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

Given that the medieval period covers the best part of 1000 years, there's a fair amount of sexual myth and beliefs to get through.How kinky were people in those times? Was the chastity belt just a Victorian myth? And did women really put live fish into their vaginas and then feed them to their husbands?All of these questions and more will be answered in today's episode of Betwixt the Sheets, which is from a conversation Kate had with Eleanor Janega recently over on History Hit's Gone Medieval podcast.This podcast was edited by Siobhan Dale and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Kate Lister, Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.You can take part in our listener survey here.

"I came. I saw. I conquered".Perhaps the most famous Julius Caesar quote of all time. But after hearing all about his bedroom antics, it takes on a slightly...different meaning.From Cleopatra, to his three wives, to male lovers, to mistresses - Julius Caesar definitely slept his way round Rome.Today Kate is Betwixt the Ancient Roman Sheets with Emma Southon, to find out all about his rampant sex life.This podcast was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Kate Lister, Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.You can take part in our listener survey here.

It's a credit to the resilience of the gay community that when society tried to outlaw and silence them, they just created a language of their own to keep conversation (and gossip) alive. The language, polari, was born out of prejudice, and while it's now classified as endangered, many of its words are still used by us today.What were its many origins? When was it at its peak? And why did some of the gay community eventually start to turn its back on it?Kate's joined by Paul Baker, author of Fabulosa!: The Story of Polari, Britain's Secret Gay Language, to find out more.This episode was edited by Tom Delargy, and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.You can take part in our listener survey here.

From Catherine Howard’s affairs whilst she was with Henry VIII, to Charles II’s mistress staging a lesbian wedding as part of a threesome… Hampton Court has seen it all. Today’s guest is Gareth Russell, historian and author of The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of History at Hampton Court, to explore a selection of the sex and scandal that’s taken place there at the hands of its royal residents. Who were some of the most popular and powerful mistresses to live there? What was Catherine Howard’s downfall with Henry VIII? Why was it more beneficial for James I to have mail mistresses? Let’s go Betwixt the Sheets to find out. This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.You can take part in our listener survey here.

As taboos go, sex between two consenting adults should not be up there as one of them.And yet! When we talk about sex in old age many people have an awkward reaction to it. Ask yourself this - is there an age when you intend on stop having sex?Joining Kate today is senior sex author and advocate of ageless sexuality, Joan Price, to tackle the myths and challenges that come with sex as you get older, and explore how this has been depicted historically.For more information on Joan’s work, visit her website here.This episode was edited and produced by Stuart Beckwith and the senior producer was Charlotte Long.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.You can take part in our listener survey here.

From tip-off letters about the gun powder plot to village quarrels that lead to jail time - today we’re going Betwixt the Sheets to find out about the history of hate mail. Joining Kate is Dr. Emily Cockayne, author of Penning Poison and consultant on the forthcoming film Wicked Little Letters, starring Olivia Coleman, based on a famous case of anonymous letters from the early 20th century. This episode was edited by Stuart Beckwith and produced by Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Kate Lister, Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.You can take part in our listener survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK

Holywell Street, just off London's Fleet Street, was the hidden epicentre of Victorian pornography.The Daily Telegraph described it as "the vilest street in the civilised world," so naturally, we wanted to know all of the smutty details.Joining Kate to take us into this hidden world is Dr. Matthew Green, author of Shadowlands: A Journey Through Lost Britain.What does this tell us about Victorian society as a whole? What went on upstairs in these shady bookshops? And what were some of the most popular titles of the period? Let's go Betwixt the Sheets to find out.This episode was edited by Siobhan Dale and producer by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Kate Lister, Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.You can take part in our listener survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK 

Why did Cleopatra soak the sails of her ship in jasmine? How did Queen Elizabeth smell? And why was perfume an essential tool of power for women across history? Whilst it’s hard to research the history of something that leaves no physical trace, we actually know a great deal about how some of the most iconic women in history would have smelt. Joining Kate to evoke these scents and what they stood for is award-winning fragrance journalist Suzy Nightingale.Here are the perfumes listed in the episode:Cleopatra: The Merchant of Venice Queen of the NightJoan of Arc: Histoire de Parfums Encens RoiElizabeth I: Frederic Malle Portrait of a LadyJane Austen: Commodity Book (Personal strength) Cora Pearl: Robert Piguet Fracas This episode is edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long. Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Kate Lister, Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.You can take part in our listener survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK 

When sex between two humans can be many things, how do we define bestiality - that is, sex between a human and a non-human? Especially when the farming industry relies on certain sex acts on animals - or ‘animal husbandry’ to use the correct term - to function. These are an uncomfortable but important question, and we’re joined by academic Joanne Bourke, author of Loving Animals: On Bestiality, Zoophilia and Post-Human Love, to discuss these topics and more. This podcast was edited and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer is Charlotte Long. If you're enjoying Betwixt the Sheets please vote for us at the British Podcast Awards here: https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/voting. It would mean the world to us!Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Kate Lister, Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Mary Beard and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.You can take part in our listener survey here.