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

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...

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. T...

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 whic...

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 h...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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, Pr...

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....

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...

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...

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...

It's the most famous sunken ship in history, but its story is surrounded by a lot of myth. Were the working classes locked below deck and doomed to drown? Could the Titanic have avoided the iceberg? And most importantly (to us, at least), what sex and scandals took place on board? Joining Kate today is the marvellous Gareth Russell to talk us through what really went down on the Titanic, and why t...

In 1909, the third and final woman hanged in Western Australia was executed. She had murdered three of her step children. What drove Martha Rendall to kill these children? Why did others in their neighbourhood stand by and not raise the alarm sooner? And how do our understandings of women who kill factor into the evil stepmother figure factor? This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer w...

Malleus Maleficarum may sound like a spell but it is actually almost the opposite. This book was nicknamed the Hammer of Witches, and today we're finding out if it really started the European witch hunts. Kate is joined by the wonderful Eleanor Janega to talk all things Heinrich Kramer, the monk who wrote the Malleus. Where did his obsession come from? And did his colleagues in the Catholic church...

Until the 19th century in Britain, a woman killing her husband was guilty of worse than murder, she was guilty of petty treason. So what is petty treason? What is its very harsh punishment? And why was women killing their husbands so terrifying? Kate is joined by Rose Wallis, a social historian of crime, criminal justice and social protest at the University of the West of England. They discuss the...

Lord Nelson is remembered as one of history's greatest military commanders. His victories at the Battle of the Nile, the Battle of Copenhagen and the Battle of Trafalgar cemented his legendary status, as did his dramatic death mid-battle. But there's another side to Nelson's story: his extraordinary love affair with Emma Hamilton. Today, Kate explores the scandalous relationship between Britain's...

As if the Tudor world wasn't mad enough, in 1528 a mystic nun showed up demanding an audience with Henry VIII. Elizabeth Barton stood in front of him and told him that his controversial marriage to Anne Boleyn would make God strike him down. Did Barton survive this? Well, what do you think. As the only nun executed in English history, what was her origin story? How did she become so famous? And if...

The samurai are some of the most mythologised people in history, so let's do some myth busting! Kate is joined by Joe Nickols, who co-curated the British Museum's samurai exhibition, to dive into the real lives of the samurai. How much fighting did they actually do? Could women be samurais? And what did they use for lube? Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Aw...

This is the wild story of a 12th century French philosopher, Abelard, who fell in love with his student, Heloise. There are a lot of problematic issues going on. Not least their age gap, the resulting power dynamic, and, oh yes—Abelard was castrated. So why does this love story endure? Joining Kate today is the fantastic Dr Eleanor Janega, historian, author and co-host of our sister podcast Gone M...

You know her from the perfume, the little black dress, the double C bag clasp, but who was the woman, Coco Chanel? What even was her real name? From her origin story, through her inspirations and affairs, to her connections to the Nazi party - today we find out more about Chanel. Kate is joined by NYT columnist Rhonda Garelick, author of 'Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History' and fou...

‘Who wants a girl with a personality?’ Historically, not the royals. Queen Caroline of Brunswick became Queen Consort of the United Kingdom in 1820, when her husband became King George IV. She was incredibly popular with the public, but unfortunately not so much with her husband, who had hated her from the start (the feeling was mutual). Today, Kate is joined by Ann Foster to tease apart all of th...

Poor Catherine Howard. She was smart, intelligent and undeniably beautiful, but ultimately no match for the vicious Henry VIII. She was certainly a victim but was she totally blameless? Joining Kate today is the always-fabulous historian Gareth Russell , author of Young and Damned and Fair: The Life of Catherine Howard, Fifth Wife of King Henry VIII , to help us find out more about this short-live...

Pablo Picasso's impact on the art world was sensational, but what impact did he have on the people around him? His relationship history contains some problematic moments, to say the least, so we are asking if you can - or even if you should - separate the art from the artist. Joining Kate today is author and Harvard professor, Suzanne Blier, to help us navigate this and find out more about Pablo P...