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The people who danced themselves to death, the start of a new series on WRNC
by
Normandy, France
Wednesday, 23 July 2025
A terrible plague made them dance
WIT | Episode 01
Historical stories that sound too crazy to be true, yet are. People dancing to their own deaths in the city of Strasbourg in 1518; it may sound like a fairytale, but believe us when we tell you: it's not!
"WHY IS THAT?" will broadcast its first episode on WRNC tomorrow
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Sebastien Pollock | World Radio Normandy Caen
It will be the first WRNC show to exist in both audio and video form, with the creation of a new YouTube channel to accompany the programme.
So what is "WHY IS THAT?"
The newest addition to WRNC's programming, "WHY IS THAT?" is a factual entertainement podcast aimed at exploring all the most curious things in life. Day to day occurences, historical cases of interest, or anything that simply begs the question; why is that?
The first episode will broadcast tomorrow (Thursday 24th July 2025) at 12:30 on WRNC and then subsequently at 5pm, at which point it will also become available in video form on the show's YouTube channel and on most major podcast streaming services.
A dancing plague which ravaged late medieval Strasbourg
Ever heard of the 1518 Strasbourg dancing plague? Where hundreds of people danced in the streets, seemingly cursed, through pain and exhaustion, sometimes even to their own deaths.
A curious historical phenomenon which we explore with research from PhD researcher Regan Ebsworth and the help of Dr John Waller, Associate Professor of the History of Medicine at Michigan State University and author of the book "A Time to Dance, a Time to Die".
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