
Boom! Lawyered
Every week, Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy take you on a wild ride through the latest legal battles in the fight for reproductive justice. On everything from abortion rights to trans discrimination to racial justice, Boom! Lawyered will help you get smart, stay mad, have fun, and fight back.
Produced by Rewire News Group.
Latest episodes

Feb 13, 2023 • 45min
Yikes—Big Pharma Could Save One of the Abortion Pills
The future of abortion is medication abortion. Anti-abortion activists know this. That's why they're coming after abortion pills—and fighting hard to get it banned nationwide.In a new episode of Boom! Lawyered, Jess and Imani dive into Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, the case before a Trump judge that could ban mifepristone, one of the two pills used in medication abortions.Mentioned in this episode:Abortion Gets PorkedRewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered is only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

Jan 30, 2023 • 27min
What's With All the Fearmongering Over Abortion Pills?
In this post-Roe world, we're at the intersection of the criminalization of pregnancy and the future of abortion access—and that's by design.In a new episode of Boom! Lawyered, co-hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy discuss how medication abortion—which is safe, effective, and lets people manage their abortion at home if they choose—is being targeted (like it is in Alabama, where the attorney general is threatening to use drug laws to go after pregnant people).Mentioned in this episode:The Future of Abortion AccessA Gathering StormRewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered is only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

Jan 23, 2023 • 34min
What Happens Post-Roe?
What a surreal moment. This should be the week of Roe's 50th anniversary. But like the planet Alderaan, it's been blown away by the Death Star (aka the Supreme Court). Jess and Imani discuss the future of abortion rights and what abortion access will look like in our new post-Roe reality.Mentioned in this episode:SCOTUS Gutting Native Families Will Usher In Cultural GenocideRewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means episodes like this are only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

Dec 19, 2022 • 22min
SCOTUS 2022: The Vibes Were Bad
As Jess predicts, “Conservatives will really go for it in terms of the wild restrictions and trying to push fetal ‘”personhood.'”Jess and Imani reflect on a wild and devastating year and put their prediction hats on for next year. The TL;DR: With this Court, it's not great.Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means episodes like this are only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

Dec 7, 2022 • 47min
The Case That Could Upend Democratic Elections
Jess and Imani are back with their rapid reaction analysis of Moore v. Harper, the case heard today before the Supreme Court that that could forever change how elections are run in this country. It involves the absurd independent state legislature theory that claims the elections clause of the Constitution allows state legislatures to run their federal elections with unchecked power.Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered–especially rapid reaction episodes like this one—one are only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

Dec 5, 2022 • 32min
Is Anyone Surprised by Sam Alito's Trolling Anymore?
In this rapid reaction episode, Jess and Imani get into today's Supreme Court oral arguments in a case about a web designer who argues free speech extends to hypothetical website design for a hypothetical same-sex couple. In other words, it's about weaponizing the First Amendment to refuse services based on personal belief. And in his questioning, Justice Samuel Alito had some things to say about Black Santa and Black kids in Klan costumes.Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered–especially rapid reaction episodes like this one—one are only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

Nov 21, 2022 • 28min
It's Time to Impeach Alito
Jess and Imani get into the heart of the New York Times' bombshell reporting over the weekend that alleges Justice Samuel Alito leaked a 2014 opinion on a big contraception case. So, just how corrupt is Alito, and can anything be done about it?As Jess says, "The allegations in the New York Times piece are absolutely extraordinary. They totally paint this picture of Sam Alito and Clarence Thomas as ... just straight-up partisan operatives ... helping the Court craft policy."Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered–especially rapid reaction episodes like this are only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

Nov 14, 2022 • 23min
The Supreme Court v. The People
If the midterms solidified anything, it's this:The Supreme Court is a vehicle for how the white supremacist project of dominance—the relegation of women and other potential pregnant people to second-class citizenship and erasure of marginalized people—will be implemented.Jess and Imani get deep into how the election showed we’re in a battle between the democratic will of the voters and a captured federal judiciary that is intent on imposing its own white Christian vision of the United States.And yes, while we learned that when abortion is on the ballot, abortion wins, it means the anti-abortion movement will work even harder to keep abortion off the ballot moving forward.Mentioned in this episode:Justice Jackson Obliterates Originalism in Voting Rights CaseRewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered–especially rapid reaction episodes like this one—one are only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

Nov 9, 2022 • 51min
SCOTUS Gutting Native Families Will Usher In Cultural Genocide
While you were paying attention to the midterm election results, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in cases challenging the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act, which was enacted 44 years ago this week to keep Native children and their families intact.In this rapid reaction episode, Jess and Imani lay out what's at stake in Brackeen v. Haaland and other consolidated cases for tribal sovereignty and protections—and how overturning the precedent set forth in the ICWA will mean Native children will pay the price.As Imani says, "We're talking about the literal destruction of tribal sovereignty as it's been in place for centuries, and that should concern everyone."Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered–especially rapid reaction episodes like this one—one are only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

Oct 31, 2022 • 46min
Say Goodbye to Race-Based Affirmative Action
It's our first live!In this rapid reaction episode, Jess and Imani break down all the shenanigans that were afoot at the Supreme Court today as the justices heard oral arguments in what could end race-based affirmative action as we know it in higher ed admissions.You can also watch the video playback of the live episode here.Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered–especially rapid reaction episodes like this one—one are only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.