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

Charismatic, passionate, insatiable - Henry VIII is known across the world as the king who had 6 wives, and a few mistresses on the side. But was Henry a romantic or a scoundrel? Kate is joined by Natalie Grueninger, host of 'Talking Tudors', to find out just how badly behaved Henry was. This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Charlotte Long. If y...

We've been tying the knot for thousands of years in one way or another, but what did a medieval wedding look like? The church had very strict ideas around monogamy and sex in this period, which affected the rituals of a wedding day, AND night. What happened in the bed chambers of the newlyweds? Why was pleasure so important? And why were divorce courts so humiliating? Joining Kate today is author...

Can you imagine being SO smooth-talking and seductive your surname becomes an actual noun in the dictionary to describe someone who has a reputation for being an expert at in the sack? Well today we’re going to be talking about a man who was just that…Giacamo Casanova. But is his legacy as a f*ckboy accurate? Was he really a prolific ladies man? And did he do anything else in his life other than s...

How did a working class illiterate woman become King Charles II's favourite mistress? Nell Gwyn was an incredibly talented comedy actor who came from a working class background, and was part of a group of pioneering women who were the first allowed to take to the stage to play women's roles. Her personality was huge, audiences loved her ability to swear, and she was described as "the wildest creat...

Have you ever heard of the Emperor who made his horse a senator? Seems like a top bloke, right? Today on Betwixt the Sheets we’re going to meet (possibly) the most debauched Roman Emperor. From stealing brides from their wedding days to an unhealthy obsession with his sister, who was Caligula and was he a f*ckboy? Kate is joined by historian Alexander Meddings to find out.  Alexander is a Rom...

Today, it is one of the most commonly performed surgeries. But when was the hysterectomy, the removal of the uterus, first performed? How has this procedure interacted with ideas such as femininity and eugenics? And WHY would a very brave woman perform this surgery on herself? Kate is joined Betwixt the Sheets with returning guest, Dr Elinor Cleghorn. Elinor is the author of 'Unwell Women: A Journ...

How 'mad, bad and dangerous to know' was Lord Byron really? We know the Romantic poet had a bit of a reputation, but how true was it? And how unusual would his behaviour have been? In the first episode of our series on the worst f*ckboys in history, we're digging into Byron's relationships with Andrew Stauffer, President of the Byron Society of America, professor and chair of the Department of Eng...

Possibly the first recorded sexually transmitted disease, gonorrhoea is still one of the most common. We're back on the itchier side of history today to find out more about the story of this difficult-to-spell affliction. Kate is back with Cat Irving, Human Remains Conservator for Surgeons’ Hall in Edinburgh. Together they discuss the odd and off-putting treatments offered for gonorrhoea over the...

For better or (mostly) worse, Jiang Qing left her mark on the 20th century. Even before she was married to Chairman Mao, Jiang was a charismatic actor, and her passion for culture helped her spearhead the Cultural Revolution as part of the Communist Party in China, later in life. Joining Kate for this fourth and final episode of our limited series, Real Wives of Dictators , is Linda Jaivin, author...

When the music hall dancer, Belle Ellmore, disappeared in January 1910, it was her performing colleagues who raised the alarm. Her murder by Dr. Crippen became a media sensation, and he became the star of the story. Why was Belle Ellmore murdered? Why did it cause such a sensation at its time? And what role did her friends and colleagues in the music hall industry play in bringing justice? Joining...

Nadezhda Alliluyeva was born into a revolutionary family, but was it always her fate to marry Joseph Stalin? She was independent, intelligent and highly politicised. Indeed, Stalin was a hero of hers growing up. What was it like to be so heavily involved in the Communist Party and the Soviet Union? What was Stalin like as a husband to her? And was her death as suspicious as some made out? Joining...

In this episode, we're well and truly going down a rabbit hole. To unpick the controversies surrounding the author of Alice in Wonderland, Kate is joined by author and Professor of Film and Cultural Studies, Will Brooker. Will introduces us to Charles Dodgson, pseudonym Lewis Carroll, and his life, relationships and photography. Will is a professor at Kingston University and author of 'Alice's Adv...

What was life like as Adolf Hitler's other half? Although their marriage came (very) late in their lives, Eva Braun was with Hitler from the earlier days in his political career, and was a confidant to him through the rise (and fall) of the Nazi Party. How complicit was she in the evil ideologies Hitler set out? Was she in any way a victim? And what was it like to be part of the inner circle? Join...

Travel back to post-WW1 London, when sex, drugs and music was exploding in Soho... causing a national moral panic. The drugs of choice? Cocaine and morphine. Still used by doctors for questionable medicinal reasons (cough syrup anyone?!) but now also taken in nightclubs and opium dens by socialites around Soho. This week, Kate is Betwixt the Sheets with Professor Toby Seddon to talk about the hist...

What was life like to be married to Genghis Khan? In this new limited series, Real Wives of Dictators , we're finding out all about the women behind, or alongside, some of histories most notorious men. First up is Börte Üjin, the woman who built the Mongol empire alongside her husband, Genghis, in the 12th and 13th centuries. Were they in love? What happened when she was kidnapped by a rival tribe...

When we think about Greek and Roman beauty, we think of marble statues of huge men with tiny...feet. But what did it mean to be a beautiful woman? What role did their ideas of ugliness play in these ideas? And how did Christianity throw a curveball in all of this? T aking us back to this world is Caroline Vout, author of Exposed: The Greek and Roman Body , to give us a learned glimpse beneath the...

Michelangelo made religion sexy. That may not have been his initial aim, of course, but the way he portrayed the human form, and particularly the male form, was extremely beautiful. How did his devout Catholic faith create conflict with his well-known attraction to men? How was it expressed in his incredible artwork? And how was sexuality viewed in Renaissance Italy? Joining Kate today is historia...

When and why did Soho become a hedonistic hotspot, the home of sex, drugs and music? Kate is Betwixt the Sheets with Dan Snow to talk about post-WW1 London - when a dark underworld of shady characters are soundtracked by an exploding jazz scene, fuelled by a roaring drugs trade. At the heart of it are the so-called 'dope girls'. Women who fascinated and appalled society in equal measure.  How...

Between 1860 and 1925, tens of thousands of women worked in Dublin's Monto, the largest red light district in Europe. It was a world of narrow alleyways full of brothels busy with sex workers, at a time when the Catholic church was trying to establish ideas around what a woman should be. Hint: it was very different to the women of Monto. What was life like for the women who lived and worked in Mon...

Dark ideas and stigma around different body sizes really took hold in the Enlightenment. Very unenlightened, if you ask us. This started all sorts of awful movements, and one result was BMI - or Body Mass Index - which is still used as a measure of health by doctors today. What even is the BMI? Why are women and people of colour particularly affected by these harmful ideas? And what's the future o...

Societies all throughout history have tried to control female sexuality. Ireland's Magdalene Laundries and Mother and Baby Homes are two examples of this, where women were imprisoned against their will. As you'll hear, it's a history that dates back to the 18th century and is still unfolding today. Joining Kate to take us inside the Magdalene Laundries and the Mother and Baby Homes are two special...

What are the origins of Valentine's Day? Perhaps the answer lies in a pagan festival that starts with a sacrifice in a cave above Ancient Rome. What connects the naked running through the streets of Rome to Valentine's Day today? How did the onset of Christianity in Rome effect celebrations? And when did Valentine's Day as we know it today first take off? Joining Kate to find out all about this, i...

Quack doctors have made some INCREDIBLE promises throughout history, but what good would a goat testicle transplant do for you? In the early 20th century, John R. Brinkley became a sensation for - you guessed it - implanting goat's testicles into men. He promised virility and boosted fertility. Did it work? Did the law ever catch up with him for such outrageous claims? And what became of the peopl...

When you hear the word Sparta, what do you picture? Well, put aside the images of the rippling six packs for just a moment, as there's a lot more to this workout-obsessed state of the ancient world than you might imagine. Joining Kate today to get to know the Spartans is the master of all things Ancient Greece, Helen King. You can check out Helen's book, Immaculate Forms: Uncovering the History of...

As historical figures go, Genghis Khan has something of a reputation. Is there any truth to the rumours of him fathering so many children? What was life like in 12th century Mongolia? And how did he create one of histories most noted empires? Joining Kate today is historian Marie Favereau, author of The Horde: How The Mongols Changed The World , to help us find out. This episode was edited and pro...