Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
Episodes
Hag Horror: Older Women in Film
17 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 b...
Agrippina: Rome's Most Powerful Empress?
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 wer...
Food, Sin & Shame
10 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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?...
The Real Casanova
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 f...
Marie Stopes: Birth Control & Eugenics
03 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Prison Plastic Surgery
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Wallis Simpson
27 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 s...
Eunuchs
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
A History of Porn
20 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 a...
The Blues
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 - applie...
Royal Sibling Rifts
13 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Just in case you haven’t heard, a certain prince has released a memoir recently detailing a challenging relationship between him and his brother, th...
Syphilis
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From Acts of Parliament to unethical clinical studies to legendary symphonies (possibly) - syphilis has stained many different areas of history.To fin...
Teen Sex
06 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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-2...
Paganism & Festive Traditions
30 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 th...
Santaphilia: Sexual Attraction to Santa
23 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 thi...
Sex Advice in the 20th Century
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ge...
Alexander the Great's Sex Life
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 lif...
Trash
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Banned History
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Sex Myths
02 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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? An...
Lady Chatterley’s Lover
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
*This episode contains very strong language and adult content*A semi autobiographical account from a conflicted man? An ode to a wife’s sexual desir...
The History of the Clitoris
25 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s so important that it’s been ‘discovered’ at least twice, but what is the clitoris and why has it previously been so hard to find?The clit...
Mussolini's Favourite Daughter
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What do we know about the people who shared the surname Mussolini with the Italian fascist dictator?Edda Mussolini may have been Benito’s daughter, ...
Tattoos
18 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
George V, Otzi the Iceman, possibly Winston Churchill and … Kate Lister. What do all these people have in common?They have tattoos. As do a fifth of...
Heartthrobs
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What makes a heartthrob? Is he brooding, flamboyant or a bad boy? And what qualities translate to sex symbol status in society?Which men have made the...
Hacks, Hitler & the Hotel Imperial
11 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We might now be used to hearing about the intimate details of celebrities and world leaders, but when did this become the norm?In the lead up to the S...
Sex in Ancient China
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How did the people of Ancient China think about sex?From sexual vampirism to unrealistic representations of courtesan culture, from wife lending to av...
Indecent Exposure
04 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It can happen on a bus, in a park, in your home, at the school gates. An estimated one in every ten women in England and Wales have reported it happen...
Gothic Fiction
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From Dracula, to Frankenstein, to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, to Twilight’s Edward Cullen…when did our fascination with gothic fiction begin?In today’...
Seances
28 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Everybody hold hands! We're going for a seance!How long have we've been trying to talk to dead people for? And have we ever actually been speaking to ...
Ghosts
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How long have people believed in ghosts?Eleanor Janega is back Betwixt the Sheets with Kate to tell us why you should always stand up to ghosts and wh...
The Grisly Deaths of Kings & Queens
21 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Did Henry VIII really have syphilis? Who died from a red hot poker up the bum? And which king was taken down by a school of fish?To learn about the of...
Black Georgians
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who were Ignatius Sancho, Dido Elizabeth Belle and Francis Barber?Between 10,000 and 30,000 black people lived in Britain during the Georgian period. ...
Henrietta Maria: The Most Hated Queen Consort?
14 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What does it take to get the reputation as one of the least popular queens in history?Should we remember Henrietta Maria as the wife of the King execu...
Serial Killers & Misogyny
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What is it with our culture’s fascination with serial killers? Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Peter Sutclifffe, Jack the Ripper….these violent people ...
Phobias & Manias
07 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What did Salvador Dali, Elizabeth I and Sigmund Freud have in common? They all had phobias, and it's possible you do too.As ‘normal’ as you might ...
Black Victorians
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why is there an assumption that Victorian Britain was white? Who does this mean is missing from our history books? And how can we find out more about ...
Bad King James VI & I
30 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
You might know him best as the longest reigning Scottish king, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, the father of Charles I, or the eponymous poster of th...
Private Members’ Clubs
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Private Members’ Clubs are often the location of suspected scandal - from Oscar Wilde to Chris Pincher, what happens behind these elitist doors?Seth...
The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe
23 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Marilyn Monroe. She's got to be one of the most famous people of all time, hasn't she?But what happens when an investigative war reporter dedicates ye...
Forbidden Books
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What makes a book bad? Does it have to be nonsensical? Heretical? Libellous? Sexy?Well for 500 years, a panel from the Roman Catholic Church attempted...
Women in Power
16 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What do Hatshepsut and Hillary Clinton have in common?Well, what do they have in common with the vast majority of women who have been so successful as...
Con Artists
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Whether they are online scams or in person card tricks, confidence games - better known now as cons - have been around for as long as we have. But whi...
Divorce
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why would a married couple stage an affair? Was Henry VIII really the beginning of the end for marriages? And how is the divorce process different for...
Mafia Women
02 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who was Pupetta Maresca? And what did she do to become the first woman in Italy to be prohibited from having a funeral?In this episode, Kate chats to ...
Charles II's Mistresses
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Lucy Walter, Barbara Palmer, Louise Kérouaille and Nell Gwynn. These are the names of just a key few of King Charles II’s mistresses.In this episod...
Sexual Violence
26 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Definitions of what can and cannot be described as sexual violence vary widely across time and place. In 48 countries around the world today, for exam...
Viking Sex
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who was Loki having sex with? What is a horse penis cult? And were the Vikings as brutal as we think they were?Betwixt the Sheets today, Kate is joine...
Women & Football
19 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Football, or soccer depending on where you are in the world, is quite unsuitable for women, wouldn’t you agree? No? Well the Football Association th...
Sex Robots
16 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Can a sex robot really fulfil our needs in the bedroom? And what attempts have been made in the past?Sex robots may sound like a thing of the future, ...
Rasputin: Myth & Manhood
12 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Was Rasputin really Russia’s greatest love machine? Did he have any healing powers? And why might his penis be pickling in a jar?In this episode, we...
Female Pirates
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Yo ho ho, a pirate’s life for me - but what is a pirate’s life, and what was it like for women?This is the story of Anne Bonny and Mary Read, a pa...
Abortion in the UK
05 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As the right to decide whether to terminate a pregnancy is challenged on the other side of the Atlantic, today Betwixt the Sheets we are looking at th...
Witches
29 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What comes to your mind when you think of a witch? Broomsticks? Black cats? Warts?Early modern witchcraft expert, John Callow, is Betwixt the Sheets w...
America's Serial Killer Family
26 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When the Bender family disappeared from Labette county, Kansas, in 1873, they left a dozen bodies buried in the garden of their home.But who were they...
Sex & Shopping
22 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From facilitating affairs to public facilities, how has shopping changed our lives?And where did the one-stop shop, the palace of splendour and opport...
Abortion in the US
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we are looking into the first time abortion was made illegal in the US. This is the first of a special two-part series looking at the ...
Women of the Wild West
15 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From a rifle-carrying brothel madam to missionaries walking for months on end; from the Native American First Ladies of settler outposts to the mormon...
Bras
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Bras are an everyday item for around half of the adult population, and for as long as humans have developed breasts they have been faced with the ques...
Nzinga: Warrior Queen Who Fought Colonialism
08 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Warrior. Diplomat. Queen.From fighting alongside her father and negotiating with the Portuguese on her brother’s behalf, to campaigning for the free...
The Medieval Bishop's Sex Workers
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Outside Medieval London’s city walls, Southwark was a land without rules. It was the place where people went to partake in theatre, watch bear baiti...
The First Queer Activist
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On 29 August 1867, Karl Heinrich Ulrichs stood in front of the Congress of German Jurists in Munich and urged them not to extend sodomy laws across th...
Beer
28 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pint, bottle, schooner, tinny … no matter how you drink it, beer is undeniably a part of social life here in Britain and around the world.But how di...
The Museum of Sex Objects
24 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re used to exhibits in museums detailing our ancestors’ home lives and work lives, but what about their sex lives?On a sunny day in London, Kat...
Fanny and Stella: The Men Who Shocked Victorian Society
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1870, two young women were arrested after leaving a theatre in London. These women, so-called Fanny and Stella, were in fact Ernest Boulton and Fre...
Poppers
17 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
*WARNING There are adult themes and explicit descriptions of drug use in this episode. All drugs come with their own risks and legal implications. For...
The Femme Fatale & The French President
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is the story of Marguerite Steinheil, the woman who shook Paris at the turn of the 20th century with one scandal after the next…one of which in...
Sarah Baartman: A Life On Show
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who was Sarah Baartman? Why was she paraded across Europe as part of a 'freak' show? And why did it take until 2001 for her remains to be repatriated ...
Feminine Power: Divine to Demonic
03 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From goddesses to demons, witches to saints, women have held power of many shapes and sizes throughout history and around the world. Whether they were...
Corsets
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever been told you’re bringing women’s rights back one-hundred years because of what you’re wearing?The guest on Betwixt the Sheets tod...
Death, Dissection & Grave Robbing
27 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Genital warts fashioned into necklaces, teeth harvested from the battlefield and blood vessels eternalised in wax: these are some of the things that y...
Vasectomy
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What do you think of when you think of birth control? Is it condoms, IUDs, the pill? What about vasectomies?From monkey testicles to possible cancer t...
Medicine & Misogyny
20 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Using leeches to suck the blood from patients, mercury pills, and removing limbs with NO anaesthetic - healthcare throughout history hasn’t bee...
Royal Sex
17 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why did kings and queens have spectators on their wedding night? Was sex always just for the love of their country and the want of an heir, or were so...
Sex Toys
13 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hidden in bedside tables or proudly displayed on mantelpieces, wherever you keep them (if you do), sex toys have come a long way since the first phall...
Bedlam
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Bedlam: a scene of uproar and confusion, a noisy situation with no order or, originally, the slang name for a mental hospital in London… which for a...
Tudor Sex
06 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
WARNING: This episode includes adult themes and explicit words.Why did Henry VIII want everyone to know about his wet dreams? What animal product were...
Psychiatric Drugs
03 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
*WARNING this episode includes adult themes and conversations about mental health and drug use.*In 2020, the UK government revealed that 17% of the ad...
Shoes
29 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I’m something that you wear, I always come in twos, I get put on your feet. I’m not socks, I am … SHOES.Humans have been protecting their feet f...
Boob Jobs
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who had the very first boob job? Why were women injecting liquid paraffin into their chests? And, how has the procedure developed over time?Kate is jo...
Victoria: A Greedy Queen
22 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Warning: There are adult themes, explicit language and references of disordered eating and diets in this episode.Did you know that before Queen Victor...
Voodoo & Vodou
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Warning: This episode includes strong language and some adult themes.What comes to mind when you see the word voodoo? Most people tend to think of hor...
Medieval Sex
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
*WARNING this episode includes explicit language and adult themes*What were your medieval ancestors getting up to in the bedroom? Join sex historian K...
INTRODUCING Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
22 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why did kings and queens have spectators on their wedding night? Who had the very first boob job? And did our ancestors have their unmentionables pier...