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

This is the story of Marguerite Steinheil, the woman who shook Paris at the turn of the 20th century with one scandal after the next…one of which involving the French president apparently dying in the midst of a sex act.Marguerite is an ambitious woman, but being born into a middle-class family and trapped in a marriage with a failed artist 20 years her senior, she knows her life choices are limited.So how did Marguerite, who became known as ‘the Red Widow’, find herself at the centre of a scandal (and it’s not even the one involving the president) with both her husband and mother dead?Author Sarah Horowitz joins Kate Betwixt the Sheets to share Marguerite’s story.You can find out more about Sarah’s book here.*WARNING There are adult themes and explicit descriptions about sex and death in this episode. *Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Annie Coloe.Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit. This episode includes music by Epidemic Sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who was Sarah Baartman? Why was she paraded across Europe as part of a 'freak' show? And why did it take until 2001 for her remains to be repatriated to her birthplace of South Africa?Born around 1770, Sarah, who was derisively named as the 'Hottentot Venus', was publicly examined and exposed inhumanly throughout her life. Her brain, skeleton and sexual organs remained on display in a French museum until 1974.Dr Robin Mitchell from joins Kate Betwixt the Sheets to discuss the tragic life of Sarah Baartman.You can find out more about Robin's book here, or follow her on Twitter here.*WARNING this episode includes adult themes, explicit words, and graphic discussion about slavery and racism featuring words which are now rightly deemed as offensive.*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. This episode includes music by Epidemic Sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From goddesses to demons, witches to saints, women have held power of many shapes and sizes throughout history and around the world. Whether they were bringers of chaos, salvation, desire or justice, this year these women are being given the spotlight.On this Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, Kate went to see the British Museum’s new exhibition ‘Feminine Power: The Divine to the Demonic’.Curator Belinda Crerar joins Kate Betwixt the Sheets to explore some of the most powerful items on show, and the women that they represent.More information on the exhibition can be found here. *WARNING this episode includes themes of an adult nature*Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Annie Coloe.Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever been told you’re bringing women’s rights back one-hundred years because of what you’re wearing?The guest on Betwixt the Sheets today has. And it was a corset.Dr Alanna McKnight has dedicated her career to researching the social and cultural history of corsets, and to challenging the idea that corsets were imposed on women as a tool of patriarchal control.Find out why people started wearing corsets, whether men ever wore corsets, what were they made of, and how they’ve paved the way for shape wear like Spanx and waist-trainers.Find out more about Alanna’s work here, and read her article on Kim Kardashian’s Met Gala corset here.*WARNING this episode includes some fruity language*Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Seyi Adaobi.Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit.This episode includes music by Epidemic Sound and an archive clip from the Public Health Film Goes to War from the National Library of Medicine 1945. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Genital warts fashioned into necklaces, teeth harvested from the battlefield and blood vessels eternalised in wax: these are some of the things that you might find inside Edinburgh’s Surgeons’ Hall Museums.But who did they belong to? Kate is talking to Thomas Elliot, head of learning and interpretation, to find out.*WARNING this episode includes themes of an adult nature*Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Lewis Mason.Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you think of when you think of birth control? Is it condoms, IUDs, the pill? What about vasectomies?From monkey testicles to possible cancer treatments to ties of honour, over the past 150 years ‘the snip’ has had a few variations and uses … not all of them scientifically sound. But what is it? And how did it come about?Kate is joined Betwixt the Sheets by Georgia Grainger (https://twitter.com/sniphist) to discuss the vasectomy’s place as a contraceptive, as well as its relationship with eugenics and masculinity.*WARNING this episode includes mentions of mental illness, eugenics and themes of an adult nature* Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Pete Dennis. Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit. This podcast includes music from Epidemic Sound and archive clips from Singer Sewing Machines “Three Smart Daughters” advertisement, 1940, and Beich Whiz Bar “Party Magic” commercial, 1938. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this engaging discussion, Dr. Elinor Cleghorn, a historian and author of 'Unwell Women', dives deep into the troubling gender bias in the medical field. She reveals shocking historical practices, from leeching and mercury to barbaric surgeries without anesthesia. Dr. Cleghorn explores concepts like the 'wandering womb' and critiques the misogynistic roots of gynecology, including the controversial legacy of James Marion Sims. Her insights shine a light on the ongoing repercussions of these biases in modern medicine.

Why did kings and queens have spectators on their wedding night? Was sex always just for the love of their country and the want of an heir, or were some royals into different kinks?And what about outside marriage? From an official mistress who does not have sex with the king, to one who put laxatives in her rival’s food, what does it take to get and keep this position?Kate is Betwixt the royal Sheets with bestselling author Eleanor Herman to find out the nitty gritty from the royal bedchambers.This episode includes archive clips from Sixty Glorious Years, 1938 and The Private Life of Henry VIII, 1933.Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Matt Peaty.Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hidden in bedside tables or proudly displayed on mantelpieces, wherever you keep them (if you do), sex toys have come a long way since the first phallic-shaped object was found around 30,000 years ago.But before they were arriving through our post boxes in unmarked, tracked packages, what did sex toys look like? What were they made from? And why were doctors using them to treat... back pain?!Kate is joined Betwixt the Sheets by writer, sex and gender historian Hallie Lieberman to discuss the first dildo, the myth of the vibrator, and more…Find out more about Hallie's book, Buzz: The Stimulating History of the Sex Toy, here.*WARNING this episode includes fruity language and themes of an adult nature*Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Seyi Adaobi.Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit.This episode includes music by Epidemic Sound and an archive clip from public vocational video from 1940. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist and historian Catharine Arnold discusses the chaotic history of Bedlam, a notorious mental hospital in London known for questionable treatments and public spectacles. The episode explores the evolution of mental health care, societal perceptions of madness, and the challenges faced by patients. WARNING: adult themes and mental health discussions included.