Sappho: The Poet from Lesbos

What happens when a defensive alliance slowly turns into an empire? Tristan Hughes and Professor Polly Low explore the Delian League, the so‑called “ancient NATO”, from its Persian War origins to Athenian domination. Discover tribute, revolt, contested sources and how a league of ...  Show more

In 480 BC, at the narrow pass of Thermopylae, a vastly outnumbered Greek force prepares to face the advancing army of the Persian king Xerxes. At its head stands Leonidas, king of Sparta, ready to make a final stand that will become one of the most famous moments in ancient histo ...  Show more

What makes a book bad? Does it have to be nonsensical? Heretical? Libellous? Sexy?

Well for 500 years, a panel from the Roman Catholic Church attempted to grapple with this distinction.

Today Betwixt the Sheets, we find out what this collection of people de ...

What did porn look like before the internet? Who was it for? And how has it changed since?

In this episode, Kate chats to Kathleen Lubey, a professor at St. John’s University and specialist in eighteenth-century literature. Kathleen talks us through the history of po ...

Why might a woman have willingly confined herself to a cell for the rest of her life? Why have so many female authors in history published under aliases or initials? And what was Jane Austen’s dirtiest joke?

In this episode of Betwixt the Sheets, Kate is joined by An ...

Did Alexander the Great and the Queen of the Amazons really have sex for 13 days solid? What do we know about his male lovers? And how did his sex life stand up to that of his dad’s?

Kate is joined by The Ancients’ Tristan Hughes to find out about Alexander ...