PODCAST · history
Dirty Sexy History
by Jessica Cale
Going beyond the sanitized and idealized to the dirty reality of human history with Jessica Cale. There's more to history than what you learned in high school, and we're going to skip to the good stuff together.
Episodes
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Episode 4.8. Warm Bodies. The Life and Times of a Renaissance Anatomist
Gabrielle Falloppia is credited with inventing the condom. He didn’t, but he did discover the fallopian tubes, all while battling academic rivals, accusations of heresy, a syphilis epidemic, and the pirates who kidnapped his boyfriend. He has been accused of vivisecting the criminals given to him...
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Episode 4.7. Love and War: The Secret Lives of Ancient Women
Ancient history has traditionally been dominated by the lives of great men, while ancient women are confined to the margins or omitted altogether. In The Missing Thread, award-winning classicist Dr Daisy Dunn pulls these women out of the shadows and puts them center stage, where they belong. This...
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Episode 4.6. Tea in Colonial America
Burned, hanged, and symbolically “executed,” tea was a controversial commodity in 1770s America. This week we talk to Dr James Fichter about tea consumption, bans, the protests like the Boston Tea Party in the years leading up to the Revolutionary War. Dr Fichter’s new book is Tea: Consumption,...
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Episode 4.5. The Undesirables: How Britain Locked Away a Generation
Under the 1913 Mental Deficiency Act, Britain imprisoned 50,000 people as “moral imbeciles.” Many of them were young women—working class, poor or unwed mothers, often victims of sexual assault—and most were confined to so-called Mental Deficiency Colonies for the rest of their lives. It was all...
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Episode 4.4. Abortion in Early Modern Italy
Just this week, all but two Senate Republicans voted against the Right to Contraception Act. At the same time, the GOP is calling for a nationwide ban on abortion. But what happens when abortion is banned? It happened in Italy in 1588…but it didn’t work. It was overturned only three years later…
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Episode 4.3. The History of Nostalgia
Nostalgia can be both good and bad—at its best, it manifests in historical reenactment, vintage fashion, and mid-century modern furniture. At its worst, it can drive regressive political policies, fascism, and book bans. But nostalgia itself isn’t a bad thing—it’s a bittersweet, rose-tinted…
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Episode 4.2. Josephine McCarty: Abortionist, Spy, Mother of the Year?
During Josephine McCarty’s trial for murder, she was portrayed as an ordinary woman—a mother of six, she was only looking out for her children when she shot her lover in the face in front of dozens of witnesses. Over the course of her trial, she told the story of her life—she had been a lobbyist,...
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Episode 4.1. High Priestess and Empress: Florence Farr and Ellen Terry
This week we welcome back to the show Susan Wands, author of the Arcana Oracle Series. We’re looking at the extraordinary lives of Florence Farr and Ellen Terry, two incredible women who broke all the rules of Victorian society. Divorce! Affairs! Illegitimate children! And best of all—careers!...
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Episode 3.21. Dancing With Myself: The History and Science of Masturbation
Following on from Episode 3.19 on sex toys with Hallie Lieberman, this week we talk to clinical psychologist Dr Eric Sprankle about the history and science of masturbation. We talk about the not-so-sexy origins of graham crackers and Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, bizarre conspiracy theories about porn,...
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Episode 3.20. “Fallen Women” in Victorian Poetry
Literary nerds rejoice! This week, we have another history/literature episode, looking at sex work in Victorian poetry with Emily Calleja. We’re talking about how sex workers were portrayed, what that can tell us about women’s real-life frustrations, and how it impacted the suffrage movement.
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Episode 3.19. Adult Toys
Sex toys have existed for 28,000 years, so why is there still such a stigma around them? This week we’re talking about the history of sex toys from the ancient world to the present, the evolution and cultural significance of the vibrator in the 19th and 20th centuries, Masters and Johnson’s...
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Episode 3.18. Mythbusting Corsets
You’ve heard it all before—corsets are dangerous, uncomfortable, a tool of the patriarchy meant to oppress women! But are they? Were they ever? This week on DSH, we talk to biological anthropologist about corsets—how they really affect the body, why women wore them, and the surprising reason men...
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Episode 3.17. Men’s Sexual Health in Early Modern England
In seventeenth-century England, seeing a doctor was a big deal. Before the NHS, people paid doctors, quacks, and even astrological medical practitioners out of pocket for cures that could be dangerous and downright unpleasant. Some people turned to household recipe books to treat themselves at...
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Episode 3.16. Renaissance Beauty: Cosmetics, Poison, and Plastic Surgery
For women in Renaissance Italy, beauty was everything: it could be a vocation, a way to get ahead, entertainment, or even a weapon. Women of all classes used cosmetics, and many were employed as beauticians, apothecaries, and beauty writers. This week, Jess talks to Professor Jill Burke about...
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Episode 3.15. The Oneida Community: Progressive Utopia or Polyamorous Cult?
Between 1848 and 1879, the Oneida Community tried to build heaven in Upstate New York through the principles of communism, free love, and contraception. Under the guidance of charismatic preacher John Humphrey Noyes, the community practiced “complex marriage,” meaning everyone was allowed to…
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Episode 3.14. Fairies, Entities, Ghosts, and Gods: Rebel Folklore with Icy Sedgwick
What can folklore teach us about history? More than you’d think! This week, Jess talks to Icy Sedgwick about fairies, ghosts, gods, psychopomps, tricksters, banshees, and more. Who was the real Lady Godiva? How did colonialism influence the folklore of the Americas? And why are people so obsessed...
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Episode 3.13. Black Sam Bellamy and the Golden Age of Piracy
He might not be the most famous pirate, but Black Sam Bellamy may have been the most successful: when his ship wrecked in 1717, it took Sam with it, along with an astonishing 4.1 tonnes of gold and treasure. Forbes estimated that at his death, the "Prince of Pirates" was worth more than $120...
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Episode 3.12. Big Cult-Leader Energy. The Legacy of Madame Blavatsky
Madame Blavatsky is no longer a household name, but her ideas changed the course of history. A central figure in Victorian Spiritualism, she is credited with starting the New Age movement. She influenced everyone from Aldous Huxley and H.P. Lovecraft to Aleister Crowley and David Bowie. Even...
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Episode 3.11. Fight Like Hell: Women and the American Labor Movement
Strikes have been in the news more and more lately, but what is a Labor Union and why should we care? Unions have gotten us many of the rights we take for granted today: the eight-hour workday, safer working conditions, better wages, and benefits. Women have played a huge part in this, from…
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Episode 3.10. Snuff, Smelling Salts, and Sulfur: Scent in 18th Century Fiction
What did the 18th Century smell like? You probably think of horses and chamber pots, but do you think of tobacco? How about sulfur? This week, we talk to Dr Emily Friedman about common scents in fiction from the Long 18th Century, mentioned by authors like Frances Burney and Jane Austen. We’re...
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Episode 3.9. Inside the Chicken Ranch, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
“The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” was a hit musical on Broadway, later made into a movie starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds. But what about the Chicken Ranch, the real brothel the story was based on? This week, we talk to Jayme Lynn Blaschke about the history of sex work in Texas, the...
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Episode 3.8. The American Plan
While WWI was fought overseas, there was another war closer to home—a war on women known as “The American Plan.” Under the American Plan, tens of thousands of women were detained and injected with toxic chemicals based on their perceived ability to spread venereal disease, all in the name of...
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Episode 3.7. Psychotropic Drugs in Nineteenth Century France
Nineteenth century France was a “nation on drugs”: psychotropic drugs were widely used and easily accessible for everything from everyday pain and mental issues to surgeries and brothel visits. This week, we talk to Dr Sara Black about the rise of Opium, Morphine, Cocaine, Ether, Chloroform, and...
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Episode 3.6. Naming Gotham: The People Behind NYC’s Place Names
The history of New York City isn’t only found in its museums—it’s in the names you find all over the city. This week, we talk to Rebecca Bratspies, author of Naming Gotham, about some of the remarkable people who leant their names to New York’s infrastructure: Anne Hutchinson, Adriaen van der...
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Episode 3.5. George Remus: The Bootleg King and the Women Who Brought Him Down
George Remus was an infamous bootlegger in Jazz Age America, so wealthy and ostentatious that he is thought to be the real-life inspiration for Jay Gatsby. This week, we talk to Abbott Kahler about his bootlegging business, toxic marriage, legendary parties, and the bad-ass woman who wouldn’t…
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Episode 3.4. When Whales Attack
Whales have been in the news all week, but it’s not the first time they’ve attacked ships. This week, Jess talks about the 19th century whaling industry, historical whale attacks, and the tragic sinking of the Essex in 1820. We cover the real-life inspiration for Moby Dick, an enormous white…
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Episode 3.3. Marriage, Dependence, and Divorce in Revolutionary America
Many historical love stories take you up until the wedding with the presumed happily-ever-after, but what happens next? What if things go wrong? This week, our guest is Dr. Jacqueline Beatty, author of In Dependence: Women and the Patriarchal State in Revolutionary America. We cover 18th century...
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Episode 3.2. The HMS Black Joke and the Battle Against the Slave Trade
Between 1827 and 1832, one ship—the Black Joke—captured thirteen slave ships and freed an incredible 3,000 people. The true story of the Black Joke is about so much more than one ship; today we also talk about diversity among sailors, gay relationships in the British navy, Britain’s complicated...
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Episode 3.1. A Haunted History of Invisible Women
We are kicking off Season Three with an extra-long episode with Andrea Janes and Leanna Renee Hieber, historical ghost tour guides and authors of A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America's Ghosts. From the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire to the Winchester Mystery House, we...
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Episode 2.20. Myth America with Dr Kevin Kruse and Dr Julian Zelizer
America is experiencing a crisis of “bad history,” with fake history being used to justify regressive policy decisions while real history is being removed from schools and libraries. Why is it happening, and what are the dangers of fake history? For the Season 2 finale, our guests are Princeton...
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Episode 2.19. Sex and Social Protest in 18th Century Pornography
Eighteenth-century pornography was surprisingly progressive, challenging gender roles and the very definition of sex. This week, we talk to Dr Kathleen Lubey about that, plus dildos, gender fluidity, LGBTQ+ content, female empowerment, and the link to modern Romance novels. Dr. Lubey’s new book…
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Doris Fish and the Rise of Drag
This week, we talk to Craig Seligman about the history of drag in the US and Australia and look at the extraordinary life of artist, filmmaker, and drag icon Doris Fish. We’re talking drag shows, drugs, glitter, Vegas in Space, and how San Francisco battled the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. Craig’s...
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Episode 2.17. Pink Triangle Legacies: From Imprisonment to Gay Liberation
At least 385 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced so far in 2023, targeting everything from books to gender-affirming care and even marriage equality. It all sounds a bit familiar, and that’s what we’re talking about this week. Today we talk to Dr Jake Newsome, author of Pink Triangle Legacies:...
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Episode 2.16. Pamela Colman Smith and the Golden Dawn
The art of the Rider-Waite tarot deck is iconic, but not everyone knows the artist behind it, Pamela Colman Smith. This week, we talk to actress, tarot reader, and historical fiction author Susan Wands about Pamela’s life, her art, and her involvement with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn....
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Episode 2.15. Queer Suffragists with Dr. Wendy Rouse
You know about the Women’s Suffrage Movement, but what you might not realize is how many of early suffragists were queer. This week, we talk dress reform, free love, jiu-jitsu, and queer love stories with Dr Wendy Rouse, author of Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Women’s…
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Episode 2.14. Monstrous Women with Dr Nicole Dittmer
Following on from Episode 2.8, Dr Nicole Dittmer joins us for a discussion about the Victorian view of women as inherently monstrous and how this widespread fear of women influenced the gothic fiction of the time, notably Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Literary nerds, rejoice! This week we’re...
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Episode 2.13: Founding F*ck Buddies with Dr. Cassandra Good
We think of “friends with benefits” as a modern phenomenon, but it really isn’t. This week, we talk to historian Dr Cassandra Good about 18th century friendships between men and women, answering the important questions: Who sent the first “tit pic”? How did Benedict Arnold win over Peggy Shippen?...
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Episode 2.12. Radium Cosmetics with Lucy Jane Santos
Christmas shopping is hard, so this week, we’re taking the advice of 1930s holiday beauty ads and looking into radium! Our guest is Lucy Jane Santos, author of Half Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium and an expert in toxic beauty history. We’re talking about radioactive skincare, X-Rays in...
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Episode 2.11. The Gender Outlaws of 19th Century France
This week, we talk to Dr Anne Linton, author of the groundbreaking new book Unmaking Sex. The book focuses on intersex and gender-nonconformity in 19th century French life and literature, and we also discuss marriage laws, medical erotica, popular fiction, and permits for pants!
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Episode 2.10. Misinformation Nation: 18th Century Fake News with Dr Jordan Taylor
Fake news a modern problem, right? Not exactly. In fact, the US was founded on it. In this very special Thanksgiving episode, we talk to Dr Jordan Taylor about 18th century newspapers, the Revolutionary War, and how misinformation started everything.
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Episode 2.9. Illegitimate Birth in the 18th Century with Dr Kate Gibson
Illegitimate children come up a lot in historical fiction, but how common was illegitimate birth, and what was life really like for these people? This week, we talk to Dr Kate Gibson about her new book: Illegitimacy, Family, and Stigma in England, 1660-1834.
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Episode 2.8. Women’s Mental Institutions of the 19th Century
You’ve heard Victorian women could get committed to mental institutions for reading books and thinking too much, but why did it happen, and what were these places really like? This week, Jess explains how being female was enough to get you labeled insane, looking at some horrific treatments used,...
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Episode 2.7. The Invention of Gender with Dr. Sandra Eder
Gender has been a hot-button issue for years, but the very concept only goes back to the 1950s. In this episode, we talk to Berkeley history professor Dr Sandra Eder about how the idea of gender developed from the treatment of children born with intersex traits in the first half of the 20th century.
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Episode 2.6. The Gilded Edge with Dr Catherine Prendergast
At the beginning of the 20th century, Carmel-by-the-Sea was an idyllic artists’ colony in Northern California. At the center of the excitement was “King of the Bohemians” George Sterling and his wife, Carrie. But all was not as sunny as it seemed. When George’s secret lover, poet Nora May French,...
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Episode 2.5. The Women’s House of Detention
This week, we talk to historian and curator Hugh Ryan about the Women’s House of Detention, a prison in the heart of New York City’s Greenwich Village where countless women and trans men were incarcerated for all kinds of heinous crimes, like…smoking and wearing pants? It wasn’t too long ago that…
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Episode 2.4. Before We Were Trans: Gender Nonconformity in History with Dr Kit Heyam
We constantly hear that trans and gender-nonconforming identities are a strictly modern concept. But are they? In this episode, we talk to historian Dr Kit Heyam about gender nonconformity in world history and how definitions and experiences of gender vary between time periods and cultures. Dr...
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Episode 2.3. The Real Stede Bonnet with Jeremy Moss
Everyone loves Our Flag Means Death, but who was the real Stede Bonnet, and what exactly was going on between him and Blackbeard? On this week’s show, we talk to Stede’s biographer Jeremy Moss about this, plus libraries on ships, walking the plank, and what makes a good pirate flag
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Episode 2.2: Secrets and Scandals of Regency Britain with Violet Fenn
Violet Fenn returns to the podcast to talk about Lady Hamilton, Harriet Wilson, portable chamber pots, and the dateability of Regency dukes
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The Facemaker with Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris
In this great interview with Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris, we discuss pioneering plastic surgeon Dr. Harold Gillies, his brave patients, and the multitalented medical heroes who made his work possible. You’ll never look at WWI quite the same way again.
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Episode 33: Gunpowder Toothpaste. 10 Surprising Victorian Beauty Trends
From hot pink and fetish gear to fake eyelashes, tattoos, and nipple piercings, this week we’re talking about some surprisingly “modern” fashion and beauty trends of the 19th century. What did the Victorians wear apart from all that black? We can’t wait to tell you
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Going beyond the sanitized and idealized to the dirty reality of human history with Jessica Cale. There's more to history than what you learned in high school, and we're going to skip to the good stuff together.
HOSTED BY
Jessica Cale
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Dirty Sexy History have?
Dirty Sexy History currently has 83 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Dirty Sexy History about?
Going beyond the sanitized and idealized to the dirty reality of human history with Jessica Cale. There's more to history than what you learned in high school, and we're going to skip to the good stuff together.
How often does Dirty Sexy History release new episodes?
Dirty Sexy History has 83 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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You can listen to Dirty Sexy History on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Dirty Sexy History?
Dirty Sexy History is created and hosted by Jessica Cale.
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