TopPodcast.com
Menu
  • Home
  • Top Charts
  • Top Networks
  • Top Apps
  • Top Independents
  • Top Podfluencers
  • Top Picks
    • Top Business Podcasts
    • Top True Crime Podcasts
    • Top Finance Podcasts
    • Top Comedy Podcasts
    • Top Music Podcasts
    • Top Womens Podcasts
    • Top Kids Podcasts
    • Top Sports Podcasts
    • Top News Podcasts
    • Top Tech Podcasts
    • Top Crypto Podcasts
    • Top Entrepreneurial Podcasts
    • Top Fantasy Sports Podcasts
    • Top Political Podcasts
    • Top Science Podcasts
    • Top Self Help Podcasts
    • Top Sports Betting Podcasts
    • Top Stocks Podcasts
  • Podcast News
  • About Us
  • Podcast Advertising
  • Contact
Not in our directory?
Add Show Here
Podcast Equipment
Center

toppodcastlogoOur TOPPODCAST Picks

  • Comedy
  • Crypto
  • Sports
  • News
  • Politics
  • True Crime
  • Business
  • Finance

Follow Us

toppodcastlogoStay Connected

    View Top 200 Chart
    Back to Rankings Page
    Government

    Unwritten Law

    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 Liberties Alliance (NCLA), Unwritten Law takes listeners behind the headlines to explain how federal agencies exercise regulatory power, how constitutional challenges move through the courts, and why these cases matter—even if you’ve never stepped inside a courtroom.

    If you’ve ever wondered who really writes the rules that govern your life, why unelected bureaucrats hold so much authority, or how the Constitution protects individual liberty, Unwritten Law will give you the context, the legal insight, and the real-world stories behind today’s most important fights for civil liberties.

    Whether you’re a lawyer, business owner, public servant, student, or simply someone who wants to better understand how government power affects everyday life, Unwritten Law gives you the legal insight behind the headlines—and the constitutional principles that protect individual liberty.

    Subscribe each week for conversations about Supreme Court litigation, constitutional law, the administrative state, federal agencies, government accountability, civil liberties, free speech, property rights, due process, separation of powers, regulatory power, and the legal battles shaping the future of American government.

    Advertise

    Copyright: © Copyright 2026 Mark Chenoweth & John Vecchione

    • Apple Podcasts
    • Google Play
    • Spotify

    Latest Episodes:
    Can the Government Escape Accountability for Censorship? Jul 22, 2026
    Show notes

    In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Litigation Counsel Casey Norman to discuss NCLA's appeal in Dressen v. Flaherty, a case challenging alleged government-induced censorship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The plaintiffs include individuals who say they were censored after sharing their personal experiences with COVID-19 vaccine injuries or questioning official public health narratives. Casey explains why NCLA alleges that federal officials, working alongside outside organizations and social media platforms, pressured private companies to suppress constitutionally protected speech.

    The discussion focuses on the district court's dismissal of the case on standing and personal jurisdiction grounds, despite detailed allegations drawn from thousands of pages of discovery produced in Missouri v. Biden. Casey explains why NCLA believes plaintiffs should at least be allowed to conduct discovery before their claims are dismissed, and why courts should not require impossible levels of proof at the pleading stage.

    Mark, John, and Casey also examine the Fifth Circuit appeal, the role of the Stanford Internet Observatory and the Virality Project, Section 1985(3), and why this case could determine whether Americans have any meaningful judicial remedy when government officials allegedly pressure private platforms to censor speech.


    Can Agency Commentary Increase Your Prison Sentence? Jul 21, 2026
    Show notes

    In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Litigation Counsel Casey Norman to discuss Beaird v. United States, a Supreme Court case that could reshape federal criminal sentencing.

    At issue is Stinson deference, a doctrine requiring courts to defer to the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s commentary interpreting the federal sentencing guidelines. Unlike the guidelines themselves, that commentary is never approved by Congress and never goes through notice-and-comment rulemaking—yet it can dramatically increase a defendant’s prison sentence.

    Casey explains why the case follows naturally from the Supreme Court’s recent decisions limiting administrative deference, including Kisor v. Wilkie and Loper Bright. The discussion explores why courts—not agencies—have the constitutional duty to interpret the law, why due process requires fair notice before liberty is taken away, and why the rule of lenity weighs against expanding criminal punishment through agency interpretation.

    Mark, John, and Casey also examine Article III, judicial independence, and why Beaird could become the Court’s next major administrative law decision.


    SCOTUS Special (Part 4): Title IX Means Sex Jul 14, 2026
    Show notes

    In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are again joined by NCLA Staff Attorney Andreia Trifoi to discuss the Supreme Court’s opinion in West Virginia v. B.P.J.

    The Court held that neither Title IX nor the Equal Protection Clause prevents states from organizing school sports teams based on biological sex. Andreia explains why the Court looked to the ordinary meaning of “sex” when Title IX was enacted in 1972 and why the statute’s original purpose was to expand athletic opportunities for women.

    The discussion also focuses on Justice Gorsuch’s concurrence and NCLA’s amicus argument under the Spending Clause. Because Title IX conditions federal funding on compliance with certain requirements, states must receive clear notice of those conditions before accepting the money. Andreia explains why states agreeing to Title IX in 1972 could not have understood “sex” to include gender identity decades later.

    Mark, John, and Andreia also discuss the history and practical effects of Title IX, the Biden Administration’s unsuccessful attempt to expand the statute through regulation, and why federal agencies cannot rewrite the terms of Congress’s spending programs after states have already accepted them.


    SCOTUS Special (Part 3): A Major Win for Digital Privacy Jul 14, 2026
    Show notes

    In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by NCLA Staff Attorney Andreia Trifoi to discuss the Supreme Court's landmark Fourth Amendment decision in Chatrie v. United States.

    The Court held that the government's collection of cell phone location history through a geofence warrant constitutes a Fourth Amendment search—a significant victory for digital privacy and one of the Court's most important Fourth Amendment decisions since Carpenter v. United States.

    Andreia explains how geofence warrants work, why they can sweep millions of people's location records into a single investigation, and why the Court concluded that this type of dragnet surveillance implicates constitutional protections.

    The discussion also explores the relationship between Chatrie and Carpenter, the future of automatic license plate reader (ALPR) litigation, Justice Gorsuch's property-based concurrence, and what the decision could mean for emerging surveillance technologies.

    For anyone concerned about privacy in the digital age, Chatrie represents an important reaffirmation that constitutional protections must evolve alongside modern technology.


    SCOTUS Summer Series (Part 1): The End of Humphrey's Executor Jul 10, 2026
    Show notes

    In this special Supreme Court edition of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by NCLA Of Counsel Margot Cleveland to discuss the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Trump v. Slaughter.

    The Court's decision effectively ends Humphrey's Executor, the 1935 precedent that limited the President's authority to remove leaders of independent agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission. Margot, who authored NCLA's amicus brief supporting the President's position, explains why the decision represents one of the Court's most significant separation-of-powers rulings in decades.

    The discussion explores how the Court built on earlier decisions such as Seila Law, why Chief Justice Roberts described Myers v. United States as the foundational precedent for presidential removal authority, and what the decision means for the future of the administrative state.

    Mark, John, and Margot also examine Justice Gorsuch's concurrence, severability, the unresolved questions surrounding the Federal Reserve and the civil service, and why the Court appears to be methodically restoring presidential control over executive officers.

    The episode concludes with a look ahead at the next constitutional battles likely to follow in the wake of Trump v. Slaughter.


    SCOTUS Special (Part 2): The Federal Reserve Exception? Jul 10, 2026
    Show notes

    Part 2 of our Supreme Court Special.

    In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel Jacob Huebert to examine the Supreme Court's decision in Trump v. Cook and what it means for the Federal Reserve and presidential removal power.

    Although the Court's decision in Trump v. Slaughter significantly expanded the President's authority to remove executive officers, Trump v. Cook stopped short of applying that reasoning to the Federal Reserve. Jacob explains why the Court emphasized the Federal Reserve's unique historical role, how Chief Justice Roberts relied on history and tradition, and why the Justices treated monetary policy differently from other executive functions.

    The discussion explores the government's arguments, standing, the Court's emergency-docket analysis, Justice Thomas's separate writing, and why Myers, Humphrey's Executor, and the First and Second Banks of the United States all played an important role in the Court's reasoning.

    Mark, John, and Jacob also discuss what constitutional questions remain unresolved, whether the Federal Reserve's regulatory powers could still face future challenges, and why Trump v. Cook may not be the final word on presidential control over independent agencies.


    Justice Thomas's Warning to Federal Agencies Jul 02, 2026
    Show notes

    In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione is joined by Staff Counsel Christian Clase to discuss a remarkable concurrence by Justice Clarence Thomas in a recent Supreme Court case involving Roundup, pesticide regulation, and federal preemption.

    Although the Court's decision focused on whether federal law preempts state-law failure-to-warn claims, Justice Thomas used his concurrence to highlight a much broader set of constitutional concerns. His opinion raises questions about Congress's Commerce Clause authority, the constitutionality of broad delegations of power to administrative agencies, and whether federal agency actions should be capable of preempting state law at all.

    John and Christian examine Thomas's critique of modern administrative governance, including his concern that agencies can effectively create rules carrying civil and criminal consequences while exercising powers traditionally reserved to Congress.

    The discussion also explores Thomas's argument that agency action does not fit neatly within the Constitution's Supremacy Clause, why he views administrative preemption as constitutionally suspect, and how his opinion may serve as a roadmap for future constitutional challenges.

    The episode offers a deep dive into one of the most important administrative law concurrences of the term and what it could mean for the future of agency power.


    SCOTUS Rejects Hawaii's Gun Rights Workaround Jul 01, 2026
    Show notes

    In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione is joined by Litigation Counsel Jacob Huebert to discuss the Supreme Court's decision in Wolford v. Lopez, a significant Second Amendment case arising from Hawaii.

    After the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Bruen, Hawaii enacted a law making it a crime to carry a firearm on private property open to the public unless the property owner expressly consented. The Supreme Court recently rejected that approach, concluding that Hawaii's law lacked historical support and effectively undermined the right to carry recognized in Bruen.

    John and Jacob discuss the Court's reasoning, Justice Alito's concurrence, the debate over historical analogues such as Reconstruction-era Black Codes, and why constitutional rights cannot vary based on what one court called the "spirit of aloha."

    The conversation also explores what the decision could mean for NCLA's challenge to Illinois' Firearm Owner's Identification (FOID) card system in Laurent v. Kelly. Jacob explains why Illinois similarly flips the normal presumption of constitutional rights by requiring citizens to obtain government permission before possessing a firearm—even in their own homes.

    The episode highlights the Supreme Court's renewed attention to Second Amendment cases and why recent decisions may strengthen challenges to laws that condition constitutional rights on prior government approval.


    The SEC Case That Could Expand Jury Trial Rights Jun 23, 2026
    Show notes

    In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione is joined by Senior Litigation Counsel Russ Ryan to discuss Smith v. SEC, a case raising fundamental questions about jury trial rights, administrative adjudication, and constitutional exhaustion requirements.

    The case began more than a decade ago when FINRA initiated an investigation into George Smith. After years of proceedings before FINRA and the SEC, Smith challenged the process itself, arguing that he was entitled to have his case heard in an Article III court before a jury rather than through an administrative enforcement system.

    Russ explains how a Sixth Circuit panel recently suggested that Smith's constitutional arguments may have substantial merit—but nevertheless ruled against him on the ground that he failed to raise those arguments before the SEC itself.

    The discussion explores why agencies lack expertise and authority to resolve constitutional questions, how recent Supreme Court decisions such as Axon, Cochran, and Free Enterprise Fund bear on the issue, and why forcing litigants to exhaust constitutional claims before agencies creates a procedural trap.

    John and Russ also discuss the amicus briefs supporting rehearing, including filings from the Pacific Legal Foundation, the New Civil Liberties Alliance's allies in the administrative law space, and a brief submitted on behalf of entrepreneur Mark Cuban.

    The episode highlights broader questions about due process, administrative power, and whether Americans can truly be said to have "waived" constitutional rights by failing to raise them before agencies that have no power to grant relief.


    Why Is the SEC Tracking Every Stock Trade? Jun 19, 2026
    Show notes

    In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione is joined by Senior Litigation Counsel Peggy Little to discuss the SEC's Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT)—a massive government database that collects information on virtually every securities transaction made by American investors.

    The conversation centers on a new SEC request for public comments on the future of the CAT system, including the possibility of eliminating it altogether. Peggy explains why NCLA has long challenged the CAT, arguing that it creates serious constitutional, privacy, cybersecurity, and separation-of-powers concerns.

    The discussion explores how the CAT differs from traditional investigative tools such as the SEC's "blue sheet" process, why the database contains sensitive information about millions of Americans, and how cybersecurity breaches at government agencies raise concerns about concentrating so much financial information in a single location.

    John and Peggy also examine questions surrounding the CAT's funding mechanism, the role of self-regulatory organizations, and why NCLA believes Congress never authorized the SEC to create such a sweeping surveillance system in the first place.

    The episode concludes with a discussion of the SEC's public comment process and how ordinary Americans can make their voices heard on the future of the CAT.


    Previous 1 2 3 4 5 15 Next

    Related Podcasts

    Inside Strategic Coach: Connecting Entrepreneurs With What Really Matters

    1

    Inside Strategic Coach: Connecting Entrepreneurs With What Really Matters Business
    WSJ Your Money Briefing

    2

    WSJ Your Money Briefing Business
    FORTUNE Unfiltered with Aaron Task

    3

    FORTUNE Unfiltered with Aaron Task Business
    FORTUNE OnStage Presents: The Most Powerful Women

    4

    FORTUNE OnStage Presents: The Most Powerful Women Business
    Slate Money

    5

    Slate Money Business
    In The Dark – The New Yorker

    6

    In The Dark – The New Yorker Business News
    footer-logo

    Contact Us

    Toll Free: 844-670-7747

    Links

    • Home
    • Top Charts
    • Networks
    • Apps
    • Independents Podcasts
    • Podcast Advertising
    • Podcast News
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Analytics & Insights

    Stay Connected

      Privacy, Terms of Use & Our Code of Ethics Protecting Content Creators Copyrights