{"podcast":{"title":"Unwritten Law","slug":"unwritten-law-7233280","podcast_index_feed_id":7233280,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/unwritten-law/","website_url":"https://nclalegal.org/media/unwritten-law/","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/4e6a8de9-fe92-45b5-9f8f-906c310aa90c/8tfnSzWGybasy_xFa3_tP4Hx.jpg","author":"Mark Chenoweth & John Vecchione","episode_count":129,"summary":"Every day, unelected federal agencies make decisions that affect your job, your business, your speech, your property, and your constitutional rights—often without Congress ever voting on them. From the rules that govern small businesses to the regulations that shape everyday life, the modern administrative state reaches further than most Americans realize. On Unwritten Law, constitutional lawyers Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione break down the biggest legal battles involving federal agencies, government overreach, and the Constitution. Each episode explores real cases challenging the expanding power of the administrative state, explaining how these disputes affect ordinary Americans, businesses, and the future of limited government. Whether the topic is the Supreme Court, free speech, property rights, due process, jury trials, executive power, or the separation of powers, Unwritten Law explains the legal issues behind today's biggest constitutional debates in clear, accessible language. You'll hear directly from the attorneys litigating landmark cases, as well as clients whose lives and livelihoods have been changed by unlawful government action. Produced by the New Civil Liberti…","last_synced_at":"2026-08-01T16:20:49.476532+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unwritten-law-7233280"},"episode":{"title":"Can Congress Hand EPA the Power to Pick Winners?","slug":"can-congress-hand-epa-the-power-to-pick-winners","published_at":"2026-03-03T13:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unwritten-law-7233280/can-congress-hand-epa-the-power-to-pick-winners","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unwritten-law-7233280","url":"https://unwritten-law.captivate.fm/episode/can-congress-hand-epa-the-power-to-pick-winners","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/cbae7d55-9263-4b28-b4e9-1f8267b0dda0.mp3","summary":"In this episode of Unwritten Law , NCLA President Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by NCLA General Counsel Zhonette Brown to discuss a petition for certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a major separation-of-powers case involving the Environmental Protection Agency. The case, Choice Refrigerants v. EPA , challenges how the agency implemented Congress’s AIM Act, which created a cap-and-trade system to phase down certain refrigerants. According to the petition, Congress provided virtually no guidance on how market allowances should be distributed—leaving EPA with sweeping discretion to decide which companies would keep their market share and which would lose it. Zhonette explains why this case presents a “clean vehicle” for the Supreme Court to revisit the nondelegation doctrine , which holds that Congress cannot hand over its legislative power to executive agencies without providing meaningful direction. The discussion explores the “intelligible principle” test, the D.C. Circuit’s reasoning, and why the Court may finally confront the limits of congressional delegation after nearly a century without striking down a statute on nondelegation grounds. The episode also highlights the real-world stakes for small businesses like Choice Refrigerants , founded by entrepreneur Ken Ponder, whose patented refrigerant products were affected by EPA’s allocation decisions.","meta_description":"In this episode of Unwritten Law , NCLA President Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by NCLA General Counsel Zhonette…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1629,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/unwritten-law-7233280/episodes/can-congress-hand-epa-the-power-to-pick-winners/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unwritten-law-7233280/can-congress-hand-epa-the-power-to-pick-winners.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}