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Aug 2023
40m 11s

Superstitions: Witch Marks, Touching Woo...

History Hit
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Jan 23
How Filthy was the Renaissance?
The Renaissance, a period of transformation in art, learning, philosophy and science that brought us Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello (the artists, not the turtles). This era of the Early Modern period seems to have been tinted with reds and golds, it all so ... Show More
41m 58s
Jan 20
The Syphilis Explosion of the American Civil War
It's been estimated that between eight and twelve percent of soldiers in contracted a venereal disease during the American Civil War. What on earth were they up to?Kathryn Olivarius is a Professor at Stanford. She joins Kate to discuss syphilis, why it spread so far during the wa ... Show More
39m 54s
Jan 16
How Filthy Were Medieval People?
If there's one sure way to irritate an historian of the Medieval period, it's to ask why the people of the Middle Ages didn't wash.In this episode, we did just that with Dr Eleanor Janega. Kate and Eleanor get into whether there really was poo everywhere, how the Victorians ruine ... Show More
41m 32s
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