Boom! Lawyered

Roe v. Wade was never enough. Reproductive justice advocates have been saying that for decades. So why did so much of the reproductive rights movement organize itself around protecting Roe anyway?  In this solo episode, Imani Gandy explores how legal arguments became the center of the fight for abortion rights, what got lost in the process, and why public health researchers and reproductive justic...

Imani and Jess are off this week, but before the Supreme Court issues its birthright citizenship ruling in Trump v. Barbara , revisit this conversation with Pregnancy Justice President Lourdes Rivera on how the movement trying to deny citizenship to some children born in the United States is also working to grant constitutional rights to embryos and fetuses. Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.&...

In this episode, Imani and Jess unpack the Supreme Court’s order on mifepristone access and explain where it fits in the Trump administration’s crusade to redefine motherhood nationwide. Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.  Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered helps you understand what’s at stake in our courts, chip in to keep our fearles...

In this episode, Imani and Jess unpack the historic attack on voting rights from the Supreme Court in Louisiana v. Callais and explain what’s next from the Court on the fight to block mifepristone access.    Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.  Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered helps you understand what’s at stake in our courts, chip i...

The Supreme Court closed out arguments for the term this week. Jess and Imani are out, but this episode showcases all the biggest cases of the term. Stay tuned for deep dives on the decisions coming up in future episodes. Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.  Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered helps you understand what’s at stake in our...

Imani and Jess are off this week, but in this episode republished from 2025, Imani and Jess discuss a new school launched in Colorado that’s designed to erase the separation of church and state in public education. They also explain why the conservative legal movement could finally succeed in getting taxpayers to fund religious schools.  Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.  Episodes like t...

In this episode, Imani and Jess unpack the conservative legal movement’s latest attacks on medication abortion, from courthouses to state legislatures across the country—including efforts to categorize mailing pills as “drug trafficking.”  Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.  Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered helps you understand what’...

In this episode, Imani and Jess dive into the Supreme Court’s conversion therapy decision, birthright citizenship oral arguments, and rumours that President Donald Trump has his eye on Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for his next Supreme Court nomination.        Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.  Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered helps you under...

The most informed progressive public in American history is watching a fascist takeover in real time. In her first solo episode, Imani Gandy wants to know why. From Black Twitter to the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act dying in the Senate twice, she builds the argument—and then pokes holes in it herself. She doesn't have a clean answer. That's why she's asking. Correction: In this episode I st...

In this episode, Imani and Jess break down the latest anti-trans decision from the Supreme Court, Mirabelli v. Bonta and explain how the conservative legal movement is rewriting parental rights law from the shadow docket of the Supreme Court.   Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.    Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered helps you understand wha...

In this episode! Imani and Jess spill the tea on the recent Supreme Court drama, from infighting among the justices in the Trump tariff decision, to retirement rumours, and why it is more than political theater when the president attacks the independence of the judiciary. Expert Repro Journalism that Inspires. Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered...

In part two of her series on true crime and disability, Imani Gandy interviews Dateline correspondent Josh Mankiewicz about true crime as a machine that decides whose stories get told—and whose don’t. From missing Black women, to missing and murdered Indigenous people, to the near invisibility of disabled victims, they talk about what true crime shows—and what it leaves out. Because attention itse...

In this episode, Imani and Jess walk through the current legal threats to medication abortion access and explain how the national abortion landscape could be reshaped entirely by spring.   Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.   Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered helps you understand what’s at stake in our courts, chip in to keep our fearless...

Imani and Jess are off this week, but in this episode republished from 2024 they explain the spurious new legal arguments underpinning the conservative push to end birthright citizenship.   Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires. Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered helps you understand what’s at stake in our courts, chip in to keep our fearless l...

In this episode, Imani Gandy and Jess Pieklo unpack the federal charges brought against Black journalists and advocates in connection to an anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church.  Correction - In this show we refer to Don Lemon as "from CNN"  when he is a former CNN journalist.  See the referenced Lourdes Rivera Episode Here! Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires. Episodes like this take time, re...

True crime is everywhere—but crimes against disabled people are rarely treated as “true crime” at all. Imani Gandy talks with disability justice advocate Vilissa Thompson about why disabled victims are erased from true crime, how ableism shapes which stories get told, and what ethical storytelling requires when disability is involved. Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.  Episodes like this take...

In this episode, Imani Gandy and Jess Pieklo discuss the ICE raids in Minnesota, Trump’s threats to “buy” Greenland, and explain how a ruling in favor of state bans on trans girls playing sports could lead to boys-only chess clubs. Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires. Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered helps you understand what’s at stake in...

Imani Gandy interviews Portia Burch about what it means to get through the holidays when you don’t love them. Together, they talk about companionship, Black joy without the performance or obligation, and building a season that feels steadier and more survivable.   Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.   Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered helps...

The Supreme Court heard arguments this week in Trump v. Slaughter, a case that could greatly expand the scope of presidential power. Imani and Jess are off this week but decided to republish this episode from September that explains why they believe we’re living through a “Deconstruction era”—think Reconstruction era, but in reverse—and what that means for our public institutions and the rule of l...

In this episode of Boom! Lawyered, Imani and Jess break down HB 7, a Texas law that attacks medication abortion and could set the stage for a nationwide abortion ban. They also discuss how the legislation, which went into effect on Dec. 4, 2025, incentivizes community members to snitch on one another using financial rewards.  Expert Repro Journalism that Inspires. Episodes like this take time, res...

Imani Gandy interviews actor Judy Reyes about the handling of immigration policy in Trump 2.0, what she learned playing an immigration lawyer on TV, and why storytelling cuts through political nonsense in ways policy and punditry never will. They also discuss the importance of community, culture, and what it means to stay human in a country determined to see you as anything but—plus a little ‘Scru...

In this episode of Boom! Lawyered Imani and Jess answer audience questions on everything from threats to same-sex marriage, how to reform the federal courts, and what should be kept and what should be scrapped if we rewrote the constitution. Expert Repro Journalism that Inspires Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered helps you understand what’s at...

In this episode of Boom! Lawyered, Imani has the week off, so Jess is joined by President and CEO of Democracy Forward Skye Perryman to talk about fighting the Trump administration in court and how building community is the antidote to authoritarian rule.  Expert Repro Journalism that Inspires.  Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered helps you unde...

In this episode of Boom! Lawyered, Imani and Jess discuss a new school launched in Colorado that’s designed to erase the separation of church and state in public education. They also explain why the conservative legal movement could finally succeed in getting taxpayers to fund religious schools.    Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered helps you u...

The Constitution isn’t sacred—it’s a sham that pretends to be about equality but actually only benefits white men in power. Imani Gandy talks with best-selling author Elie Mystal about why the Constitution has never worked for Black people, how the Supreme Court weaponizes it to strip people of their rights, and what it would look like to scrap it and start over. Expert Repro Journalism That Inspi...