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

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Paganism & Festive Traditions Dec 30, 2022

Show notes

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 out how these celebrations originated and developed, and just what has stayed the same.

Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Charlotte Long.

Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit.

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If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

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

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Santaphilia: Sexual Attraction to Santa Dec 23, 2022

Show notes

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 Training and Sexual Wellness Consultant Elesha Vooght.

*WARNING there are adult words and themes in this episode*

Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Anisha Deva.

Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit.

For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.

If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

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 Advice in the 20th Century Dec 20, 2022

Show notes

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.

*WARNING there are adult words and themes in this episode*

Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Sophie Gee.

Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit.

For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.

If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

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.

Alexander the Great's Sex Life Dec 16, 2022

Show notes

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 and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Sophie Gee.

Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit.

For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.

If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

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.

Trash Dec 13, 2022

Show notes

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 Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Joseph Knight.

Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit.

For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.

If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

We're offering a very special discount. The code HISTORYHIT will provide 60% off the first 6 months. This means you can subscribe to History Hit for under £3 per month!

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.

Rochester: The Restoration's Filthiest Poet with Neil Gaiman Dec 09, 2022

Show notes

He kidnapped his wife and got locked up in the Tower of London. He slept around King Charles II’s court, and drunk to excess for years before dying from syphilis and alcoholism. He became a war hero but grew disillusioned by religion and monogomy. He also wrote some of the filthiest poetry of all time. Who are we talking about? John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester.

Today Kate is joined by two special guests Betwixt the Sheets. Neil Gaiman, who will be reading some of his favourite Rochester poems, and historian Rebecca Rideal, who will be taking us through the wild life of this 17th century libertine.

To find out more about Rebecca Rideal’s work and podcast, click here.

*CONTENT WARNING: There are adult themes and explicit words in this episode. In fact, we think it’s our naughtiest episode yet.*

Senior Producer: Charlotte Long.Producer: Sophie Gee. Mixed by: Charlotte Long & Anisha Deva

Banned History Dec 06, 2022

Show notes

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*

Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Joseph Knight.

Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit.

For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.

If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

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 Myths Dec 02, 2022

Show notes

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 Emily Nagoski, author of 'Come As You Are' and expert on sexual wellbeing, healthy relationships, and the prevention of sexual violence and harassment.

*WARNING there are adult words and themes in this episode*

Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Anisha Deva.

Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit.

For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.

If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

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.

Lady Chatterley’s Lover Nov 29, 2022

Show notes

*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 the 21st century. Then, Kate speaks to Frances Wilson about D.H. Lawrence, his final novel, and the trial that made them the sexual mascots of the 1960s.

Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Anisha Deva.

Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit.

For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.

If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

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 History of the Clitoris Nov 25, 2022

Show notes

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 clitoris is the human female’s most erogenous zone, and is responsible for 75% of women’s orgasms. So why has it been so overlooked and demonised, and how have people sought to control female pleasure through it?

Kate is joined by Sarah Chadwick, author of ‘The Sweetness of Venus’ to discuss the stimulating history of the clitoris.

Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Thomas Ntinas.

If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit

To download, go to Android or Apple store.

Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit.

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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