
Advertise on podcast: History Is Sexy
Rating
4.7from
This podcast has
146 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
History Is SexyExplicit
Yes
Date created
2018/01/31
Latest episode
2026/11/03
Average duration
61 min.
Release period
15 days
Description
History is Sexy is a podcast presented by historian Dr Emma Southon and writer Janina Matthewson answering listener questions about history. What did the Romans do for us? Where did marrying for love come from? What was world war one all about? Produced and edited by Oliver Kealey. Theme music by Ketsa.
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Check latest episodes from History Is Sexy podcast
Episode 138 - What's the Deal with the Avignon Papacy?
2026/11/03
How many popes is too many popes? Who decides who is the One True Pope? How do you even get more than one pope? Can a pope be TOO French??
All these questions answered as we explore that the time the pope moved to France and the Great Western Schism.
Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/historyissexy
Show notes etc at www.historyissexy.com
Episode 137: What's the Deal with Magna Carta?
2026/10/20
Why doesn't it have a definite article for a start? Where did it come from? What's it all about? Why are people so weird about it? Can you really use it to avoid paying council tax and abiding by covid restrictions? Is Bad King John accidentally responsible for a good thing or is he still awful? Let's find out in a Magna Carta deep dive!
Support the Show at www.patreon.com/historyissexy
Show notes etc at www.historyissexy.com
Episode 137: What's the Deal with Saint Paul?
2026/10/06
Saint Paul, born Saul. A Zealot, a persecutor, a fanatic, a sail maker, a convert and the man responsible for what Christianity became in the first century CE. What exactly is his deal? Let's talk.
Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/historyissexy
Merch and show notes at www.historyissexy.com
Episode 136: A Conversation with Lost Roman Heroes
2026/09/21
Something a bit different this week as Emma is travelling. We sat down with Matthew and Matteo, the father and son doing their best to rate and rank every Roman hero. We talked Marcus Camillus, why we can't trust Trajan and how to define the Romans.
Lost Roman Heroes can be found at https://lostromanheroes.com/
Support History is Sexy at www.patreon.com/historyissexy
Episode 135: What's the Deal with Switzerland?
2026/09/08
Switzerland! Peaceful, neutral, full of clocks and cheese , or is it? How did Switzerland come to be? Why does it get to be neutral? How did they get so rich? Why did it take until 1990 for women to be allowed to vote? Let's find out!
Support the podcast at patreon.com/historyissexy
Show notes, merch etc at www.historyissexy.com
Episode 134: What's The Deal with Marcus Camillus
2026/08/17
Who the hell is Marcus Camillus? Featuring Rome's version of the Trojan War, Rome's greatest humiliation, a truly scandalous number of white horses and one of the coolest lines any Roman ever delivered.
Episode 133 - What's the Deal with Maximilian I of Mexico (Part 2)
2026/08/03
Max and Carlota go to Mexico and it goes...well it goes. Everyone has a horrible time but Max keeps his Habsburg honour, which is apparently the important thing.
Enjoy the first episode Janina and Emma have ever recorded in the same room!
Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/historyissexy
Ask a question at www.historyissexy.com
Episode 132: What's the Deal with Maximilian I of Mexico? Part One
2026/07/13
Remember that time when France invaded Mexico and tried to install a Hapsburg emperor? No? Let's learn all about it, including Maximilian's no thoughts approach to government and why on EARTH anyone would think this was a good idea!
A Correction: A criollo is not a "mixed race" person in the Spanish Empire but a person born of "pure" Spanish parents but in the colonies/outside of Spain and therefore considered to be lesser than a Spanish person born in Spain. Thank you to Fiyenyaa for the correction!
Notes etc at www.historyissexy.com
Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/historyissexy
Episode 131 - What's the Deal with Romance Languages?
2026/06/30
A Janina special! Why do French and Italian sound different? How do Romance languages develop? How do languages live and die?
Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/historyissexy
Merch etc at www.historyissexy.com
Episode 130: Short Answer Questions
2026/06/16
Does Oliver approve of any archers on film? Why does Emma called Caligula Gaius? What's Janina's favourite myth? So many questions, so many answers.
Episode 129: What's the Deal with Roman Triumphs?
2026/06/02
Big red faces sweating in the sun. No it's not a group of English men in Benidorm, it's Roman generals dressed as gods being paraded through the streets! What the hell is a triumph anyway? Let's find out together.
Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/historyissexy
Show Notes etc at www.historyissexy.com
Episode 128 - What's the Deal with Ranavalona I and the Kingdom of Madagascar?
2026/05/18
Queen Ranavalona I of Madagascar aka the Female Caligula aka the Mad Queen of Madagascar. Was she really as mad, bad and dangerous to know as the British Empire would have us believe? Featuring a "very apparently mathematically challenged" economic historian and a deep dive into pre-Christian religious belief in Madagascar.
Support the show at www.patreon.com/historyissexy
Show notes etc at www.historyissexy.com
An announcment from Emma
2026/05/10
A small announcement and plea for support!
https://www.emmasouthon.com/events2026
Episode 127: What's the Deal with Ancient Stoicism?
2026/05/05
Stocism. Sto-Bros. In this episode we look at the ancient philosophical school of Stoicism. A surprisingly complex and strange cosmology is expounded, Emma gives up on Logic and Janina wonders if thought experiments are any use at all.
Support the Podcast at www.patreon.com/historyissexy
Show notes and sources at historyissexy.com/show-notes/episode-127-whats-the-deal-with-stoicism
Episode 126: What's the Deal with the Spartans?
2026/04/21
In which we learn that the Spartans were so horrible that even other ancient Greeks were freaked out by them, and recieved absolutly no benefit from it.
Support the Podcast at www.patreon.com/historyissexy
Source Notes at https://historyissexy.com/show-notes/episode-126-whats-the-deal-with-the-spartans
Podcast reviews
Read History Is Sexy podcast reviews
Bdub1102 2026/02/01
Love this show
I’ve read most of Emma’s books. I just bought her kid’s book and pre-ordered the new one about slavery coming up.
This podcast is exactly what you w...
Soccer_mom_1015 2025/11/09
Brilliant
A brilliant and irreverent look at history. Emma is a treasure. I have loved all her books and love this podcast.
sidewinder_09 2025/10/19
I love this show!
Fantastically researched and some of the most amusing and intelligent discussion of history you’ll come across.
queuea 2025/04/30
Good!
I like it
k_lum 2025/03/13
Best history podcast
Best history podcast
manayunk wall 2025/01/30
valley girls by way of???
I love history, I love history podcasts, I love history presented in an new interesting way.
But not this way.
They sound too much like Valley Girls ...
Catcher50 2025/01/06
Cute
Sorry, but this sounds like two sophomore university students discussing the world from the point of view of 20 year olds. Sometimes it's amusing, bu...
StillEstelle 2024/07/02
Initially promising, ultimately disappointing
Pros: Wide range of topics, amusingly breezy synopses of various historical moments, lots of personal asides but they blend pretty well with the flow ...
LKD19 2024/06/06
The “Um” Tho…
🩷 these gals and the content! I’d give 5 stars, but the “ummm,” makes it difficult to binge.
nmv4 2024/02/07
Funny and factual…
… where can you find both? Humorous and yet very good about sharing important info. Love it.
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