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Moral Panics, D&D, Steam Tunnels and More (1979) [Archive Favorite]
It’s August 17th. This day in 1979, a young college student by the name of James Dallas Egber III disappeared into a steam tunnel below his university, intending to commit suicide. But the story of his disappearance became a media - and moral - panic because of his affinity for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what we know and don’t know about Egber’s troubled life, and why the D&D narrative was so pervasive.
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The skinny
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