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

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? What is their legacy?Kate is joined by Cathryn Kemp, author of historical novel, 'A Poisoner's Tale'.This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and 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.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

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 Shelley is entitled ‘In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein’.This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and 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.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

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 Sciences at the University of Bifröst.You can also watch Kate explore Icelandic witch trials further, in a brand new documentary for History Hit. Watch Witchmen: Witch Trials in the Land of Fire and Ice on HistoryHit.com, now. This episode was edited and produced by 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 ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

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 woman.This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by 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 ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

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.ukThis episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Sophie Gee. 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 ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

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 10 years, Robert scoured 70 archives and spoke with 30 survivors to bridge this important gap in the history of the Holocaust.This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and produced by Sophie Gee. 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 ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

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 never accused of witchcraft?Joining Kate today is Rachel Morris, author of The Years of the Wizard: The Strange History and Home Life of Renaissance Magicians.This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by 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 ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

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 their contemporaries?Kate is joined for this episode by Hollie Marquess, Dr Leo Oliva Distinguished Professor of History at Fort Hays State University.This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and produced by Sophie Gee. 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 ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

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 help us get to know this fascinating woman.This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and produced by 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 ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.