RTP's Fourth Branch Podcast

In this episode, Ketan Bhirud and Luke Wake take a closer look at the role of the use of outside legal counsel by state attorneys general. Outside counsel can provide valuable expertise and resources, but what are the implications of relying on external firms for state legal matters? What are the advantages and potential pitfalls of these partnerships? How might they shape state legal practice and...

In this episode, experts GianCarlo Canaparo and Mike Gonzalez provide a legal and historical interpretation of the term "equity." This discussion, moderated by Linda Chavez, highlights how the definition of equity extends beyond civil rights protection and how the evolving definition of the term "equity" affects the legal realm. Featuring: GianCarlo Canaparo, Senior Legal Fellow, Edwin Meese III C...

Regulatory experts, Rosario Palmieri and Karen Harned, discuss industry self-regulation, soft law, and voluntary standards. Thousands of products, services, and systems use voluntary, consensus standards to govern product performance and safety, worker safety, financial services, and food safety. This is a layer of self-regulation that usually lies beneath the administrative state or in parts of t...

Federal regulators were busy in April 2024, with agencies publishing a record-breaking 66 significant new regulations; more than half of which had price tags higher than $200 million. This burst of regulatory activity can be attributed to a once obscure law known as the Congressional Review Act (CRA). If the November election brings Republican control of the White House and Congress, rules issued...

Experts will examine the major questions doctrine, its role in regulatory litigation, and its place in administrative law in light of recent developments. Please register and join us for a live webinar on August 14, 2024 at 11 am EST. Featuring: Paul Ray, Director, Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation Elliot Gaiser, Ohio Solicitor General (Moderator) Susan D...

Kathryn Ciano Mauler and Eric Wang join the podcast to discuss the FEC rules behind campaign funds, particularly in the transfer of said funds between candidates. Their discussion breaks down the questions surrounding the recent changes to the 2024 ballot, and how that will affect each campaign's fundraising efforts, especially in a post-Chevron legal landscape.

Alex J. Adams, Director of Idaho's Department of Health and Welfare is joined by Reeve T. Bull, Director of the Virginia Office of Regulatory Management. Director Adams and Director Bull detail the importance of regulatory reform efforts in Idaho and Virginia, respectively, and discuss the impact that regulatory reform can have on employment opportunities, business development, and the cost of liv...

Legal experts Jonathan Butcher and Jon Riches discuss the debate between parental rights and children’s privacy in education under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”). Moderated by Luke Wake, their discussion examines the debates over the role of student privacy, parental rights, and the role that the government is playing in education.

On July 2, 2024, the US Supreme Court granted certiorari in the case, Food and Drug Administration v. Wages and White Lion Investments, LLC. In Explainer Episode 70, expert Jeff Stier discusses the FDA's regulatory action prohibiting specific vape flavors from being sold by these two companies, and the legal issues that the Supreme Court will review in the October 2024 term. What are the implicati...

The panelists will discuss Biden Administration policies and regulations at the DOL and SEC addressing investing based on environmental, social, and governance (or “ESG”) factors; whether they are consistent with statutory law; and whether the agencies followed appropriate administrative processes in promulgating these ever-evolving policies. Moderator: Gregory Jacob, Partner, O'Melveny & Myer...

In this episode of the Fourth Branch Explainer podcast, Prof. Eugene Volokh, from UCLA Law School, and Prof. David Bernstein, from the Antonin Scalia Law School, discuss the features, implications, and possibilities of the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act.

The Regulatory Transparency Project’s Fourth Branch Podcast presents Explainer Episode 68. In this Fourth Branch Explainer podcast, Rachel N. Morrison from the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) discusses the implications of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Regulations recently released. Listen in as Morrison discusses the pros and cons of new rules.

Congress has been working on comprehensive federal data privacy legislation for decades without reaching agreement. But the finish line may be closer today than before. With the recent introduction of the American’s Privacy Rights Act (APRA), the chairs of the Senate and House Commerce Committees announced a bipartisan compromise, hoping to end the legislative stalemate. Our panel of data privacy...

The Regulatory Transparency Project’s Fourth Branch Podcast presents Explainer Episode 67. In this Fourth Branch Explainer podcast, health policy experts Michael Cannon and Christina Sandefur discuss the regulatory landscape of veterans’ benefits, and how veterans’ healthcare impacts American foreign policy. The experts discuss Michael Cannon’s new book &amp...

The Regulatory Transparency Project presents a panel of legal experts, including Bob Eitel, Christian Corrigan, Will Trachman, and Kim Richey. Watch as these experts discuss the Biden Administration’s newly released Title IX Regulations and their implications for educational institutions, school districts, students, faculty, and parents. Join us for this webinar at 1 pm EST on May 8th.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR, held approximately 358 million barrels, its lowest level in forty years. Is that a problem? What is the SPR and how is it supposed to operate? How much petroleum is it supposed to hold? Listen in on the Regulatory Transparency Project's Explainer Episode 66, as expert J. Ke...

In this RTP explainer episode 65, we are joined by Michael Cannon, Director of Health Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, and Christina Sandefur, Executive Vice President of the Goldwater Institute to discuss Michael Cannon’s new book, Recovery. Listen in as these experts consider the role of government agencies like the FDA in health spaces across America. "Recovery" discusses treatments approv...

The Regulatory Transparency Project (RTP) is pleased to host a stellar panel of top labor and employment law experts for a lively discussion in which our panelists will grade the Biden Administration’s administrative, regulatory, and enforcement activity under the Department of Labor (DOL) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). How have these agencies’ approaches to administrative law unde...

Murthy v. Missouri, originally filed as Missouri v. Biden, concerns whether federal government officials had violated the First Amendment by "coercing" or "significantly encouraging" social media companies to remove or demote particular content from their platforms. Multiple individuals, advocacy groups, academics, and some states sued various officials and federal agencies for censoring conservat...

In this episode, Jon Riches and James Sherk discuss fundamental questions related to government labor unions and their impact on public policy. They explore the nuances between public and private unions, their influence on public policy, and the concept of release time – its definition, prevalence across federal, state, and local levels, funding sources, legality, and potential policy re...

On February 20, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The case asks whether a plaintiff’s Administrative Procedure Act (APA) claim “first accrues” under 28 U.S.C. § 2401(a)—the six-year default federal statute of limitations—when an agency issues a rul...

The 2024 super election year has captured the world's attention, with the US elections playing a central role in shaping global politics. Join Kathryn Ciano Mauler and Katie Harbath as they delve into the complexities of worldwide political elections while discussing how to counteract and recognize how these elections will intersect with emerging technologies like AI. Featuring: Kathryn Ciano Maul...

For many years FDA has claimed the authority to regulate Laboratory Developed Tests, that is tests that are designed, produced, and used in a single lab – never being put up for sale. This authority, however, has been contested, and the FDA itself has traditionally practiced “discretionary enforcement,” wherein it has regulated LDTs very little. A change occurred in O...

The approach the FDA has taken to regulating e-cigarettes and vape products, particularly those that are flavored, has been the topic of conversation for some years. Experts debate the best methods for review, risks and benefits involved in such products, and the means by which the FDA reviews such applications. Jeff Stier joined us to discuss a recent Fifth Circuit decision (Wages and White Lion...

What are bias response teams (BRTs)? What role do they play on American college campuses? And how is freedom of speech under the First Amendment involved? In this Fourth Branch Explainer podcast, experts Jonathan Butcher and Jon Riches briefly explain the intellectual foundations of bias response teams, how these systems operate on American college campuses, and how legal protections such as due p...