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

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 to gain power? Women like Britain’s new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, just the third woman to hold the title.They have been subject to some very specific criticism which, whether it’s based on their looks or their character, would be unlikely to be directed at men in the same position.We’re joined again Betwixt the Sheets by Eleanor Herman, whose new book ‘Off With Her Head: Three Thousand Years of Demonising Women in Power’ is out now.*WARNING there are naughty words and adult themes in this episode*Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Sophie Gee.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!

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 while humans remain fundamentally gullible, the tricks of the trade have changed.Today, Kate is Betwixt the Sheets with writer and successful poker player Maria Konnikova, who tells us how confidence games have developed, what the most successful ones have been, and what makes the perfect victim.*WARNING there are naughty words 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!You've been listening to a History Hit podcast. Please take a couple of minutes to fill out this survey with your feedback, we'd really appreciate it.This podcast includes music by Epidemic Sound.

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 men and women?Today Betwixt the Sheets, Kate is joined by Henry Kha, Senior Lecturer at Macquarie University and formerly a legal associate in the Family Court of Australia.Henry has worked on divorces himself, and today shares the story of their development in the UK legal system.*WARNING there are naughty words and discussions of sex in this episode*Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Sophie Gee.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!You've been listening to a History Hit podcast. Please take a couple of minutes to fill out this survey with your feedback, we'd really appreciate it.This podcast includes music by Epidemic Sound and an archive clip from the film The Divorcee.

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 Barbie Latza Nadeau, a journalist and author who has lived in Italy since 1996, and who, to find out more about the women of the Italian mafia, actually went to meet some of them.We find out why these women are just as dangerous as their male counterparts, and how their roles have changed through history.*WARNING there are naughty words and discussions of crime and murder in this episode*Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Thomas Ntinas.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!You've been listening to a History Hit podcast. Please take a couple of minutes to fill out this survey with your feedback, we'd really appreciate it.

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 episode, Kate is joined by Linda Porter to introduce us to these women, in addition to the King’s wife, Catherine of Braganza.We find out what these women gained from their connections to the King, and what they stood to lose.*WARNING there are naughty words and discussions of sex in this episode*Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Anisha Deva and 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!You've been listening to a History Hit podcast. Please take a couple of minutes to fill out this survey with your feedback, we'd really appreciate it.

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 example, men cannot be prosecuted for sexually assaulting their wives.So what can a global history, comparing the differing interpretations of victims, survivors and perpetrators from different societies, tell us about sexual violence? And how might it help us to move forward towards a violence free world?In this episode, Kate is joined by Joanna Bourke, author of ‘Disgrace: Global Reflections on Sexual Violence’ and professor at Birkbeck University to answer these questions.*WARNING this episode contains discussions of sexual violence*Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Thomas Ntinas.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!You've been listening to a History Hit podcast. Please take a couple of minutes to fill out this survey with your feedback, we'd really appreciate it.

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 joined by Dr Cat Jarman, one of the hosts of our sister podcast Gone Medieval. From the recollections of Ibn Fadlan to Icelandic sagas filled with pick up lines, we find out the truth about being in bed with the Vikings.*WARNING there is adult language and discussions of sexual assault in this episode*Produced by Charlotte Long, Sophie Gee and Robert Weinberg.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!You've been listening to a History Hit podcast. Please take a couple of minutes to fill out this survey with your feedback, we'd really appreciate it.

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 thought so when they issued a ban on women’s football in 1921, which stayed in place for fifty years.Off the back of England's Lionesses winning the Euros (it's also the 20th anniversary of Bend It Like Beckham, which must mean something) Kate is joined by The Guardian's women's football correspondent, Suzanne Wrack, to talk about the rise and fall, and rise again of women's football.Hear about the factory girls of World War One, meet some of the early stars like Nettie Honeyball, and find out why the game became so political.You can find out more about Suzanne's book here, and listen to her podcast here.*WARNING there are naughty words in this episode*Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Thomas Ntinas.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!You've been listening to a History Hit podcast. Please take a couple of minutes to fill out this survey with your feedback, we'd really appreciate it.

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, but for centuries humans have been fascinated by their desire for intimacy with the inanimate.From Greek tales of steamy encounters with wax statues to beautifully crafted sex dolls with AI technology; Kate Lister is joined Betwixt The Sheets by archeologist turned computer scientist and expert on Human Computer Interaction, Kate Devlin, to discuss this aspiration of trying to create the “perfect” mate and more.*WARNING there are naughty words and sexual content 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!

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 are drawing this mystical man out of his cloud of green smoke to find out which of the things we know about him might actually be true.Kate is joined by Douglas Smith, historian, translator and expert in Russian history, who has emerged from the archives with a new interpretation of this cartoon baddy.*WARNING there are naughty words and discussions of sexual coercion in this episode*Produced by Charlotte Long and 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!