Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
Join sex historian Dr Kate Lister on Betwixt the Sheets as she gets intimate with the stories that would make your history teacher blush. What were the Victorians really like behind closed (bedroom) doors? How did the Black Death favour women in medieval England? And what was Caesar like in the sack? Join Kate as she bed-hops around different time periods; from ancient civilisations, to the middle ages, to renaissance and early modern...right up to now. You’ll laugh, you’ll wince, and you’ll ask yourself how much has actually changed. Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society - a podcast from History Hit. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
What did Queen Isabella of France do to deserve the nickanem She-Wolf? What sex scandals happened in the 14th century? And why did the Black Death improve peoples' sex lives?!
Joining Kate today is the fantastic author and historian, Helen Carr, to take us back to this time to find out.
This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.
However you pronounce his name, one thing is for certain: Van Gogh made made his mark on the world.
But how did he interact with the world around him? From his relationship with a sex worker in the Hague to his time at the asylum in the south of France.
Joining Kate today is Teio Meedendorp, Senior Researcher at the Van Gogh Museum, to help us get to know this complex man better.
*TW: This episode contains references to se...
Odourless, tasteless, colourless, lethal. In the mid-17th century, men were dropping like flies in Italy. And this wasn't just the plague - it was the work of the poison Aqua Tofana.
So what is Aqua Tofana? And who was its apocryphal purveyor, Giulia Tofana? In this episode we are diving back to Renaissance Italy to learn more about a circle of women poisoners, and the men they chose to murder. How did they eventually get caught...
Frankenstein and his monster are household names - even if one is often confused for the other. But what of their creator?
In this episode we are meeting Mary Shelley. Did she really lose her virginity on her mother's grave? Did she keep her husband's heart after his death? And where did the gothic novel 'Frankenstein' come from?
Kate is joined by poet Fiona Sampson to explore Mary and her life. Fiona's biography of Mary Shel...
Picture a witch. Chances are, you're thinking of a woman.
But in 17th century Iceland, over 90% of the people killed for being a witch, were men.
Why were more men being accused than women for being a witch? And what happened inside their trials?
Today we're revisiting an episode from 2024 to take you back inside the Icelandic Witch Trials. Kate is joined by Dr. Ólína Kjerulf Þorvarðardóttir, Dean of Faculty of Social Scie...
Before Mary I was Queen, no other woman had worn the crown of England.
This made her a Tudor trailblazer, and a target.
During her short reign she burned some 300+ people, earning her the nickname 'Bloody Mary'. Was this nickname justified or was it a case of bad press?
Joining Kate today is the fantastic Anna Whitelock, historian and author of books including Mary Tudor: England’s First Queen, to help us get to know this ...
Why, just why, would one put a leech up their .. you know where? It's all in the name of virginity, or the faking of it.
Kate is joined by Dr Julia Martins to find out why virginity was so necessary to Early Modern people, and how they went about faking it.
Julia can be found at juliamartins.co.uk
This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.
Even among Holocaust researchers, this subject is taboo. Starting in 1942, the Nazis set up brothels inside some of the camps, not for the guards, but for the prisoners.
What was the point of these brothels? Who were the women forced to work there? And who were the prisoners who visited them?
In this episode we find out from Robert Sommer, author of 'The Concentration Camp Brothel: Forced Sexual Labor under Nazi Rule'. Over 1...
The 16th century was a dangerous time to be talking about magic and hidden forces, so how did John Dee end up being invited into Elizabeth I's court?
He was an astronomer, occultist and alchemist who dedicated his life to understanding how celestial activity influenced life on earth.
What happened when he thought angels told him to swap wives with another mystic? How did his influence impact the Tudor court? And why was he ne...
Shoot outs, hard drinking and gambling. The Wild West is remembered for it's general lawlessness, but what might life have been like for the first women to join the American settlers as they moved west?
**TW: This episode contains mentions of suicide**
In this episode, we are investigating the lives of sex workers on the American frontier. Who were they? What were their living conditions like? And how were they treated by the...
She was executed on Henry VIII's orders alongside Catherine Howard, and was sister-in-law to Anne Boleyn and the King. She lived in the heart of the Tudor court, and almost made it out alive.
It was a time of huge danger, and such high stakes. But who was Jane Boleyn? Traitor, spy, a woman trying to surive?
In today's episode Kate's joined by the fantastic historian and author Philippa Gregory, author of Boleyn Traitor, to he...
After the first licensed brothel opened in the 17th century, how was sex work thought of in Japan throughout the following centuries?
From the brothels in the pleasure quarters, to the rise and popularity of male sex workers and where geishas fit into the picture, Kate is joined by Elizabeth Lublin to explore this world.
This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte ...
Is this strangest threesome in royal history?!
We're endlessly fascinated with the lives of royal mistresses, and this has to be one of the most notorious.
It takes place in 16th century France between Henry II, his wife Catherine de Medici and his much older mistress, Diane de Poitiers.
How does this three-way power dynamic play out, inside and outside the bedroom? And how does Diane claim more power than the Queen?
Jo...
Why did a British ship carry over 200 women to Australia in the late 18th century? In this episode, we are going inside the Lady Juliana, a convict transportation ship.
What crimes were these women being punished for? What was life like on the ship? And why was it called a 'floating brothel'?
Our guest, Siân Rees, is the author of ‘The Floating Brothel: The extraordinary true story of an 18th-century ship and its cargo of fem...
Rasputin presented himself as a mystic healer, and preached that the only way to salvation was through sin — which sometimes, if rumour is to be believed, manifested in orgies.
It's definitely giving f*ckboy behaviour.
How did he make his way from poverty to the Russian royalty inner circle? What mystical powers did he claim to have? And did he really have a 13" penis?
Where did the idea of the bunny boiler come from?
In this episode we're exploring how single women got such a bad rap in popular culture. From Miss Havisham to Bridget Jones, Caroline Young joins Kate once again.
Caroline is the author of 'Single and Psycho: How Pop Culture Created the Unstable Single Woman'.
This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.
Sex, scandal and ... the Sacraments? Renaissance Rome wasn't for the faint hearted. And the Vatican? For some that was the source of the drama.
In this episode, Kate is joined by Catherine Fletcher to meet one of the Vatican's randiest residents - Pope Alexander VI. From saucy parties to the scandals of the Borgia family, why might this be the naughtiest pope in history?
Catherine is the author of a number of books including ...
Where does Emperor Nero fit in the pantheon of history's worst f*ckboys?
Does he measure up against the likes of previous episodes on Charles II or Raphael? Is he the worst of the lot? And what strange sex games did he like to play?
Helping Kate getting to know the awful Emperor Nero is returning guest, Rome-based historian and tour guide, Alex Meddings.
This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwit...
How did the Georgians discuss sexuality? And how, and why, did they regulate it? In this episode, Kate talks to Dr Anthony Delaney about his new book 'Queer Georgians: A hidden history of lovers, lawbreakers and homemakers'.
Listen to find out the truth about the Chevalier D'Eon: soldier, spy ... and transgender trailblazer?
Anthony hosts our sister podcast, After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds and the Paranormal, with Dr Maddy Pellin...
The Renaissance is known for its heady combination of sex, art and exciting new ideas about the world.
Was Raphael, one of the superstar painters of the period, a Renaissance top shagger? Were sex workers essential to the artistic process of painting nudes? Why did historians think he died from having too much sex?
Joining Kate today is the wonderful professor and author, Jill Burke, to help us get to know this man better.
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