283 – Naomi Kritzer & It Could Happen Anywhere
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What is Naomi Kritzer’s new novella Obstetrix about and why is it described as horror‑thriller?
Hello and welcome to Talking Scared. I'm your host, Neil McRobert, and we have to ask: is the future here already? Because this week I'm in conversation with Naomi Kritzer, author of the brand new novella Obstetrics. It's a story of OBGYN dystopia, fundamentalist cults, and the horrific realities of reproductive rights in contemporary America, with a worrying guy cast. around other parts of the world. Now there's no way to sugarcoat that, it's a heavy topic, and Naomi certainly knows her onions when it comes to discussing it, but we do try to lighten the mood where we can with some more pleasant chat about the respite offered by books and stories. Apologies that Naomi's sound is a little muffled in parts.
I'm not sure what went wrong at her end, but this is nonetheless a tight conversation about a laser focus little book, and I'm sure you can still hear it and enjoy it. And if you do or if you enjoy Talking Scared in general, then please review the show wherever you found it, and you can become a Patreon member too. Support the show in the process. Process and get a ton of extra perks. I've released several exclusive listens in the last week or so, including extra chat with some recent guests, CJ Lead recommending some extreme horror fiction by women, and deep reviews of both Obsession and Batrooms. All of that and more is at patreon.com slash talking scared pot. But now come with me to a makeshift surgical room in the frozen midwest.
Thoughts and prayers will do no damn good here. Let's talk scarce.
Hi Naomi, welcome to Talking Scared. Are you well?
I am. I'm having uh a good day. Glad to be here.
Well, I'm glad to you're having a good day. That makes one of us. I'm far too hot. Um as I've been complaining about offline, so I won't bore you with that twice. Um, this show is only nominally focused on horror with a capital H. Because one There are only so many things you can really ask about the core concepts of vampires and zombies and things like that. And two, I find that fiction on the fringes of horror often confronts just as many anxieties without the need for those those horror, you know, centric tropes. Such is the case with your novel, Obstetrix. And I want to ask before we even get into the plot, let's start there. Do you consider this to be a novel of horror?
Um yeah. Yeah, I do. I mean it's it's uh it's being published as science fiction and it really walks the line of is it science fiction, is it a hor is it horror, is it a thriller? And honestly, I think it probably falls at the intersection of all of those, but if it's anything, it's probably horror. Um, because it there's the the primary emotion in most of the books is dread. That was something I thought about a lot while I was writing.
Okay. Um is it the the darkest thing you've written so far?
No, uh I actually think uh there's a short story I wrote uh that was published a few years ago called Monster that's probably the darkest thing I've written. Um, which is uh is a short story it was published in Clark's World. Um people can look it up if they're interested. Um but it involves a a woman who uh finds out that like an old friend of hers did something really horrifying. And uh she tracks him down. And uh yeah, that one's that was also very dark. Of my novels is definitely the darkest.
Yeah, yeah. I I read your short story, th the thing about ghost stories.
Oh yeah, that's not a horror.
No, it's not. It you can you can see why I was misled. That's um that's a very different beast. But monster sounds interesting. But I mean, just looking through your Wikipedia page, um, you've won an insane amount of awards. Like Quite I mean, has everything you've written pretty much won an award?
No, no, definitely not. But yes, I've I have won.
I've Yeah, I mean, i it it's a pretty high hit rate. Um so yeah, let's see what happens with obstetrics. But introduce this story for us. What's it about?
Alright, obstetrics is about an obstetrician named Liz who is uh kidnapped by a cult that wants to have an obstetrician on hand to deliver their babies.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is Naomi Kritzer’s new novella Obstetrix about and why is it described as horror‑thriller?
0:11–9:48
2
How did the overturn of Roe v. Wade influence the story’s setting and legal backdrop?
9:48–18:05
3
What defines the cult in Obstetrix and how does it differ from a sect or church?
18:05–26:04
4
Why does the protagonist Liz’s menopause become a thematic clue in the narrative?
26:04–35:25
5
Who or what serves as the real antagonist – the cult’s leaders, the ideology, or an individual?
35:25–43:04
6
How does the story handle sexual exploitation and miscarriage care within the cult?
43:04–51:43
7
What role does oral storytelling and the loss of books play for the characters’ survival?
51:43–58:36
8
Which books does Naomi recommend for rereading and why do they matter to the discussion?
58:36–1:06:23
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Talking Scared
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