The History of Sex

This episode goes out to all of you at home out there during this pandemic, but we want to dedicate it especially to listener Owyn in Toronto, Canada. He’s faced a string of tough challenges recently, and now there’s the covid challenge on top of it ...

How did Jewish men resist the Nazis? How did they bear up when the regime came for them and their families? How did they maintain their manhood as they were reduced to animals in the eyes of their oppressors? Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and revi...

Jewish masculinity changed dramatically in the modern era, going from intellectual to soldier. What was it like for them before and during the Nazi regime? And how did they fight back as the hate machine bore down on them and their families? Don't fo...

Can you be both a soldier and a father at the same time? How do you go to the front knowing you might never see your children again? Males in Nazi Germany were expected to do exactly that, so what was that like? Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and r...

How do you make a Nazi cry? It sounds like the setup to a joke, but it's no joke. Today, we explore the Nazi male, whose toxic masculinity was hard as Krupp steel. Yet even for these tough as nails men, there were times when it was okay to cry. What ...

Our theme this month has been the female body, so today we’re bringing you that lover of women’s bodies, Sappho. From the isle of Lesbos, from which we get our word lesbian, she has been renowned throughout history as a master of literature and a lov...

How do you reclaim a symbol of patriarchal oppression for women's empowerment? The 2007 movie Teeth attempts to do just this with the folklore motif of the vagina dentata, or toothed vulva. Today, we explore the folktales behind this myth and how thi...

What is the oldest medical diagnosis in history? It's hysteria, the condition attributed to women's wombs wandering around their bodies causing trouble. Come explore the 4000-year history of this bizarre medical tradition. NOTE: This episode has been...

It's a mystery: in Leonardo Da Vinci anatomical study of the female sexual organs, there is no hint whatsoever of the clitoris. Did Da Vinci really not know about the clit? Or did nobody in Renaissance Italy know about it? How could a culture forget ...

She was a jazz dancer, but also a spy? That's right. During WWII, Josephine Baker joined the French Resistance. Find out all about it in this episode from the podcast Spy Stories. Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review. Support the show on Patre...