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

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The Truth About Roald Dahl Nov 18, 2025

Show notes

The Twits, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda. Roald Dahl wrote some of the world's most loved children's books.

But what do we know about the man himself? Was he really a spy? Was he a good husband? And why have some editions of his books been edited?

Kate is joined by Rosie Gailor, who is on instagram as @rosieandroald.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and produced by Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sex and Scandal of Medieval Royals Nov 14, 2025

Show notes

What did Queen Isabella of France do to deserve the nickname She-Wolf? What sex scandals happened in the 14th century? And why did the Black Death improve peoples' sex lives?!

Joining Kate today is the fantastic author and historian, Helen Carr, to take us back to this time to find out.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Truth About Vincent Van Gogh Nov 11, 2025

Show notes

However you pronounce his name, one thing is for certain: Van Gogh made made his mark on the world.

But how did he interact with the world around him? From his relationship with a sex worker in the Hague to his time at the asylum in the south of France.

Joining Kate today is Teio Meedendorp, Senior Researcher at the Van Gogh Museum, to help us get to know this complex man better.

*TW: This episode contains references to self harm and suicide.*

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who was the Husband Poisoner of Renaissance Italy? Nov 07, 2025

Show notes

Odourless, tasteless, colourless, lethal. In the mid-17th century, men were dropping like flies in Italy. And this wasn't just the plague - it was the work of the poison Aqua Tofana.

So what is Aqua Tofana? And who was its apocryphal purveyor, Giulia Tofana? In this episode we are diving back to Renaissance Italy to learn more about a circle of women poisoners, and the men they chose to murder. How did they eventually get caught? What is their legacy?

Kate is joined by Cathryn Kemp, author of historical novel, 'A Poisoner's Tale'.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and produced by Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Truth About Mary Shelley Nov 04, 2025

Show notes

Frankenstein and his monster are household names - even if one is often confused for the other. But what of their creator?

In this episode we are meeting Mary Shelley. Did she really lose her virginity on her mother's grave? Did she keep her husband's heart after his death? And where did the gothic novel 'Frankenstein' come from?

Kate is joined by poet Fiona Sampson to explore Mary and her life. Fiona's biography of Mary Shelley is entitled ‘In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein’.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and produced by Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inside the Icelandic Witch Trials Oct 31, 2025

Show notes

Picture a witch. Chances are, you're thinking of a woman.

But in 17th century Iceland, over 90% of the people killed for being a witch, were men.

Why were more men being accused than women for being a witch? And what happened inside their trials?

Today we're revisiting an episode from 2024 to take you back inside the Icelandic Witch Trials. Kate is joined by Dr. Ólína Kjerulf Þorvarðardóttir, Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Bifröst.

You can also watch Kate explore Icelandic witch trials further, in a brand new documentary for History Hit. Watch Witchmen: Witch Trials in the Land of Fire and Ice on HistoryHit.com, now.

This episode was edited and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How Bloody Was 'Bloody Mary'? Oct 28, 2025

Show notes

Before Mary I was Queen, no other woman had worn the crown of England.

This made her a Tudor trailblazer, and a target.

During her short reign she burned some 300+ people, earning her the nickname 'Bloody Mary'. Was this nickname justified or was it a case of bad press?

Joining Kate today is the fantastic Anna Whitelock, historian and author of books including Mary Tudor: England’s First Queen, to help us get to know this woman.

This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How To Fake Virginity Oct 24, 2025

Show notes

Why, just why, would one put a leech up their .. you know where? It's all in the name of virginity, or the faking of it.

Kate is joined by Dr Julia Martins to find out why virginity was so necessary to Early Modern people, and how they went about faking it.

Julia can be found at juliamartins.co.uk

This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inside Concentration Camp Brothels Oct 21, 2025

Show notes

Even among Holocaust researchers, this subject is taboo. Starting in 1942, the Nazis set up brothels inside some of the camps, not for the guards, but for the prisoners.

What was the point of these brothels? Who were the women forced to work there? And who were the prisoners who visited them?

In this episode we find out from Robert Sommer, author of 'The Concentration Camp Brothel: Forced Sexual Labor under Nazi Rule'. Over 10 years, Robert scoured 70 archives and spoke with 30 survivors to bridge this important gap in the history of the Holocaust.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and produced by Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wife-Swapping Magician of the Tudor Court Oct 17, 2025

Show notes

The 16th century was a dangerous time to be talking about magic and hidden forces, so how did John Dee end up being invited into Elizabeth I's court?

He was an astronomer, occultist and alchemist who dedicated his life to understanding how celestial activity influenced life on earth.

What happened when he thought angels told him to swap wives with another mystic? How did his influence impact the Tudor court? And why was he never accused of witchcraft?

Joining Kate today is Rachel Morris, author of The Years of the Wizard: The Strange History and Home Life of Renaissance Magicians.

This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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