How Has Porn Changed Through History?
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
12/23/25
•46m
About
Comments
Featured In
With Christmas around the corner and everything being oh-so wholesome, we thought we would offer an episode from the archives of something not-so wholesome: a history of porn.
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 pornography... that is, the type of history that can’t be deleted.
Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Anisha Deva.
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! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
Who Was The Virgin Mary?
December 19, 2025
•41m
Despite virginity being a myth, why has Mary’s virginity been considered so important?
What does this tell us about the relationship between Christianity and sex? And what else do we know about this woman?
Joining Kate today to help her get to know more about Mary, her life and its influence is author and historian Sir Diarmaid Macculloch.
This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.
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! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next Episode
How Hot Was Lord Byron?
December 26, 2025
•42m
How 'mad, bad and dangerous to know' was Lord Byron really?
We know the Romantic poet had a bit of a reputation, but how true was it? And how unusual would his behaviour have been?
In this episode from our series on the worst f*ckboys in history, we're digging into Byron's relationships with Andrew Stauffer, President of the Byron Society of America, professor and chair of the Department of English at the University of Virginia, and author of 'Byron: A Life in Ten Letters'.
This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.
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.
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! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
If you like this episode you’ll love
Promoted