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

‘It’s my time of the month’, ‘the painters are in’, ‘aunt flo is visiting’, or a simple ‘I’m on the rag’ Periods are a fact of life for so many people. So how have they been understood? How have they been talked about and concealed? And why have periods stopped so many people from going swimming? In this episode, Kate is joined by Elissa Stein, one of the authors of  FLOW: the Cultural Story...

The first series of Bridgerton broke viewership records and became the biggest series on Netflix ever when it first came out. But a raunchy period drama is nothing new, shows with an eroticised view of the past have always been popular. Think Game of Thrones, The Tudors, Peaky Blinders...they’re all at it! But can we even call Bridgerton history? How accurate is the series? From the fashion, to th...

In the UK, just over half of people above the age of 16 are married. Whether in a registry office, a place of worship or a remote beach somewhere sunny, each of these couples will have had to do some form of planning. Guest lists, cake, flowers and, of course, outfits. Today Betwixt the Sheets, Kate is speaking to Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell about wedding dresses. When might you have worn the same...

Clear soup, Irish stew and steamed puddings - this was the war work of Georgina Landemare, the Churchills’ longest-serving cook. Throughout the war years, Georgina served the Prime Minister, delegations of diplomats and the occasional royal, as well as the other staff of 10 Downing Street, Chequers and the War Rooms. Annie Gray is back with Kate today to introduce us to Georgina; why she went into...

Why are women over the age of 50 so often cast as terrifying, decaying, manipulative people in Hollywood? When did this start? And how might it have been a reaction to second wave feminism? In this episode, Kate is joined by Caroline Young to talk about the birth of Hagsploitation, or Hag Horror, and what it has meant for the women involved. *WARNING there are adult words and themes in this episod...

She was a woman of unparalleled power, descended from Julius Caesar and Augustus. But how did she get there, whilst most of the rest of her family were exiled and starved to death? And how, then, did she come to be murdered by her own son, Nero? Today Kate is joined by Emma Southon for an introduction to this very powerful hustler, and to find out why she is so often remembered as a seductress. *W...

Why might a medieval nun drink the pus of an ill patient? Where does ‘fishy Friday’ come from? And what does all of this have to do with religion? Today, Kate is joined between some Reformation sheets by Eleanor Barnett, from instagram's @historyeats. They talk about how religion, and in particular the switch from Catholicism to Protestantism in England, influenced eating habits. We will also find...

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 accurate? Was he really a prolific ladies man? And did he do anything else in his life other than seduce women…a...

Why would someone disown their son over a pair of glasses? How could an unmarried woman in 1918 have published a book about sexual pleasure? And what is an appropriate gift for a newlywed prince and princess?  Today, we’re looking at the complicated woman who was Marie Stopes - family planning pioneer on one hand, very problematic eugenicist on the other. Kate is joined once again by Deborah...

Facelifts, liposuction and nose jobs: since the mid 20th century people have saved up to have their faces and bodies transformed into their dreams. But why might these procedures have been offered in prisons across the US, the UK and Canada? And what was the desired outcome? Today, Kate is joined by Zara Stone, author of  Killer Looks: The Forgotten History of Plastic Surgery in Prisons &nbsp...

She is surely one of the most fascinating figures in royal history. Perceived as a bad match for Edward VIII, Wallis Simpson is at the centre of the scandal surrounding his abdication. But what do we know about her life besides this? From childhood to exile - Anne Sebba introduces us to the Duchess of Windsor. *WARNING there are adult words and themes in this episode* Produced by Charlotte Long an...

From Ancient Assyria to the Byzantine Empire, from the Qing dynasty’s Forbidden City to 19th century operas; Eunuchs have been present across a huge range of the world’s history. Despite this, they are often mainly thought of in terms of their private parts. So today, Betwixt the Sheets, Kate is joined by Shaun Tougher from Cardiff University to find out what the lives of Eunuchs were like, partic...

What did porn look like before the internet? Who was it for? And how has it changed since? In this episode, Kate chats to Kathleen Lubey, a professor at St. John’s University and specialist in eighteenth-century literature. Kathleen talks us through the history of pornography … that is, the type of history that can’t be deleted. *WARNING there are adult words and themes in this episode* Produced b...

So much of today’s music takes inspiration from the Blues, but where did Blues music itself come from? Kate is joined by Lamont Jack Pearley - applied folklorist, ethnographer and historian of African American traditional music - who takes us through the history of Blues music, from influence to appropriation.   *WARNING there are adult words and discussions of racism in this episode*  ...

Just in case you haven’t heard, a certain prince has released a memoir recently detailing a challenging relationship between him and his brother, the heir to the throne. But royal sibling rifts are nothing new, in fact we can trace it back centuries… and we’re doing just that on Betwixt the Sheets today. Kate is joined by Gone Medieval ’s Matt Lewis to talk about royal spats in the middle ages and...

From Acts of Parliament to unethical clinical studies to legendary symphonies (possibly) - syphilis has stained many different areas of history. To find out what this disease is, what it does to the body and how treatments of it and the people who have it have changed, Kate spoke to Cat Irving, Human Remains Conservator for Surgeons’ Hall in Edinburgh. *WARNING there are adult words and discussion...

Do you remember the first time you thought about sex? Or the first time you talked to someone else about sex? In this episode, Kate is discussing mid-20th century teenage sexuality with Hannah Charnock from the University of Bristol. Hannah has been using first hand accounts to find out how teenagers would find out what's ‘wrong’ or ‘right’, ‘good’ or ‘bad’, and what role the American base system...

The darkest nights of the year have long been the time for celebrations, from Yule and Mother Night, to Christmas and New Year's Eve. But where did these traditions come from? Who started kissing under the mistletoe? Why are trees decorated and brought into homes around this time of year? And how did the Romans bring in the New Year? Today Kate is joined Betwixt the Sheets by Ronald Hutton to find...

How long have people been hoping for Santa to hurry down their chimneys for? Whether it’s because he’s a bear, a dom or the ultimate daddy - in this episode we’re discussing attraction to Santa and Father Christmas. Listen as Kate takes us through Santa’s more sordid history. Then, to find out why people might be attracted to Santa, she speaks to NHS Junior Doctor, Psychosexual Therapist in Traini...

What is ‘good’ sex? Why might you need to get your protractor out in the bedroom? And when was foreplay ‘invented’? In this episode, Kate is getting sex advice from Sarah Jones. From handbooks to hardbacks, Sarah shares the different advice that men and women of different backgrounds would receive. Sarah is a social and cultural historian of gender and sexuality at the University of Bristol. *WARN...

Did Alexander the Great and the Queen of the Amazons really have sex for 13 days solid? What do we know about his male lovers? And how did his sex life stand up to that of his dad’s? Kate is joined by The Ancients’ Tristan Hughes to find out about Alexander III of Macedon’s time Betwixt the Sheets.   *WARNING there are adult words and themes in this episode*   Produced by Charlotte Long...

From reality television to theatre productions to foreign goods, the word trash has a long history of being used to deride things that are thought to have no value. To find out what this history is, and how this language has been used against women in particular, Kate spoke to Kat Marchant of Reading the Past.   *WARNING there are adult words and themes in this episode*   Produced by Cha...

How much did Britain and its allies know about the Holocaust? Could the Bengal Famine of 1943 have been helped? And was Elizabeth I really the Virgin Queen?    Lynsey Calver is a history teacher, and in this episode, she helps us to fill in some of the gaps on the history curriculum.   *WARNING There are adult themes and discussions of racism and the Holocaust in this episode* &nbsp...

Why were the ovaries once seen as inverted testes? What words might you use if you were trying to describe a condition 'down there' to your doctor? And why did people once believe that you couldn't conceive a baby whilst standing up? In this episode of Betwixt the Sheets, we're clearing away the smoke, mirrors and occasional cobwebs from the mysterious realms of sexual science. Kate is joined by E...

*This episode contains very strong language and adult content* A semi autobiographical account from a conflicted man? An ode to a wife’s sexual desire? A criminally obscene novel? Lady Chatterley’s Lover is one of the most famous texts from the past century, but why? In this episode, we hear from the director of the new Netflix movie Laure De Clermont-Tonnerre about why this story is important to...