Mass Psychogenic Illness And The Dancing Plague Of 1518

Hold onto your hats (and your feet), because in this week's The Bare Facts, we're diving into one of history’s wildest and weirdest events: The Dancing Plague of 1518!

Was it mass psychogenic illness? Was it just a case of people really feeling the beat? We’ll be uncovering the truth behind this bizarre episode, where a group of people in 16th-century France literally danced themselves to exhaustion—and in some cases, to death.

In true Dumb AF fashion, we’ll also explore how mass psychogenic illness spreads, why humans are so easily swept up in hysteria, and, of course, how to avoid catching the dance fever yourself!

It’s our new format, where we serve up our questionable research and let the experts handle the big stuff (but trust us, you’re gonna want to hear both!).

Make sure you check out our previous episode Being Cold Can't Give You A Cold where we chat with epidemiologist and public health physician Dr Craig Dalton, to hear more!