Could You Survive Medieval Childbirth?

In the first half of the 1700s, Britain was overwhelmed by gin. But it might not have been as fun as it sounds.Today, we're hearing about what the so-called gin-craze was, the impact that it had on regular people, and the government's attempts to control it.Kate is joined by Prof ...  Show more

Demonic blood-sucking creatures have existed for thousands of years before Dracula showed up all sexy, suave and problematic.Who were these figures who inspired what we know today as vampires? Why are a lot of these supernatural creatures female figures? And why did left-handed r ...  Show more

This episode contains explicit language and graphic descriptions of birth

Today we're delving into historical childbirth's stark realities, facing the medieval attitudes toward childbirth, its dangers, and grizzly details. Dr. Eleanor Janega pays a v ...

What chores did medieval women have to get through each day? How could plucking your eyebrows in the Middle Ages land you in hell? And why did people believe that older women’s looks could kill? In our latest “Everything you wanted to know” episode, medievalist Dr Eleanor Janega ...  Show more

Warning: this episode contains explicit language.Medieval people weren’t prudish—far from it. Dan is joined by medieval historian Dr Eleanor Janega to explore sex, marriage, and desire in the Middle Ages. They delve into the beliefs around sodomy as “non-procreative sex”; pilgrim ...  Show more