After the Russian Revolution in 1917, sex work was a prime example of what capitalism did to society. 

Under communism, sex work would no longer need to exist in society.

Spoiler: it very much still existed.

How were sex workers treated in Soviet Russia? Why were they glamourised? And what's the sex industry like in Russia today? 

Joining Kate today is expert on all of this and more, Professor Emily Schuckman Matthews, to take us back to Soviet Russia.

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

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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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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

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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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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.

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Why on earth would anyone make a perilous journey across wilderness and snow covered mountains, all because of a bit of gold?

This isn't Lord of the Rings, it's the Klondike Gold Rush, when an estimated hundred thousand people made the journey across Alaska to goldfields in the Klondike region, Canada. Among them, women.

But why did women make this journey? How much of their work was sex work?

Kate is joined by Brian Castner for this episode about life in the Alaskan Gold Rush. Brian is the author of ‘Stampede: Gold Fever and Disaster in the Klondike’.

This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

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Mata Hari was a dancer and courtesan who was executed in 1917 for being a spy during the First World War.

How did she get involved in such dangerous business? Was she really a mastermind spy who used her sexuality to gain intelligence? Or a scapegoat whose sexuality was used against her?

In our new mini-series, Supersluts of History, we're exploring and celebrating women whose sexuality was used to define them.

Joining Kate today is Professor Julie Wheelwright, author of The Fatal Lover: Mata Hari and the Myth of Women in Espionage. Find out about her upcoming talk about Mata Hari here.

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

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Around 18 minutes says "letters published in 1917" which is wrong, it's 2017.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WtevPqsQ9ecjK2BrXnbFsudhYHzJU6hB

I’ll be speaking about Mata Hari at the Society for Intelligence History conference at King's College, London, in October.

And about Martha McKenna, the Spy Who Fooled Churchill at Bletchley Park in October. 

https://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/nihc/

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

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Has Burlesque always meant the same thing? Where did it come from? And how has it changed?

Kate is joined by Dr Marissa Vigneault, Associate Professor of Art History at Utah State University, to find out more about how burlesque has become the art form it is today.

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.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click here to place your vote! Thank you! https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/voting

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Madam du Barry's life was remarkable: from rags, to riches, to... revolution. And she pi**ed off Marie Antoinette along the way, too.

How did this courtesan from a poor background make it to be royal mistress in Versailles? How did the French Revolution impact her? And what her 'special talents' that attracted King Louis XV?

In our new mini-series, we're exploring and celebrating women whose sexuality was used to define them.

Joining Kate today is historian and author Professor Christine Adams, to take us back to 18th century France to find out more about this remarkable woman.

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.

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

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click here to place your vote! Thank you! https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/voting

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