Tudor Origins of the Condom

It's been estimated that between eight and twelve percent of soldiers in contracted a venereal disease during the American Civil War. What on earth were they up to?Kathryn Olivarius is a Professor at Stanford. She joins Kate to discuss syphilis, why it spread so far during the wa ...  Show more

If there's one sure way to irritate an historian of the Medieval period, it's to ask why the people of the Middle Ages didn't wash.In this episode, we did just that with Dr Eleanor Janega. Kate and Eleanor get into whether there really was poo everywhere, how the Victorians ruine ...  Show more

The first surviving mention of condoms dates from the mid-16th century, in the writings of an Italian anatomist better known for the discovery of the fallopian tubes. Born out of a medical need to prevent the spread of syphilis, the condom was originally made from fabric, ...

This episode contains references and words of a sexual nature.

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?

To ...

If you're a fan of British history, then you have Katherine Swynford to thank. She may be a Side Hustle, but her descendants were very much front and center. Katherine was born in total obscurity, but at one point was the highest-ranking woman in England. WOW. So little is actual ...  Show more

67 million people currently inhabit the United Kingdom - but what do we know about the original, first Britons? It's no secret when looking back into pre-history that it was a time of mass migration for animals and people alike, but who were our early inhabitants, and what can ...