{"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 EPA Decide Who Stays in Business?","slug":"can-epa-decide-who-stays-in-business","published_at":"2026-05-15T13:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unwritten-law-7233280/can-epa-decide-who-stays-in-business","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unwritten-law-7233280","url":"https://unwritten-law.captivate.fm/episode/can-epa-decide-who-stays-in-business","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/e7128dd6-c2bc-4a5b-92a0-10fc768033d5.mp3","summary":"In this episode of Unwritten Law , NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by NCLA General Counsel Zhonette Brown to discuss the federal government’s response brief in Choice Refrigerants v. EPA , a case asking the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit the nondelegation doctrine. The discussion focuses on whether Congress unconstitutionally handed the EPA broad authority to determine how shrinking refrigerant allowances are allocated under the AIM Act—effectively deciding which companies can continue operating and which may be pushed out of the market. Zhonette explains why the case is not simply about environmental regulation, but about who controls market share and economic liberty in America. The conversation explores the “gaping hole” in the statute identified by NCLA: while Congress specified detailed chemical formulas, phase-down schedules, and military-use carveouts, it failed to explain how the EPA should allocate allowances among competing businesses. The episode also examines the practical consequences for small businesses like Choice Refrigerants, whose owner developed replacement refrigerants without the resources of major industry players. Mark, John, and Zhonette discuss how the EPA created new entrant carveouts, reshuffled market allocations, and exercised broad discretion that NCLA argues belongs to Congress—not federal agencies. The conversation further explores broader constitutional themes raised by the case, including preemption, federalism, economic liberty, and the Supreme Court’s recent signals that it may be willing to revive meaningful limits on congressional delegation of legislative power.","meta_description":"In this episode of Unwritten Law , NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by NCLA G…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2119,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/unwritten-law-7233280/episodes/can-epa-decide-who-stays-in-business/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-epa-decide-who-stays-in-business.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}