Salacious History

As the coronavirus continues to spread, the CDC continues to recommend social distancing. With married couples and domestic partners spending an unprecedented amount of time together at home, what kind of impact does this have on their relationships? That’s what today’s episode is all about.

COVID-19 is changing almost all aspects of our lives right now - but what about the romantic lives of single people?In this special minisode, we take a look at how the Coronavirus and social distancing are affecting singles in the dating world.

I hope everyone is staying safe during this crazy, unpredictable time! Please stay home (if you’re able) and stay safe. I decided to re-air our VERY FIRST EPISODE for anyone who may need a little pick-me-up or distraction from the current situation. ENJOY!     In our pilot episode, Sarah digs into the story behind...

Hi, salacious historians. I am pleased to announce the launch of the Salacious History online store! If you go to salacioushistory.com/merch, you can browse and purchase fabulous SH-branded shirts, mugs, bags, and more. In light of the Coronavirus pandemic, 50% of the store’s profits between now and the end of April will go toward COVID-19...

For our season two finale, we will be learning about 19th century prostitution in the American west. Beyond the myths and old western movies, what do we really know about this notorious group of women? What kind of conditions did they live with, and how does popular myth compare to reality?   Suggested Episodes: Ep16...

In the 1980s, a well-intentioned gift from the king of Thailand led to one of the most severe HIV outbreaks the World Health Organization has ever seen. With the help of Dr. Wiwat Rojanapithayakorn, Thai health officials found groundbreaking new strategies for slowing the spread of HIV and saved millions of lives. Tune in for...

In the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday, we will be learning about the Puritans of early colonial America A.K.A. the Pilgrims! H.L. Mencken famously defined Puritanism as “the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” But what was romantic life like for the members of this notoriously straight-laced community? You might be surprised! Today,...

On our very first AUDIENCE PICK episode, we will be learning about the relationship between traitor Benedict Arnold and Peggy Shippen. Benedict Arnold defected to the British side during the American Revolution after suffering a series of slights during his military career, but new evidence suggests that his wife Peggy may have been a key...

This episode dives into one of the most widely-used character archetypes in myth, literature, and cinema: the damsel in distress. The story of the beautiful damsel, who always finds herself in need of rescuing, goes back thousands of years and can be found in cultures all over the world. Why is the damsel in distress...

In this week’s episode, we will be getting to know the Queen of the Nile herself, Cleopatra. Her romantic entanglements and military alliances with some of her era’s most powerful leaders, as well as her reputed exotic beauty and sexual magnetism, have earned her an enduring place in history and popular myth. Was Cleopatra really...

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera are among the most captivating and provocative artists to ever come out of Mexico. In addition to their art, the strange nature of their age-defying, beauty-and-the-beast relationship swathed the pair in intrigue. Let’s learn a little more about their love and legacy, both as a couple and as individuals. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/salacioushistory...

At 2am on July 11, 1958, Mildred and Richard Loving were ripped from their beds in the middle of the night and thrown in jail. Their crime? Being married to someone of a different race. On today’s show, we get the background on the Lovings’ relationship, a brief history of miscegenation law, and how the...

Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived. In this episode, we continue our discussion on the six wives of Henry VIII. We will be learning about wives three through six: Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. I have to admit I knew almost NOTHING about these four women before I began my research for this episode. While there are countless resources, movies, and TV shows about Henry’s first two wives, significantly less attention tends to be paid to the last four - at least in my experience. But don’t you worry, there is still PLENTY of drama to go around in this episode.

“Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived.” One of our most popular episodes from Season One was Sex & Marriage: The Tudor Period. In that episode, we discussed how royal marriages were more often arranged based on political alliances than love, and that the church had significant influence over the marital status and sexual lives of...

In our first-ever mailbag episode, Sarah reads and responds to emails from Salacious History listeners. Tune in to hear about Classical composers with communicable diseases, the impact of word choices, and how to approach researching LGBTQ historical figures.

If you’re jonesing for more episodes of Salacious History, head on over to Patreon.com/salacioushistory and sign up to support the show! By pledging as little as $1 per month you’ll get access to special bonus episodes – pretty sweet, right? To tempt you even further, here’s a clip from our bonus episode on Mail Order...

They’ve been arriving from afar for centuries, but you won’t find them on Amazon with two-day shipping. We are wrapping up season 1 with the long and sorted history of mail-order brides. Who were the first mail-order brides? What circumstances sparked this phenomenon? And how has the mail-order bride industry changed over time? iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/salacious-history/id1452081700Patreon:...

This week, we explore what sex, courtship, and marriage was like for enslaved Africans in 18th and 19th century America. How were those who had no control over their destiny able to find love? What effect did the system of slavery have on family structure and gender roles? All this and more will be answered...

John and Abigail Adams may have been America’s first power couple. They also had the honor of being America’s first Second Family and the second First Family. John is known for his many political ventures throughout the Revolutionary War and the early years of American politics, but how did his wife influence his rise to...

We continue our discussion of sexologist Doctor Alfred Kinsey. In Part II, we will focus on the results of “The Kinsey Report” and why his findings were (and still are) so controversial. We also discuss his legacy and how he changed views on sex forever. iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/salacious-history/id1452081700?mt=2 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/salacioushistory Sources: “Alfred Kinsey.” Biography.com, A&E Networks...