Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society

Early Modern Italy birthed artistic giants like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, saw architectural marvels like Florence's dome and St. Peter's Basilica, and pushed scientific frontiers in astronomy. This same vibrant era was also home to Bologna's uniquely regulated sex work industry.

So what was life like for the sex workers of Renaissance Italy? Kate is joined in this episode by Dr Vanessa McCarthy, historian of gender, se...

How could recording people having sex be 'for science'? Same question for sleeping with your colleagues? Well, these were just two of the practices embraced by the subject of today's conversation.

Donna Drucker is returning to the podcast to discuss pioneering sexologist, Alfred Kinsey. Donna, from Columbia University, is author of The Classification of Sex.

This episode was edited by Nick Thomson. The producer was Sophie Gee...

Despite Christianity coming in hot and heavy in the medieval period, sex work was thriving.

In many places it was legal, even.

In this second episode in our mini-series exploring sex work through history, Kate is joined by the legend of sex worker history, Ruth Karras.

What did a medieval brothel look like? How did sex workers dress? And why does the word 'spinster' mean sex worker?

This episode was edited and produced ...

She wrote some of the most enduring romances in literature. But what did Jane Austen really know about love ... and sex?

From longing looks and flirtation, to seduction and elopement, in this episode we're investigating how much of Jane Austen's works was based on experience.

Kate is joined by John Mullan, Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London and author of 'What Matters in Jane ...

What did it look like inside a Roman brothel? Who was the sex worker involved in a murder plot to kill an Emperor? And why was the Pope getting sex workers to race chariots?!

In this first episode of our brand new limited-series on sex work through history, Kate is joined by Professor Anise Strong, who takes us back to meet some of the amazing sex workers from Ancient Rome, including one who was involved in a murder plot to kill...

Childbirth isn't for the faint-hearted at the best of times, let alone in the medieval period. 

What was a birthing room like at this time in history? Who would have been in there helping bring a new baby into the world? And how suspicious were the church of these all-women spaces?

Joining Kate today is the always-fabulous Eleanor Janega, co-host of our sister podcast Gone Medieval, to take us back to this time and place...

Deep in an Ancient Greek labyrinth lurks the half bull half man monster: the Minotaur.

What did this wild myth about a woman having a baby with a bull have to say about how humans understood our taboo desires? How did they even make it happen? And what happened when you found him in the labyrinth?

Joining Kate today is historian and author, Jasmine Elmer, to help us get to the bottom of this myth and find out the truth behind...

Against the paranoid backdrop of the Scottish witch trials, a murder plot involving King James and some of his lovers took place.

To make matters more juicy, it centres around the Bonnie Earl of Moray, who is said to be the most handsome man in Scotland.

How does this situation create a conflict of interests for King James VI & I?

Joining Kate today is the wonderful Gareth Russell, author of Queen James: A New History Abou...

Why did Victorians value pale skin so highly? And how were black bodies viewed by Victorian society?

In this episode Kate is joined by author and historian Dr Rochelle Rowe of the University of Edinburgh.

This episode was edited by Tom Delargy. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and a...

At least 160 million people worldwide take some form of the contraceptive pill. So where did it come from? Who invented it and why? And how has it changed the world?

Kate is joined by Donna Drucker, author of 'Contraception: A Concise History' and historian from Columbia University. Together they discuss whether the contraceptive pill has been a force for liberation.

This episode was edited by Tom Delargy. The producer was S...

Why did royalty have worse teeth than commoners? How would the Tudor court have smelt? And when even the Queen of England can be accused of being a witch for a random mole, what hope did the rest of us have?

In this new mini-series, we'll be exploring the beauty standards - and ideas of ugliness - throughout time periods in history.

In this third episode Kate is joined by historian and author Nicola Tallis, to find out how bo...

He cuts a fine figure, walking down the street. Whether it's a bow tie and a sharp suit, perfectly curated clashing colours, or a moustache with every hair strictly held in place - this is a person who spends hours on their look. But why?

In this episode of Betwixt the Sheets, Kate is joined by Peter K. Andersson, author of ‘The Dandy” A People’s History of Sartorial Splendour’. Together they discuss the motivations for the dapp...

Beauty fads come and go - remember super low-rise jeans in the 90s? IYKYK.

What was considered cool and beautiful in the medieval period? What skincare routines were medieval people doing? And how did the Black Death affect how people dressed and presented themselves?

In this new mini-series, we'll be exploring the beauty standards - and ideas of ugliness - throughout time periods in history.

In this second episode Kate is...

Imagine an executioner. Are they big, strong, cloaked and masked? Are they male? Probably - because most executioners in history have been. Today, though, we're meeting a woman who broke the mould.

Journalist and writer Clodagh Finn joins Kate to explore the life of Lady Betty, the Irish executioner of the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as some other Irish women who have defied the boundaries of their gender for obscure reason...

What was a Roman skincare routine like? Why did the beard make a comeback under Emperor Hadrian? And what did it mean to be ugly in this time?

In this new mini-series, we'll be exploring the beauty standards - and ideas of ugliness - throughout time periods in history.

Starting today with Ancient Rome, Kate is joined by historian and author Emma Southon to find out why Romans would have loved the recent bushy eyebrow trend.

You could be forgiven for thinking the Greek myth of Medusa has zero relevance to us today. Snake for hair?!

But as you'll hear in today's episode, she's a woman who was vilified for her femininity and sexuality. She was literally cast out of society for it - into a cave, of all places.

Joining Kate to help us get to know this mythical woman and her story is author and historian Jasmine Elmer.

This episode was edited by To...

Charismatic, passionate, insatiable - Henry VIII is known across the world as the king who had 6 wives, and a few mistresses on the side. But was Henry a romantic or a scoundrel?

Kate is joined by Natalie Grueninger, host of 'Talking Tudors', to find out just how badly behaved Henry was.

This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

If you'd like to get in touch ...

We've been tying the knot for thousands of years in one way or another, but what did a medieval wedding look like?

The church had very strict ideas around monogamy and sex in this period, which affected the rituals of a wedding day, AND night.

What happened in the bed chambers of the newlyweds? Why was pleasure so important? And why were divorce courts so humiliating?

Joining Kate today is author and historian Jacqueline M...

Can you imagine being SO smooth-talking and seductive your surname becomes an actual noun in the dictionary to describe someone who has a reputation for being an expert at in the sack?

Well today we’re going to be talking about a man who was just that…Giacamo Casanova.

But is his legacy as a f*ckboy accurate? Was he really a prolific ladies man? And did he do anything else in his life other than seduce women…and if he did, wh...