Hello friend,

I hope you've had a good week.

My London half marathon challenge is just two weeks away now, which means one thing... taper time (thank goodness: I am TIRED). Most training blocks build in a taper period at the end, which means your weekly training load reduces, so your body and brain have a rest before the race. It's a good reminder that we cannot function at 100% all the time. We need rest.

(That being said, I still have to knock out a cheeky 9 miler after I've pressed send on this email 😬 Please send good vibes.)

I've been thinking a lot about the joy of giving and learning this week; both topics are reflected in this weekend's digest. I hope you enjoy it.

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✏️ Doodle Essays

This week's doodle essay is a research-based reminder that giving feels great.

Functional MRI studies show that the act of giving activates the same reward circuits in the brain as receiving. When you help someone else, your brain releases chemicals linked to motivation and pleasure. Researchers call this the "helper’s high". What a fabulous way to support your own wellbeing.

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📚 Read

Here are two articles from other creators I thought you might enjoy:

• I tend to read digitally these days, so this article from Card Catalog gave me a lot to think about: What Scrolling Did to Reading.
• The timing of this article from Ness Labs was interesting as I've recently—quite anxiously—made a few "gut-based" decisions: The Gut Decision Matrix.

In addition to these articles, I've been loving Flossy Fay's Substack, The Beginner's Mind, and upgraded my subscription this week. Her work has a big focus on lifelong learning and amateur research; find out more here.

If you're curious about the books I'm reading, you can see my library in Notion here: Martine's Library.

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📺 Watch

My fermentation experiments continue.

Last weekend I made a jar of lacto tomatoes (here's a nice recipe) and will be trying them this weekend. I added garlic, red chillies, and fresh lemon thyme and oregano.

I also made some garlic in honey (here's a recipe; I didn't include chilli flakes but I did add sliced fresh ginger).

Here are some photos of my experiments (I share these kind of updates on Instagram under @martinemakesstuff).

If you are fermentation curious, there's a great introductory video below. If you are ready to get nerdy, I just finished Tim Spector's book, Ferment, and it is fab.
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🎧 Listen

I've been trying out a few new (to me) podcasts this week. Thanks to Chris for recommending What's it Like to Be... With Dan Heath. The most recent episode is an interview with a retired diplomat.

I'm currently doing some research for a new, in-person communication course and found this episode of Lenny' Podcast (an interview with Wes Kao) helpful.

What's your favourite podcast right now?

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That's all from me today. Have a great week, and I will be in touch again next weekend.

Best wishes,

Martine

P.S. If you enjoy my newsletter and want to support my work, you can buy me a coffee here. It’s always appreciated but never expected.

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