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

History Hit
  • 4.8 (886)
  • HISTORY
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Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
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Join sex historian 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?  She'll be bed-hopping 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. So join Kate 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.  

  1. 20 HR. AGO

    Who Was Lilith? The Semen-Stealing First Wife Of Adam

    Lilith's story goes back 4,000 years, and she's still making an impact today. She takes on different forms, depending on where you're looking, but a popular one was that she was the first wife of Adam, long before Eve, and was expelled from the Garden of Eden to go and live as a promiscuous, baby-killing, semen-stealing demon. As you do. In short, she's embodies a lot of male anxieties about sex and women. What are her true origins? What's with all the semen-stealing? And what's her connection to mermaids? Joining Kate today is historian Sarah Clegg, author of Woman's Lore: 4,000 Years of Sirens, Serpents and Succubi, to help us get to know this fascinating woman better. This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long. All music from Epidemic Sounds/All3 Media. 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.   You can take part in our listener survey here. Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

    44 min

  2. 4 DAYS AGO

    Sex Lives of Dinosaurs

    What's the dinosaur equivalent of Netflix and chill? Were they capable of flirting? In today's episode, Kate speaks with Dr. David Hone, author of Uncovering Dinosaur Behaviour: What They Did And How We Know, to find out more about how different dinosaurs might have had sex. Could the T-Rex's little arms aid their sexual performance? How did they penetrate through so much heavy protective armour? And were they monogamous? This episode was edited and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long. All music from Epidemic Sounds/All3 Media. 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.   You can take part in our listener survey here. Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

    40 min

  3. JAN 21

    Erotic Letters of Ancient Rome

    Long before phones allowed for sexting, how did the Ancient Romans exchange their illicit thoughts and desires? And what did a Roman dick pic look like? Joining Kate today to explore erotic letters from antiquity to the modern day is Owen Hodkinson, Associate Professor of Greek and Roman Cultures at Leeds University. This episode was edited by Tom Delargy. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long. All music from Epidemic Sounds. 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.   You can take part in our listener survey here. Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

    40 min

  4. JAN 17

    Medieval Lesbians

    How do you begin to look for examples of lesbians in the medieval period? Even though it was deeply frowned upon by the powers that be, the clues are very much there... if you know where to look. What examples do we have? How did the male-run church respond to fears that nuns were getting too close for their liking? And how did a 13th century court react when a dildo was presented in a case against a woman accused of sodomy? Joining Kate today is medieval historian Tess Wingard to help us find out more. You can find out more about Tess's work here: https://tesswingard.wordpress.com/ This episode was edited and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long. All music from Epidemic Sounds/All3 Media. 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.   You can take part in our listener survey here.

    46 min

  5. JAN 14

    History of Red Lipstick

    Red lipstick has a unique feminine power to it. It's been on the lips of some of the most influential people in history, including Cleopatra and Elizabeth I, and really took off in the 20th century. Why did it take on such an iconic status with the Suffragette movement? Why did Churchill choose not to ration lipstick? And why did Hitler hate it? Joining Kate today is journalist and red lipstick aficionado, Rachel Felder, author of Red Lipstick: An Ode To A Beauty Icon, to help us unpack the power of this make-up essential. This podcast was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long. All music from Epidemic Sounds 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.   You can take part in our listener survey here. Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

    35 min

  6. JAN 10

    Inside the Brothel of Pompeii

    Sex work was everywhere in the ancient world, but a known dedicated space for it (a brothel), is an extremely rare and important thing. Pompeii offers exactly that, with details such as graffiti and drawings immaculately preserved in the only known brothel from this period. Who were the people who worked there? What can we find out about the nature of sex work in this period? And why are there penises drawn everywhere in Pompeii? Joining Kate today is the wonderful Sarah Levin-Richardson, author of The Brothel of Pompeii: Sex, Class & Gender at the Margins of Roman Society, to help us find out. This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long. All music from Epidemic Sounds/All3 Media. 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.   You can take part in our listener survey here. Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

    47 min

  7. JAN 7

    Ancient Eroticism, Pagan Workouts & Body Ideals: History of the Gym

    It's January and (reluctant) thoughts turn to gym memberships, but what are the ancient origins of this phenomena? From the naked workouts of Ancient Greece to the bodybuilders of the 19th century, a lot has influenced exercise culture over the centuries - and it's always had a healthy dose of homoeroticism to it. Joining Kate today is Eric Chaline, author of The Temple of Perfection, to take us inside these spaces and find out more about them. This episode was edited by Tom Delargy, the producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long. All music from Epidemic Sounds/All3 Media. 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.   You can take part in our listener survey here. Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

    40 min

  8. JAN 3

    Medieval Sex Myths

    From medieval d*ck pics to sex with monks, how did people in medieval times think about sex and sexuality? It was a period that spanned roughly 1,000 years and even though views on sex were largely shaped by the dominant Christian faith, whether this filtered down to every day experiences is another question. Joining Kate today is the legendary sex historian Professor Ruth Karras, author of Sexuality in Mediaeval Europe: Doing Unto Others. Why did people in the middle ages think that women were more highly sexed than men? What did they believe were aphrodisiacs at this time? And what did they think caused STIs? This episode was edited by Matt Peaty and Stuart Beckwith. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long. All music from Epidemic Sounds/All3 Media. 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. You can take part in our listener survey here. Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

    46 min
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Join sex historian 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?  She'll be bed-hopping 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. So join Kate 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.  

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