Sex & Scandal in 1920s Soho
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
02/25/25
•31m
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When and why did Soho become a hedonistic hotspot, the home of sex, drugs and music?
Kate is Betwixt the Sheets with Dan Snow to talk about post-WW1 London - when a dark underworld of shady characters are soundtracked by an exploding jazz scene, fuelled by a roaring drugs trade.
At the heart of it are the so-called 'dope girls'. Women who fascinated and appalled society in equal measure.
How did a post war mindset influence the 1920s? How did the press react to all the scandal? And, who were some of the major players involved?
Historic Soho has been brought to life in the new BBC show Dope Girls, which tells the story of Soho when female gangs ran the nightclubs after the First World War. You can watch it on BBC iPlayer now.
You can listen to Dan's podcast, Dan Snow's History Hit here.
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
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Previous Episode
Inside Europe's Biggest Red Light District
February 21, 2025
•51m
Between 1860 and 1925, tens of thousands of women worked in Dublin's Monto, the largest red light district in Europe.
It was a world of narrow alleyways full of brothels busy with sex workers, at a time when the Catholic church was trying to establish ideas around what a woman should be. Hint: it was very different to the women of Monto.
What was life like for the women who lived and worked in Monto? How did these 'poor unfortunates', as they were known, create a community and support each other amidst such hard times? And how did they influence fashion trends of the time?
Joining Kate today is the fantastic Caroline West, author of Wrong Women: Selling Sex in Monto, Dublin's Forgotten Red Light District, which is available now.
This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.
If you'd like to get in touch with the show you can contact us at betwixt@historyhit.com.
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.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
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
Sex Life of Michelangelo
February 28, 2025
•50m
Michelangelo made religion sexy.
That may not have been his initial aim, of course, but the way he portrayed the human form, and particularly the male form, was extremely beautiful.
How did his devout Catholic faith create conflict with his well-known attraction to men? How was it expressed in his incredible artwork? And how was sexuality viewed in Renaissance Italy?
Joining Kate today is historian and Michelangelo scholar at Stanford University, Sarah Prodan, to help us get to know this man better. You can find out more about Sarah's work here: https://www.sarahprodan.com/
This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.
If you'd like to get in touch with the show you can contact us at betwixt@historyhit.com.
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.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
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.
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