Dancing Plague, Digitalis and Disability

A podcast series exploring the history of medicine - from A to Z.

The podcast is available on Spotify, iTunes, Podbean and Soundcloud.

In this week’s episode, Daisy, Charlotte and Olivia chat about the Ds – dancing plague, digitalis and disability.

Through these diverse topics, the trio explore foxglove, its folkloric and common usage throughout history as well as its continued use in modern medicine. They also discuss the duality of dancing plagues: the seemingly charming nature of truly horrific events. And last but not least, the topic of disabilities and some of the attempted cures. So, from heart-stopping to Thomas Braidwood - let us all explore some Ds in the history of medicine.

Sources: Davis, Lennard J., Enforcing Normalcy: Disability, Deafness, and the Body. London, 1995. Houston, Rab and Uta Frith. Autism in History: The Case of Hugh Blair of Borgue. Oxford, 2000.    

The Team:
Laura Burgess has been a volunteer with the Physicians' Gallery since 2021 after completing her MA in History from UNC Charlotte. She is interested in the history of mental health and loves to explore new creative methods to share history.
Sarah E Hayward earned her PhD in Museums and Heritage Studies, with a focus on the history of learning disability, from Kingston University London in 2023. She now works in the Archive Service at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability (RHN) in Putney.
Sarah has been a dedicated volunteer with the Physicians' Gallery since 2021. She has a passion for archival research and loves to explore creative ways to share the hidden stories she uncovers.
Charlotte Holmes received her PhD in History from the University of Edinburgh in 2022 and she has been volunteering with the Physicians' Gallery since 2019. Her main interest is in Scottish medical history but she has recently been researching the disabled experience in early modern Scotland.
Olivia Howarth is a volunteer with the Physicians' Gallery, a qualified archivist, heritage enthusiast and self-proclaimed lifetime nerd with an interest in medical history.