The Truth about Charlie Chaplin

Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society

History Hit

Society, History, Education, Sex, Scandal

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 27 March 2026

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Charlie Chaplin had an extraordinary life: from the workhouses of Victorian London to the glamorous films sets of Hollywood's Golden Age.

He revolutionised the art form, but he wasn't without his scandals. So much so that he was monitored by the FBI and eventually exiled from America.

Joining Kate today is Charlie Chaplin expert Dr. Lisa Stein Haven, Professor of English at Ohio University Zanesville, to help us find out more about the man and his controversies.

This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Do you want even more shocking and scandalous history?
0:03.2	Like why the ancient Greek statues had such small manhoods?
0:06.8	Or what went on behind closed doors in the Georgian era?
0:10.8	We'll sign up to History Hit,
0:12.5	where you can see me discover the scandalous side of history,
0:15.3	as well as hundreds of hours of original documentaries,
0:18.7	plus new releases every week, covering everything from prehistoric
0:22.8	Scotland to the Treaty of Versailles. Sign up to join me in locations around the world and explore
0:29.2	the past. Just visit history hit.com forward slash subscribe.
0:35.3	Hello my lovely betwixters, it's me, Kate Lister, welcome back to Betwicks the Sheets. I think you know the drill by now, but I'm going to give it to you again anyway. We call it the Fair Do's warning because if you keep listening and you get offended, tough tits, that one was on you, fair do's. Right, here it is. This is an adult podcast spoken by adults to other adults about adulty things, Ad you're a way covering range? Not so fixed news to be an adult too. Right, let's crack on.
1:00.4	Join me for a stroll through Victorian London where the fog sits low and you can taste the
1:05.2	sut in the air. Honestly, where's a cold can of Coke to clear your throat when you need one?
1:10.1	In a workhouse down the road lives a child called Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr.
1:14.8	Amongst his life of poverty, he's studying everything.
1:17.9	The stagger of a local drunk, the sway of a labourer, and the dignity people have in the hardest of environments.
1:24.0	He doesn't know it yet, but he's collecting for a character that will one day make his fortune.
1:29.2	His life takes some extraordinary, and pretty dark, twists and turns,
1:33.8	and we're going to find out all about him today.
2:05.3	Music. Hello and welcome back to Petwitza Sheet, the history of sex scandal and society with me, Kate Lister.
2:12.9	Charlie Chaplin is an icon, maybe the icon of Hollywood's Golden Age, and his life is fascinating,
2:18.5	from the filthy cobbled streets of Victorian London to the glitzing glamour of Hollywood's film sets.
2:25.0	It was a life filled with drama and controversy almost as much off the screens as there was on it.
	...

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