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

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Victorian Abortion & Birth Control Jul 28, 2023

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We’re connected to the past in more ways than you might think.

For example, the 1861 Offences against the person Act is an abortion law that is still largely in place today. What does this Victorian law dictate? How does it still effect our lives today? And who were the brave pioneers who challenged it?

Today we’re joined by historian Lesley Hall to find out more about what abortion meant in the 19th century, and learn more about the contraceptive options available, too.

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

If you're enjoying Betwixt please vote for us at the British Podcast Awards here. It would mean the world to us!

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Barbie: Feminist Icon? Jul 25, 2023

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Barbie is many things: an astronaut, a robotics engineers, a judge, and now a movie star! But can she be considered a feminist icon?

For a toy with such incredible appeal around the world, especially to young children, it’s an important question to ask.

Today we’re joined by Lenore Wright, author of Athena to Barbie: Bodies, Archetypes, and Women’s Search For Self, to find out what this global icon really represents.

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

If you're enjoying Betwixt please vote for us at the British Podcast Awards here. It would mean the world to us!

Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.

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.

Scottish Kings' Sex Lives Jul 21, 2023

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One thing royal families strive for is the common touch. Whilst some have struggled with it, King James IV and V in the 15th and 16th centuries excelled in it.

It could be said, however, they took the term ‘common touch’ too literally, as it wasn’t uncommon for them to have sexual liaisons with their subjects.

Who were some of the women they had their many affairs with? And what does this tell us about how liberal life north of the border was back then? Today we’re joined by author Linda Porter, to find out.

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

If you're enjoying Betwixt please vote for us at the British Podcast Awards here. It would mean the world to us!

Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.

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.

Althea Gibson: The Wimbledon Champion Who Beat The Odds Jul 18, 2023

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The world of tennis in the 1940s wasn't made for someone of Althea Gibson's background.

She was the descendent of slaves, and grew up in South Carolina with the nearest tennis courts available to an African American at that time being hundreds of miles away.

How did Althea Gibson go on to become the first African American to win a Grand Slam title? What challenges did she face on and off the court? And what's her legacy today?

Kate is joined by Ashley Brown, author of Serving Herself: The Life and Times of Althea Gibson, to find out.

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

If you're enjoying Betwixt please vote for us at the British Podcast Awards here. It would mean the world to us!

Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.

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.

Mozart's Sex Life Jul 14, 2023

Show notes

When we think of the biggest pop icons of all time, we might reach for Madonna, Elvis, or yes, even Michael Jackson.

One name that’s not thrown into the pot is Mozart. But why? His music was undoubtedly the pop music of his day, and as we’ll find out today, he had all the stardom and groupies of anyone in the modern day.

Joining us is Judith Grohmann, author of The Real Mozart: The Original King of Pop, to provide answers to questions such as what was he really like as a person? What influence did his relationship with his father have? And why did he write a song about eating excrement?!

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

If you're enjoying Betwixt please vote for us at the British Podcast Awards here. It would mean the world to us!

Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.

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.

Victorian Baby Farming Killer: Amelia Dyer Jul 11, 2023

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In Victorian Britain, there was no formalised state adoption. Instead, desperate mothers paid other families to take their newborns. This tragic system was known as baby farming.

As we’ll find out in today’s episode, Amelia Dyer was a notorious serial killer who saw this as a money-making opportunity, cruelly deceiving mothers and killing infants over a 30 year period.

How did she get away with it for so long? What was society’s reaction to these shocking revelations? Kate is joined by Angela Buckley, author of Amelia Dyer and the Baby Farm Murders, to take us back to Victorian Britain and find out.

If you're enjoying Betwixt please vote for us at the British Podcast Awards here. It would mean the world to us!

Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.

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.

History of Breastfeeding Jul 07, 2023

Show notes

How has our relationship with breast milk changed through history? Why are there associations of shame with this most natural act, of us consuming humanities first food? And what does the formation of our galaxy have to do with it?

Joining Kate today is Joanna Wolfarth, art historian and author of Milk: An Intimate History of Breastfeeding, to unpack all of this and more. This episode was edited and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

If you're enjoying Betwixt please vote for us at the British Podcast Awards here. It would mean the world to us!

Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

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.

April Ashley: Paris Showgirl, Vogue Model & Trans Trailblazer Jul 04, 2023

Show notes

As the UK’s second person to go through gender reassignment surgery, April Ashley was a trans trailblazer, breaking new ground fearlessly and with humour and grace.

She wowed the crowds of Le Carrousel as a showgirl in 1950s Paris, graced the pages of Vogue and, when accepting her MBE for services to transgender equality in 2012, she stood every bit as gracious and regal as the Queen herself.

April's achievements seem even more remarkable in the context of a life story replete with real hardships, from an extremely tough upbringing in post-war Liverpool to her public outing in a national newspaper by a friend.

Behind the demure glamour she presented, who was April Ashley? And why is it so vital that her story his heard today? Kate is joined by author and journalist Charlie Craggs to find out.

This episode was produced by Stuart Beckwith, and edited by Tom Delargy. The Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

If you're enjoying Betwixt please vote for us at the British Podcast Awards here. It would mean the world to us!

Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

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.

Women Warriors: From Boudicca to Ukrainian Snipers Jun 30, 2023

Show notes

From Boudicca to Ukrainian snipers, battlefields have always contained a surprising number of women.

Today Kate is joined Betwixt the Sheets by Sarah Percy to get to the bottom of why women were allowed to be astronauts a full thirty years before they were allowed to fight in combat.

From women who disguised themselves as men in order to be allowed to fight, to the Soviet all-female regiments who Nazi Germany learnt to fear, they'll be discussing fearless women warriors on the frontline.

You can find out more about Sarah's book here.

If you're enjoying Betwixt please vote for us at the British Podcast Awards here. It would mean the world to us!

Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

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.

Stonewall Uprising: Liberation & Mafia Exploitation Jun 27, 2023

Show notes

In 1969 America, it was illegal to be gay in 49 out of 50 states. You could be fired from your job and evicted by your landlord if you were found out to be gay.

Whilst protests from the gay community and its allies had happened before there, anger against this oppression was reaching boiling point.

As we move past the 54th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, we take a look at the significance of this fateful night. The Big Bang moment of a large-scale civil rights movement and what now marks Pride in our calendars each year.

Who were the heroes who fought for LGBTQ+ rights in the years prior to what we now know as Stonewall? Why were the mafia so heavily involved the night of the riots? And what’s been the legacy of that courageous stand for civil rights in the years and decades since?

Joining Kate today is Ann Bausum, author of Stonewall: Breaking Out in the Fight for Gay Rights, to delve into the details of this pivotal moment in civil rights history.

Find out more details here: http://www.annbausum.com/stonewall.html

This episode was produced by Stuart Beckwith, and edited by Tom Delargy. The Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

Get 50% off your first 3 months with code BETWIXT. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

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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