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

Beautiful women are always causing trouble in history, and perhaps none more so than Helen of Troy.

She's the daughter of Zeus and a human mother, after all.

With the new film Odyssey hitting the big screen, find out all about the formidable Helen of Troy who was supposedly the most beautiful woman in the world and caused the Trojan War.

Joining Kate today is Ruby Blondell, Professor of Classics at University of Washington and author of two books on Helen of Troy.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

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Picture a dragon and its dragon slayer. What do you imagine?

It's likely going to be a giant, scaly, fire-breathing beast and a rugged knight with a massive sword. However, throughout history we have amazing myths of women dragon slayers.

What are the ancient origins of the dragon? How do women dragon slayers differ from their male counterparts? And what genitals do medieval dragons have?!

Joining Kate today is historian and author Jasmine Elmer, to get to know these historical stories and the reasons behind them.

This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

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With the Fourth of July and America's 250th around the corner we wanted to revisit an episode and take a look back at the presidents from the past what we know about their sex lives.

Which president was well-endowed and supposedly presented it to staff in the Oval Office? Which president had an affair on his honeymoon? And which had an affair with his wife's secretary?

And no, they're not all JFK.

Joining Kate today to help us find out is Eleanor Herman, author of Sex with Presidents: The Ins and Outs of Love and Lust in the White House.

This podcast was edited by Freddy Chick. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

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Why did 200 people queue to give blood in the San Diego summer heat on 16 July 1983?

During the AIDS crisis, many people living with HIV developed severe anaemia as a result of the disease and the treatments available at the time, leaving them dependent on regular blood transfusions. But where would the blood come from, especially with gay men being turned away from donating?

In this episode, we're exploring one of the most inspiring examples of solidarity between lesbians and gay men in modern history: the Blood Sisters.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

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Marlene Dietrich was unapologetic in her love of sex, and she had a lot of it.

She took Hollywood by storm in the 1930s and slept with some of tinsel town's most famous men and women.

What made her so unique and create such a legacy? As a sexually liberated German woman what did the Nazis make of her? And did she really sleep with JFK and his father?!

This is the final instalment of our mini-series, Supersluts of History, where we're exploring and celebrating women whose sexuality was used to define them. Have we saved the best til last?

Joining Kate for this episode is author and journalist Mick LaSalle.

This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.