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

Childbirth isn't for the faint-hearted at the best of times, let alone in the medieval period. 

What was a birthing room like at this time in history? Who would have been in there helping bring a new baby into the world? And how suspicious were the church of these all-women spaces?

Joining Kate today is the always-fabulous Eleanor Janega, co-host of our sister podcast Gone Medieval, to take us back to this time and place...

Deep in an Ancient Greek labyrinth lurks the half bull half man monster: the Minotaur.

What did this wild myth about a woman having a baby with a bull have to say about how humans understood our taboo desires? How did they even make it happen? And what happened when you found him in the labyrinth?

Joining Kate today is historian and author, Jasmine Elmer, to help us get to the bottom of this myth and find out the truth behind...

Against the paranoid backdrop of the Scottish witch trials, a murder plot involving King James and some of his lovers took place.

To make matters more juicy, it centres around the Bonnie Earl of Moray, who is said to be the most handsome man in Scotland.

How does this situation create a conflict of interests for King James VI & I?

Joining Kate today is the wonderful Gareth Russell, author of Queen James: A New History Abou...

Why did Victorians value pale skin so highly? And how were black bodies viewed by Victorian society?

In this episode Kate is joined by author and historian Dr Rochelle Rowe of the University of Edinburgh.

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

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At least 160 million people worldwide take some form of the contraceptive pill. So where did it come from? Who invented it and why? And how has it changed the world?

Kate is joined by Donna Drucker, author of 'Contraception: A Concise History' and historian from Columbia University. Together they discuss whether the contraceptive pill has been a force for liberation.

This episode was edited by Tom Delargy. The producer was S...

Why did royalty have worse teeth than commoners? How would the Tudor court have smelt? And when even the Queen of England can be accused of being a witch for a random mole, what hope did the rest of us have?

In this new mini-series, we'll be exploring the beauty standards - and ideas of ugliness - throughout time periods in history.

In this third episode Kate is joined by historian and author Nicola Tallis, to find out how bo...

He cuts a fine figure, walking down the street. Whether it's a bow tie and a sharp suit, perfectly curated clashing colours, or a moustache with every hair strictly held in place - this is a person who spends hours on their look. But why?

In this episode of Betwixt the Sheets, Kate is joined by Peter K. Andersson, author of ‘The Dandy” A People’s History of Sartorial Splendour’. Together they discuss the motivations for the dapp...

Beauty fads come and go - remember super low-rise jeans in the 90s? IYKYK.

What was considered cool and beautiful in the medieval period? What skincare routines were medieval people doing? And how did the Black Death affect how people dressed and presented themselves?

In this new mini-series, we'll be exploring the beauty standards - and ideas of ugliness - throughout time periods in history.

In this second episode Kate is...

Imagine an executioner. Are they big, strong, cloaked and masked? Are they male? Probably - because most executioners in history have been. Today, though, we're meeting a woman who broke the mould.

Journalist and writer Clodagh Finn joins Kate to explore the life of Lady Betty, the Irish executioner of the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as some other Irish women who have defied the boundaries of their gender for obscure reason...

What was a Roman skincare routine like? Why did the beard make a comeback under Emperor Hadrian? And what did it mean to be ugly in this time?

In this new mini-series, we'll be exploring the beauty standards - and ideas of ugliness - throughout time periods in history.

Starting today with Ancient Rome, Kate is joined by historian and author Emma Southon to find out why Romans would have loved the recent bushy eyebrow trend.

You could be forgiven for thinking the Greek myth of Medusa has zero relevance to us today. Snake for hair?!

But as you'll hear in today's episode, she's a woman who was vilified for her femininity and sexuality. She was literally cast out of society for it - into a cave, of all places.

Joining Kate to help us get to know this mythical woman and her story is author and historian Jasmine Elmer.

This episode was edited by To...

Charismatic, passionate, insatiable - Henry VIII is known across the world as the king who had 6 wives, and a few mistresses on the side. But was Henry a romantic or a scoundrel?

Kate is joined by Natalie Grueninger, host of 'Talking Tudors', to find out just how badly behaved Henry was.

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

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We've been tying the knot for thousands of years in one way or another, but what did a medieval wedding look like?

The church had very strict ideas around monogamy and sex in this period, which affected the rituals of a wedding day, AND night.

What happened in the bed chambers of the newlyweds? Why was pleasure so important? And why were divorce courts so humiliating?

Joining Kate today is author and historian Jacqueline M...

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 as a f*ckboy accurate? Was he really a prolific ladies man? And did he do anything else in his life other than seduce women…and if he did, wh...

How did a working class illiterate woman become King Charles II's favourite mistress?

Nell Gwyn was an incredibly talented comedy actor who came from a working class background, and was part of a group of pioneering women who were the first allowed to take to the stage to play women's roles.

Her personality was huge, audiences loved her ability to swear, and she was described as "the wildest creature to ever be seen at court....

Have you ever heard of the Emperor who made his horse a senator? Seems like a top bloke, right? Today on Betwixt the Sheets we’re going to meet (possibly) the most debauched Roman Emperor.

From stealing brides from their wedding days to an unhealthy obsession with his sister, who was Caligula and was he a f*ckboy? Kate is joined by historian Alexander Meddings to find out. 

Alexander is a Rome-based historian and travel ...

Today, it is one of the most commonly performed surgeries. But when was the hysterectomy, the removal of the uterus, first performed? How has this procedure interacted with ideas such as femininity and eugenics? And WHY would a very brave woman perform this surgery on herself?

Kate is joined Betwixt the Sheets with returning guest, Dr Elinor Cleghorn. Elinor is the author of 'Unwell Women: A Journey Through Medicine and Myth in ...

How 'mad, bad and dangerous to know' was Lord Byron really?

We know the Romantic poet had a bit of a reputation, but how true was it? And how unusual would his behaviour have been?

In the first episode of our series on the worst f*ckboys in history, we're digging into Byron's relationships with Andrew Stauffer, President of the Byron Society of America, professor and chair of the Department of English at the University of Vir...

Possibly the first recorded sexually transmitted disease, gonorrhoea is still one of the most common.

We're back on the itchier side of history today to find out more about the story of this difficult-to-spell affliction.

Kate is back with Cat Irving, Human Remains Conservator for Surgeons’ Hall in Edinburgh. Together they discuss the odd and off-putting treatments offered for gonorrhoea over the centuries.

This episode wa...