surgical and Post-traumatic Hematoma, Edema, and Pain

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10753674/

(Orthopaedics)

Transcutaneous Carbon Dioxide Treatment is Capable of Reducing Peripheral Vascular Resistance in Hypertensive Patients

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6365751/

Please! If you have the time, take a look at this article as well as the reference section, it’s such an incredible deep dive.

A Common Cholesterol Treatment May Also Remove PFAS and Microplastics from Blood

https://www.sciencealert.com/a-common-cholesterol-treatment-may-also-remove-pfas-and-microplastics-from-blood

If I missed anything, please let me know and I’ll update this list!
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Welcome to Schauer Thoughts, this episode we’re taking a long and winding journey through the land of loss and grief. I do appreciate everyone’s patience as this episode is going out Thursday - I sincerely hope you enjoy it.

I would also like to take the time to thank everyone who’s been so kind to me, we are strangers and the internet can be so cruel, but you guys haven’t been. I know sad comments get me down sometimes but I also see the kind messages and those have profoundly impacted me. I am grateful for y’alls kindness, support, and even just your time. I hope nothing but good things for each and every one of you - if you are grieving, please do not rush yourself, but know that there are options to “unstick,” even just for a moment. I am sending all the positive vibes I can muster and I can’t wait to chat next week.

Also, no pressure, but if you’d like to see me do stand up, this is the link for the show! I’m nervous but excited and can’t wait to get back into in-person comedy.

Toxic Thoughts Stand Up Event Link

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/toxic-thots-a-queer-comedy-show-tickets-1997497195884?aff=oddtdtcreator

Sources:

The Tragedy of North Birmingham

https://www.propublica.org/article/bluestone-jim-justice-north-birmingham

Birmingham, AL Superfund

https://semspub.epa.gov/work/04/11121096.pdf

Opinion Article: The body does not keep the score: trauma, predictive coding, and the restoration of metastability

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/systems-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2026.1812957/full

Hydraulic brain: Body motion linked to fluid movement in the brain

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-hydraulic-brain-body-motion-linked.html

Vagus Nerve Gut Signals Drive Spatial Memory

https://neurosciencenews.com/vagus-nerve-gut-signals-memory-31135/

My TikTok on “Reason vs Excuse”

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTDRHrue6/

Lol quoting myself as a source but I did say I would link the Tiktok because the gestures and point are easier to communicate visually.

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

I do apologize for misspeaking on the ADHD and CSF flow dynamics, this was about sleep deprivation but honestly *concerning ADHD and attention switching* this should be something our (as I do have ADHD) community should look into further. I think sleep is important for everyone, absolutely, but this point really drives home the importance of sleep for everyone with attention difficulties.

Books:

Geometry of Grief: Reflections, Mathematics, Loss, and Life - Michael Frame

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Queer Expressions: Expressive Art and Somatic Therapy Practices for Healing Body Trauma - Wednesdae Reim Ifrach, REAT, ATR-BC, CLAT

This Is What It Sounds Like: A Legendary Producer Turned Neuroscientist on Finding Yourself Through Music - Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas

To learn more about your default mode network and music preferences, I highly recommend this book. It’s incredible and I chose it last year for book club and everyone seemed to like it.

The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know - Shawn Coyne

I really recommend this book for anyone writing a novel, I haven’t written one myself but I was at a script reading one time and the author (who was speaking) was asked about what book helped them write their story and they said “The Story Grid” and *with just how they were hyping it up* and the murmurs of agreeance from the room, I think it may be an industry favorite. But of course, this is just a recommendation, no pressure.

Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People - G. Richard Shell

This book has nothing to do with grief, it is written more for business negotiations, but at the time of picking it up I was in a “mental economy” (and very literal thinking) autism headspace. It’s an unconventional read for grief but it did help me and is currently helping me with the “bargaining” stage.

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Welcome back to Schauer Thoughts, this week we’re continuing our discussion of the Disability Rights Movement - we’re covering the late 80’s, 90’s, and where we’re at today! There’s so much going on concerning Disability Rights but I hope what’s covered here, as well as all the resources discussed and linked below, fill your soul with some semblance of hope for the future. I do feel incredibly hopeful and I’m also incredibly determined and ready to keep applying pressure to this administration, directly or indirectly (we truly can do both.)

That being said, please also visit this website to stay up to dat on all anti-trans bills currently being introduced across the country.

2026 Anti-Trans Bills Tracker

https://translegislation.com/

Thank you all so much for listening and joining me in this discussion, it’s incredibly important that we remain informed and engaged on all topics concerning civil rights as none of us are free until we are all free.

Also, apologies for the late upload, I have had a lot going on. Thank you for your patience.

Books:

Disability Pride: Dispatches from a Post-ADA World - Ben Mattlin

Every Living Creature: How Xenotransplantation Will Change Our Lives - Joshua D. Mezrich, MD

A Silent Fire - Shilpa Revella

Phenology - Theresa M. Crimmins

Most Delicious Poison - Noah Whiteman

Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer’s- Charles Piller

Frostbite - Nicola Twilley

A History of Transgender Medicine - Carolyn Wolf-Gould, Dallas Denny, Jamison Green, Kyan Lynch, Editors

Sources:

The Movement for Disability Rights and Justice

https://www.aapd.com/movement/

Disability Rights Timeline

https://disabilities.temple.edu/resources/disability-rights-timeline

Medicalization and Social Control - Peter Conrad

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234838406_Medicalization_and_Social_Control

The Shifting Engines of Medicalization

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7869537_The_Shifting_Engines_of_Medicalization

Medicalization and the New Civil Rights

https://review.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/05/Konnoth-72-Stan.-L.-Rev.-1165.pdf

What’s Going on With Disability Programs in the President’s Budget?

https://www.ndrn.org/resource/fy27budgetcuts/

Why Medicaid Matters for Americans Living With Disabilities

https://modernmedicaid.org/why-medicaid-matters-for-americans-living-with-disabilities/

“Abandoned by Border Patrol”: Blind Refugee in Buffalo Dies in the Cold; Family Demands Answers

https://www.democracynow.org/2026/2/27/nurul_amin_shah_alam

Disability Resources - Employment:

Ability Jobs - Job Board for Disability Talent

https://abilityjobs.com/

National Disability Institute

https://www.nationaldisabilityinstitute.org/

Career One Stop - Career Exploration, Training & Jobs

https://www.careeronestop.org/

Evenbreak - Job Board for Disabled Candidates

https://www.evenbreak.com/

Cambiando Vidas - Organizing Immigrants and Latinx People with Disabilities

https://www.accessliving.org/get-involved/join-a-community-organizing-group/cambiando-vidas/

Disability Solutions

https://www.disabilitytalent.org/

Job Accommodation Network (JAN)

https://askjan.org/a-to-z.cfm

Disability Resources - Research, Legal, Caregiving

New Disabled South

https://newdisabledsouth.org/

Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund

https://dredf.org/

Center for Parent Information & Resources

https://www.parentcenterhub.org/

The Lurie Institute for Disability Policy

https://heller.brandeis.edu/lurie/about/index.html

The Sick Times

https://thesicktimes.org/

CARE - Caring Across Generations Network

https://caringacross.org/

Caring Future

https://www.caringfutures.org/

Caregiver Action Network

https://www.caregiveraction.org/

Disability Scoop

https://www.disabilityscoop.com/politics/
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Welcome to Schauer hour, I hope you’re ready to hear my thoughts lol. This week (and next) we’ll be discussing major milestones and events that happened and continue to happen during the Disability Rights Movement.

I do have to apologize in advance as *I am autistic* and *we do talk about autism* and *I am allowed to cry.* I realize emotions are just a natural part of being human but when I cry my voice gets quieter and becomes generally hard to hear, so next week I will enunciate better or take a moment to collect myself.

I can’t wait to share more next time as I didn’t even make it to the passing of the ADA! But we will get there. I hope you enjoy and can’t wait to chat next week.

Books:

Disability Pride: Dispatches From a Post-ADA World - Ben Mattlin

How Emotions Are Made - Lisa Feldman Barrett

Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions - Batja Mesquita

Descartes Error - Antonio Damasio

Infected: How Power, Politics, and Privilege Use Science Against the World’s Most Vulnerable - Muhammad H. Zaman

Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves - Nicola Twilley

Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer’s - Charles Piller

The Palestine Laboratory - Antony Loewenstein

Plastic: The Secret History and Shocking Future of Big Oil’s Biggest Bet - Beth Gardiner

A Silent Fire: The Story of Inflammation, Diet, and Disease - Shilpa Ravella

An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System - Matt Richtel

Sources & Resources:

Trump’s action signal a move toward institutionalizing people with disabilities, advocates warn

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trumps-actions-signal-a-move-toward-institutionalizing-people-with-disabilities-advocates-warn

History of Disability Rights Milestones and Laws

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/diversity/disabilityrights/about_us/timeline/

The Trump Administration Aims to Penalize Disabled Adults Who Live with Their Families

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-social-security-ssi-disability-benefits-cuts-parents-children

Lomax’s Matrix: Disability, Solidarity, and the Black Power of 504

https://dsq-sds.org/article/id/1086/

Worth Repeating: Ed Roberts’ 504 Sit-In Victory Rally Speech

https://ollibean.org/ed/

A History of Institutions for People with Disabilities: Neglect, Abuse, and Death

https://sites.uab.edu/humanrights/2023/10/25/a-history-of-institutions-for-people-with-disabilities-neglect-abuse-and-death/

Fairness of Reagan’s Cutoffs of Disability Aid Questioned

https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/09/us/fairness-of-reagan-s-cutoffs-of-disability-aid-questioned.html?eafs_enabled=false

AIDS blood tests for ‘insurability’

https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SWTN19880818.1.18&srpos=46&e=------198-en--20--41--txt-txIN-Insurance+companies+mental+health-------

Disability Resources

https://www.disabilityresources.org/

The website I mention at the end with a pretty substantial amount of disability resources!

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Well guys, it’s been a heck of a week - apologies for getting this out somewhat late, my brain is *egg of frying pan sound.* I know you all can understand.

Be prepared! I learn some neuroscience and immunology today because it’s a ~fully body~ Schauer this week, ayo! I’d like to thank my parents for bestowing me with a last name rife with self-branding related puns.

I appreciate you all! Chat next week!

Books:

A Silent Fire: The Story of Inflammation, Diet & Disease - Shilpa Ravella

(Transplant Gastroenterologist)

Most Delicious Poison: The Story of Nature’s Toxins - from Spices to Vices - Noah Whiteman

(Evolutionary Biologist)

The Human Brain Book: A Visual Guide to Structure & Function - Rita Carter

(Science & Medicine Writer)

Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst - Robert M. Sapolsky

(Neuroscientist & Primatologist)

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams - Matthew Walker, PhD

(Prof. of Neuroscience & Psychology)

An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System - Matt Richtel

(Pulitzer Prize Winning Writer for NYT)

Organ Speak: What It Really Means to Listen to Our Bodies - Guilia Enders

(Physician, Microbiologist, Author)

The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversations Within Our Bodies Impact Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health - Emeran Mayer, MD

(Gastroenterologist & Educator)

Clean: The New Science of Skin and the Beauty of Doing Less - James Hamblin, MD, MPH

(Preventative Medicine Specialist)

Believe it or not, I got most of my soap information from this book (I also used the ‘Natural saponins’ link below) - it’s mainly about hygiene and the cosmetic industry ripping everyone off but it did also teach me how to make soap.

Also, most of the sources from this episode are from the books I’ve read over the years, if there’s information you can’t find linked below, it has come from a book listed above. I put everyone’s occupations to narrow down what book it’s likely from.

Online Sources:

Good News - Attorney General James Sues Some of Nation’s Largest Chemical Companies Over Toxic Pollution from Consumer Products

https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2026/attorney-general-james-sues-some-nations-largest-chemical-companies-over-toxic

Researchers discover the eye’s hidden cleanup system

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-eye-hidden-cleanup.html

Macrophages in the artery wall ‘smell’ their surroundings

https://www.lji.org/news-events/news/post/macrophages-in-the-artery-wall-smell-their-surroundings/

Cells That ‘Taste’ Danger Set Off Immune Responses

https://www.quantamagazine.org/tuft-cells-that-taste-danger-set-off-immune-responses-20191115/

Natural saponins and macrophage polarization: Mechanistic insights and therapeutic perspectives in disease management

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2025.1584035/full

Inflammation Forces Brain Stem Cells to Halt Neurogenesis

https://neurosciencenews.com/inflammation-neurogenesis-31011/

Inhaling high-dose CO2 clears Alzheimer’s proteins from the brain

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2580471-inhaling-high-dose-co2-clears-alzheimers-proteins-from-the-brain/

Genetic variation across the human olfactory receptor repertoire alters odor perception

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1804106115

Comparative Toxicogenomics Database

https://ctdbase.org/

This is just the think to the genetics database I’ve been using, for all the genes I mention just type them into the search and *voila*

Free Newspaper Archive:

UCR | California Digital Newspaper Collection

https://cdnc.ucr.edu/

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