The Dandy: Dressing in Defiance

The world of tennis in the 1940s wasn't made for someone of Althea Gibson's background.She was the descendent of slaves, and grew up in South Carolina with the nearest tennis courts available to an Af...

18 Jul 202344min

When we think of the biggest pop icons of all time, we might reach for Madonna, Elvis, or yes, even Michael Jackson. One name that’s not thrown into the pot is Mozart. But why? His music was undoubted...

14 Jul 202338min

In Victorian Britain, there was no formalised state adoption. Instead, desperate mothers paid other families to take their newborns. This tragic system was known as baby farming.As we’ll find out in t...

11 Jul 202340min

How has our relationship with breast milk changed through history? Why are there associations of shame with this most natural act, of us consuming humanities first food? And what does the formation of...

7 Jul 202349min

As the UK’s second person to go through gender reassignment surgery, April Ashley was a trans trailblazer, breaking new ground fearlessly and with humour and grace.She wowed the crowds of Le Carrousel...

4 Jul 202342min

From Boudicca to Ukrainian snipers, battlefields have always contained a surprising number of women.Today Kate is joined Betwixt the Sheets by Sarah Percy to get to the bottom of why women were allowe...

30 Jun 202344min

In 1969 America, it was illegal to be gay in 49 out of 50 states. You could be fired from your job and evicted by your landlord if you were found out to be gay. Whilst protests from the gay community ...

27 Jun 202350min

As the old adage goes, attitude is everything. And if there’s one attitude that stands proud above the rest it’s the utterly fabulous, camp. Whether it’s embodied in Disney villains or Oscar Wilde, th...

23 Jun 202344min