Abortion

Why Being Born Kind of Matters

Season one of We'll Hear Arguments, a Rewire News Group podcast, brings to life the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade.

[PHOTO: Exterior of the Supreme Court building]
We'll Hear Arguments is a five-episode podcast of the 1973 landmark decision Roe v. Wade. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

For more Boom! Lawyered episodes, check out our archives here.

Welcome to We’ll Hear Arguments, hosted by the queens of legal, the barristers of badass, the reigning sass masters of reproductive rights: Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy.

You may know them as Rewire News Group’s #TeamLegal, or from their indomitable presence on law Twitter, or through their award-winning podcast, Boom! Lawyered. In We’ll Hear Arguments, another podcast from this dynamic duo, they take landmark Supreme Court cases and break them down using humor, expertise, and their familiar candor.

“Think of this show as Mystery Science Theater 3000 meets our regular podcast, Boom! Lawyered,” Imani says. You see, our greatest courtroom dramas aren’t streaming on Netflix or Hulu or even HBO Max. They took place in the hallowed halls of the U.S. Supreme Court, and We’ll Hear Arguments is here to share the juiciest, most consequential, and most batshit moments that would leave even Dick Wolf’s jaw on the floor.

We like to think of ourselves as your one-stop shop for all things abortion, and our first season of We’ll Hear Arguments covers the case that started it all. Maybe you’ve heard of it? We’re talking about Roe v. Wade.

Join us for a re-release of a five-episode journey through the pivotal moment in abortion history, as Jess and Imani break down everything from the intricacies (and messiness) of Supreme Court arguments—including what is widely considered the most offensive remark ever made before the Court—to the real story of the young pregnant woman behind the case.

Episode 1, titled “Being Born Kind of Matters,” kicks off with the fight at the heart of Roe: a Texas law prohibiting abortion. If you’re like, “Hey, that sounds … familiar,” that’s probably because in the 30-plus years since Roe was decided, conservatives have tried to pass countless laws that do the same thing.

At the heart of this case was so-called personhood—another issue that continues to rear its ugly head (a head that weirdly looks a lot like Amy Coney Barrett these days, but we digress). “Personhood” is the notion that life begins at conception, and here, Jess and Imani discuss whether such a concept is in the Constitution (it is not), how the hell due process fits into all this, and the age-old question of when a fetus becomes a baby. (Or a “bebe,” as Moira Rose of Schitt’s Creek would say.)

Listen to Imani and Jess tell you about the most interesting characters—like Sarah Weddington, the iconic attorney who argued the case when she was just 26 years old. They’ll walk you through everything you need to understand before Episode 2, “A Great Balancing Test,” in which they discuss what comes after the conversation on personhood—the question of privacy and who has the right to it.

To support Boom! Lawyered, please donate here.

Transcript