Beauty & Ugliness in the Ancient World
When we think about Greek and Roman beauty, we think of marble statues of huge men with tiny...feet.But what did it mean to be a beautiful woman? What role did their ideas of ugliness play in these id...
4 Mar 202543min
Sex Life of Michelangelo
Michelangelo made religion sexy.That may not have been his initial aim, of course, but the way he portrayed the human form, and particularly the male form, was extremely beautiful.How did his devout C...
28 Feb 202550min
Sex & Scandal in 1920s Soho
When and why did Soho become a hedonistic hotspot, the home of sex, drugs and music?Kate is Betwixt the Sheets with Dan Snow to talk about post-WW1 London - when a dark underworld of shady characters ...
25 Feb 202531min
Inside Europe's Biggest Red Light District
Between 1860 and 1925, tens of thousands of women worked in Dublin's Monto, the largest red light district in Europe.It was a world of narrow alleyways full of brothels busy with sex workers, at a tim...
21 Feb 202551min
The Dark History of BMI & Fatphobia
Dark ideas and stigma around different body sizes really took hold in the Enlightenment.Very unenlightened, if you ask us.This started all sorts of awful movements, and one result was BMI - or Body Ma...
18 Feb 202546min
Inside the Magdalene Laundries
Societies all throughout history have tried to control female sexuality.Ireland's Magdalene Laundries and Mother and Baby Homes are two examples of this, where women were imprisoned against their will...
14 Feb 202549min
Valentine's Day in Ancient Rome
What are the origins of Valentine's Day?Perhaps the answer lies in a pagan festival that starts with a sacrifice in a cave above Ancient Rome.What connects the naked running through the streets of Rom...
11 Feb 202533min
Goat Testicle Transplants: The Bizarre History
Quack doctors have made some INCREDIBLE promises throughout history, but what good would a goat testicle transplant do for you?In the early 20th century, John R. Brinkley became a sensation for - you ...
7 Feb 202539min
