Pregnancy, Birth and Apocalypse

In this episode Kate and Gudrun discuss pregnancy and childbirth through the lens of apocalyptic fiction and film. Recorded in the days after the US election 2024, they acknowledge real-life fears of women regarding their reproductive rights and consider births happening in war zones currently.

Trigger warning!! This episode discuses some disturbing subjects such as alien insemination, rape, difficult births, miscarriage and still birth so please be kind to your selves.
That said there are some moments of levity; Kate reveals her favourite film (spoiler alert....its...Jurassic Park! ;) And Kate and Gudrun think they know more about Mormonism than they actually do, realising afterwards that most of their knowledge was gleaned from 'The Book of Mormon' a musical comedy by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. They are sorry for any misinformation they may have spread.

References
Books and articles
The Growing Season Helen Sedgwick (2017)
‘Products of Conception: Pregnancy and Science Fiction, 1968-2015’ Dr Anna McFarlane https://scifimedhums.glasgow.ac.uk/pregnancy-science-fiction-and-the-medical-humanities/
The Handmaids Tale Margaret Atwood (1985)
Future Home of the Living God Louise Erdrich (2017)
The Handmaid's Tale is not dystopian for black women - its real life Nayuka Gorrie https://www.sbs.com.au/voices/article/the-handmaids-tale-is-not-dystopian-for-black-women-its-real-life/varievrre (2021)
Blood Child Octavia Butler (1995)
The Book of the Unnamed Midwife Meg Elison (2014)
The Girl with all The Gifts M R CAREY (2014)
Survivor's Song Paul Tremblay (2020)
Who Fears Death Nnedi Okorafor (2010)
Powers of Horror Julia Kristeva (1980)
Children of Men P D James (1992)
Maternity in the Post-Apocalypse Novelistic Re-visions of Dystopian Motherhood RENAE L. MITCHELL (2021)
The unborn undead Whalley, J. ‘Bob.’ Studies in Theatre and Performance, 34 (3), 260–266. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14682761.2014.973179 (2014)

Film and Tv
The Walking Dead (2010 - 2022)
The Girl with all The Gifts (2016)
The Last Of Us (2023- )
Dawn of the Dead (Zack Snyder remake 2004)
The Road (2009)
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Alien (1979)
Shaun of The Dead (2004)
The Dead Don't Die (2019
The Omen (1976)
Vivarium (2019)
Children of Men (2006)

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