Episode description

Heard about the college parties where kids are intentionally trying to infect themselves with Covid--even betting money on who can catch it first? We sure have, and there will likely be many more tales popping up as the pandemic continues. And it provides an intersection of folklore, moral panic, media literacy, and helpful versus harmful "public awareness" that we (meaning Ben) love to dissect and learn from. Why has this rumor taken off, and is there anything to it? We also take a look at other types of disease urban legends and the alleged HIV "bug chasers" that Rolling Stone (mis)reported on in the early 2000s.