This week we’re diving into Outbreak (1995), the viral thriller that turned sneezing into a death sentence. Dustin Hoffman’s a scrappy Army virologist, Rene Russo’s his ex with better instincts, and Morgan Freeman’s somewhere between helpful and horrifying. From monkey smugglers to military cover-ups, we’re breaking quarantine to figure out how this ‘90s pandemic panic still infects our brains today.

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Want the lyrics to our Outbreak song?

[Verse 1]

 At first, we felt a chill, just a cough, a little sweat

 Then came the news from overseas—it ain’t over yet

 From the jungle to the airwaves, it flew fast and flew unseen

 One scratch from Betsy, now this town’s a quarantine

[Verse 2]

 We wore our masks, we sealed our suits

 Still the sirens howled, the threat was absolute

 They said “Control the panic,” but we knew it wasn’t true

 When your generals are hiding truths, what’s a virologist to do?

[Chorus]

 We won’t die, not today

 Though McClintock’s bombs are coming, we still found another way

 We tracked that monkey through the trees, we hit the skies, we found a cure

 Now this town will stand, and science will endure

[Verse 3] 

Jimbo touched that monkey, which grayed out his anatomy  

You can call him McDreamy, but his guts turned creamy  

Made out with his girlfriend and his luck ran dry

First on the slab, and the first to die 

[Bridge]

 And Robby held on strong, though her hands began to shake

 Her life on the line, with every move she’d make

 But with serum in the needle and a second left to spare

 She took the cure and breathed again, fresh hope in the air

[Chorus]

 We won’t die, no, not this time

 Though fear spread fast and high command tried to cross the line

 They said “nuke it from orbit,” we said “That’s insane!”

 So we flew between the bombs and saved the town from flame

Cedar Creek still breathes…

 And we—we won’t die