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

Forget celebrities running around the Highlands... come back to the 16th century Tudor court when being a traitor meant literally losing your head.

Joining Kate today is Tudor historian and author Nicola Tallis, to expose the ultimate Tudor traitor: Thomas Cromwell.

Why did he work so hard to make Anne Boleyn queen only to orchestrate the plot to kill her? How involved was Henry VIII, really? And what happened that meant Cromwell was eventually betrayed?

This podcast was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

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In the first half of the 1700s, Britain was overwhelmed by gin. But it might not have been as fun as it sounds.

Today, we're hearing about what the so-called gin-craze was, the impact that it had on regular people, and the government's attempts to control it.

Kate is joined by Professor Judith Hawley from Royal Holloway for this episode.

This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Subscribe to the new Betwixt The Sheets YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@BetwixtTheSheetsPodcast

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

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Demonic blood-sucking creatures have existed for thousands of years before Dracula showed up all sexy, suave and problematic.

Who were these figures who inspired what we know today as vampires? Why are a lot of these supernatural creatures female figures? And why did left-handed red heads once get stakes through the heart!?

Joining Kate today is the fantastic historian and author Janina Ramirez, to get to the bottom of these important questions.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producers were Stuart Beckwith, Sophie Gee and McKenna Fernandez. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Subscribe to the new Betwixt The Sheets YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@BetwixtTheSheetsPodcast

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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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

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Is this the story of a sex crazed empress? Or just some good (really) old-fashioned gossip?

Was Messalina, wife of Emperor Claudius, really a sex worker by night? And did she really marry another man whilst her very powerful husband was still alive?

This episode of Betwixt contains possibly the biggest scandal to take place in Ancient Rome, brought to us by the wonderful Alexander Meddings.

This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Subscribe to the new Betwixt The Sheets YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@BetwixtTheSheetsPodcast

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 surveyhere.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

Forget what you think about fairies... they are not cute and definitely not harmless.

In today's episode we're going back centuries to a time when they could take human form and were mentioned as part of the witch trials.

What are the rules of talking to a fairy? What are the differences between Irish and Scottish fairies? And what influence did Shakespeare have on how we see fairies?!

Joining Kate today is Diane Purkiss, historian and author of books including Fairies and Fairy Stories and The Museum of Witchcraft.

This podcast was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Subscribe to the new Betwixt The Sheets YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@BetwixtTheSheetsPodcast

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 surveyhere.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

*TRIGGER WARNING: CONTAINS OLD NORSE SWEAR WORDS*

How would you insult a Viking? What strange nicknames did they give each other? And what did a Viking rap battle sound like?!

Brush up on your Old Norse and impress your friends with the most obscene Viking swear words. To help you out and talk Kate through the reasons behind their offensive language is historian and author Dr Eleanor Barraclough.

This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Check out the new Betwixt The Sheets YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@BetwixtTheSheetsPodcast

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 surveyhere.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happened to King Tut's 'Little Tut' during mummification? The rumour is that he took an erection to the afterlife, but what can we know after several millennia and a very rough excavation?

Dr Campbell Price came into the studio to bust a few myths about the boy Pharaoh. But not to worry, for every myth busted, Campbell has another golden nugget!

Campbell is Curator of Egypt & Sudan at Manchester Museum.

This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Subscribe to the new Betwixt The Sheets YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@BetwixtTheSheetsPodcast

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 surveyhere.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

STOLEN! Jesus' foreskin!

Well, maybe not. But 2000 years after his birth, where might Jesus' foreskin be? And why does it matter to people?

Kate is joined by Dr James White for this episode to find out how the Holy Prepuce has supposedly survived the last two centuries, and what it has meant to the people devoted to it.

James is a historian of late medieval Europe, with a special interest in the body, gender, and religion. He teaches at the University of Alberta, where his research has focused on

late medieval devotion to the Holy Foreskin and anti-Jewish condemnation of circumcision by Christians.

This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Subscribe to the new Betwixt The Sheets YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@BetwixtTheSheetsPodcast

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 surveyhere.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why were the Nazis so fixated on birth rates? How did they encourage larger families? And what was their surprising angle on extramarital pregnancies?

In essence, what was the Lebensborn policy?

Taking us through Nazi family policy today is Lisa Pine. Lisa is Fellow of the Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Subscribe to the new Betwixt The Sheets YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@BetwixtTheSheetsPodcast

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 surveyhere.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

Was Rasputin really Russia’s greatest love machine? Did he have any healing powers? And why might his penis be pickling in a jar?

We're in the middle of some willy related episodes at the moment, and it would be wrong not to include the man, the myth, the 'mad monk'. In this episode from the early days of Betwixt, we are drawing Rasputin out of his cloud of green smoke to find out which of the things we know about him might actually be true.

Kate is joined by Douglas Smith, historian, translator and expert in Russian history, who has emerged from the archives with a new interpretation of this cartoon baddy.

*WARNING there are naughty words and discussions of sexual coercion in this episode*

Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee.

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.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

To many she's known as Lady Jane Grey, but history should remember her as Queen Jane I.

She was only queen for 9 days in 1553, but this made her the first ever queen of England when she was just 16.

What happened in her short life that made her suddenly the most powerful woman in England? How did 'Bloody Mary' Tudor react? And how did it all go so wrong?

Joining Kate is the wonderful historian Kate Williams, author of Regina: A New History of Women and Power.

This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

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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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Betwixt the Sheets is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

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Small. Shrivelled. Separated from its owner. What has been said about Napoleon Bonaparte's penis? And how much of it is true?

Dr Zack White joins Kate for this episode to discuss these rumours, and what kind of lover and partner Napoleon really was (hint: not great).

Zack is a research fellow at the University of Portsmouth, Chair of the Napoleonic & Revolutionary War Graves Charity, and host of 'The Napoleonic Wars Podcast'.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

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.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

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Marie Antoinette famously spent quite a lot of money and time on her outfits and make-up. But what would it feel like to actually wear it?

Joining Kate in this episode is the amazing Casta Hex, historical drag queen, embroiderer and textiles artist for film and TV. Casta creates all her costumes using period accurate fabrics and techniques.

Layer by layer, they explore how to get ready like Marie Antoinette.

This episode was edited by Natasha Hughes. It was produced by Sophie Gee, McKenna Fernandez and Georgie Turner. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Subscribe to the new Betwixt The Sheets YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@BetwixtTheSheetsPodcast

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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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

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In the midst of the most hostile period in Scottish history, comes a passionate lesbian love story.

Set against post-Reformation Scotland, with Mary Queen of Scots on the throne, is Marie Maitland whose erotic lesbian poetry gives us a rare and significant insight into same-sex love and desire at this time.

What exactly do her poems say? And how was she able to get away with it at such a dangerous time in history for queer people?

Joining Kate today is Ashley Douglas, historian, translator and author of With My Own Hand, the first book telling the story of Marie Maitland.

This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

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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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Romans have gone down as some of the greatest perverts of all time. But what really went on inside a Roman orgy? Joining Kate to get behind the bacchanalia is fan-favourite Emma Southon whose new book is Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

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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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Subscribe to the new Betwixt The Sheets YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@BetwixtTheSheetsPodcast

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

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Josephine Baker went from poverty and segregation in St. Louis to becoming Paris’s most sensational showgirl, captivating Europe with her dancing, sexuality and scandalous performances.

But behind her outrageous persona was an extraordinary woman who became a spy in World War Two, civil rights activist and French national hero.

Joining Kate today is author and Second World War French historian, Professor Amerita Hanna Diamond.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Subscribe to the new Betwixt The Sheets YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@BetwixtTheSheetsPodcast

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click to place your vote on the Spotify mobile app: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX74ZgzrlyH29

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

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Mary Queen of Scots has gone down in history for her power struggle with her cousin, Elizabeth I. But this was just one of the challenges she faced.

Another was that Mary's second husband, Lord Darnley, was one of history’s worst husbands.

Estelle Paranque joins Kate for this episode to discuss Mary's disastrous love life, as well as how much of a threat she was to her cousin, Elizabeth I.

This episode was edited by Natasha Hughes. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

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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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most famous works of medieval art in the world, but what do we actually know about it? Who made it? Where? Why? And are those actually human genitals?

Kate is joined by Dave Musgrove, content director at History Extra and co-author of 'The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry: Unraveling the Norman Conquest'.

This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. Produced by Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

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.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

Behind the impressive relics the Romans left behind lurks a much darker story: that most of Rome was built on the back of enslaved people.

It's shocking to know that up to 30% of Roman society was made up of enslaved people. So how was this represented in every day life? What was life like for different enslaved people in the Roman empire? And was freedom ever a possibility?

Joining Kate today is Roman historian Emma Southon, whose new book Servus: The Moving, Enthralling True Story of Slavery in the Roman Empire takes us back to this world.

This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. Produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

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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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Betwixt the Sheets is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elizabeth Bathory was a fabulously wealthy Noblewoman accused of torturing and killing some 600 women in the 16th century.

Her story is popularly spoken about as one of history's deadliest women... but is it true? And if it isn't, why has it stuck?

Helping us get to the bottom of these questions is Shelley Puhak, author of The Blood Countess: Murder, Betrayal and the Making of a Monster, to talk through her new findings on Elizabeth Báthory.

This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click to place your vote on the Spotify mobile app: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX74ZgzrlyH29

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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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Betwixt the Sheets is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information.