The Truth About Vincent Van Gogh
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
History Hit
4.8 • 2.1K Ratings
🗓️ 11 November 2025
⏱️ 56 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
However you pronounce his name, one thing is for certain: Van Gogh made made his mark on the world.
But how did he interact with the world around him? From his relationship with a sex worker in the Hague to his time at the asylum in the south of France.
Joining Kate today is Teio Meedendorp, Senior Researcher at the Van Gogh Museum, to help us get to know this complex man better.
*TW: This episode contains references to self harm and suicide.*
This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
All music from Epidemic Sounds.
Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hi, I'm your host, Kate Lister. |
| 0:02.4 | If you would like betwixt the sheets, add free and get early access, sign up to History Hit. |
| 0:08.7 | With a History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of original documentaries with top history presenters. |
| 0:16.0 | And enjoy a new release every single week. |
| 0:19.8 | Sign up now by visiting history hit.com forward slash subscribe. |
| 0:24.5 | Hello, my lovely betwixters. |
| 0:26.3 | It's me, Kate Lister, and you are listening to Betwix the sheets. |
| 0:29.9 | Hello, welcome back. |
| 0:32.0 | Thanks for dropping by Lovely to see you. |
| 0:34.9 | We'll put the kettle on. |
| 0:36.2 | But before we do, I have to tell you, and any newbies who've wandered in, this is an adult podcast, spoken by adults to see you. We'll put the kettle on. But before we do, I have to tell you, and any |
| 0:38.7 | newbies who've wandered in, this is an adult podcast spoken by adults to other adults about |
| 0:42.1 | adulty things in an adulty way covering a range of adult subjects, and you should be an adult |
| 0:45.6 | too. Oh, God, I feel safer. Do you feel safer? Is everyone less triggered? Excellent. |
| 0:51.4 | Right. On with the show. |
| 0:57.2 | I do love an evening stroll betweensters, don't you? And this one just feels extra special. |
| 1:03.2 | We're strolling through the village of Saint-Ramee de Provence in 1889. The stars are out. |
| 1:09.6 | It's a very starry, starry night. And not far from here, one Vincent Van Gogh. |
| 1:14.8 | Actually, how the hell you pronounce this man's name will feature quite prominently. But whatever |
| 1:18.4 | you call him, he's gazing up at the stars from his asylum room and feeling inspired to put |
| 1:25.1 | paint on canvas. What will become starry Night is being created and maybe he |
| 1:31.0 | knows it, maybe he doesn't. I suspect he probably does, but this is going to be a masterpiece. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.