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The Dancing Plague: Mass Hysteria or Medical Mystery?
Season 4
Episode 2
Published 1 day, 20 hours ago
Description
**Discussion begins at 5:00**
In 1518, in the city of Strasbourg, something bizarre began happening. One woman reportedly started dancing in the street, and within days, dozens of other people had joined her. Soon, the dancing had spread through the city, with some people reportedly dancing for days on end. Some collapsed from exhaustion. Others may have died. So what was happening to these people? This week we’re talking about the Dancing Plague of 1518. We’re digging into what actually happened, what theories have been proposed, and whether modern medicine can help us make sense of an epidemic that left an entire city dancing.
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