

RTP's Fourth Branch Podcast
The Federalist Society
The Regulatory Transparency Project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan effort dedicated to fostering discussion and a better understanding of regulatory policies. On RTP’s Fourth Branch Podcast, leading experts discuss the pros and cons of government regulations and explain how they affect everyday life for Americans.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 20, 2019 • 13min
Explainer Episode 10 – Did Harvard Admissions Discriminate Against Asians?
In Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Harvard, it is alleged that Harvard admissions discriminated against Asian applicants. In this episode, Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Wen Fa discusses the case, the legal context in which the case was brought, and the case’s potential implications.Featuring:Wen Fa, Attorney, Pacific Legal FoundationVisit our website – RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

Dec 19, 2019 • 1h 33min
Deep Dive 84 – What's Next for Fannie, Freddie, and Housing Finance Reform?
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) oversees the administration of both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. What's next for the agency? What are the priorities that the agency should be pursuing? This episode features remarks from FHFA Director Mark Calabria and a discussion of the issues with reform by our panelists.Featuring:- Mark Calabria, Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency- Edward Pinto, Resident Fellow and Director, AEI Housing Center, American Enterprise Institute- Peter Wallison, Senior Fellow, Arthur F. Burns Fellow in Financial Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute- [Moderator] Alex J. Pollock, Principal Deputy Director, Office of Financial Research, U.S. Department of TreasuryVisit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

Dec 17, 2019 • 34min
Tech Roundup 5 – Section 230
In this episode, experts discuss Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects platforms from liability for the content produced by users. Some legislators have recently floated the idea of enforcing 'platform neutrality' in a way that, according to critics, threatens the sort of free speech Section 230 is meant to protect. The experts featured in this episode have a lively discussion on these and other topics.Featuring:- Diane Katz, Senior Research Fellow in Regulatory Policy, The Heritage Foundation- Jeff Kosseff, Assistant Professor of Cybersecurity Law, United States Naval Academy- [Moderator] Ashkhen Kazaryan, Director of Civil Liberties, TechFreedomVisit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

Dec 12, 2019 • 20min
Explainer 9 – Biometric Information Privacy Act
This episode explores the implications of private rights of action under laws like Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act. Are the parameters around these private rights of action too vague and susceptible to abuse? Experts discuss this question and more.Featuring:- Ashley Baker, Director of Public Policy, Committee for Justice- Jennifer Huddleston, Research Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason UniversityVisit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

Dec 5, 2019 • 36min
Explainer 8 – The Community Reinvestment Act
Passed in 1977, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was intended to encourage banks and other financial institutions to lend to lower-income individuals in their communities. Has the CRA succeeded in this goal or is there room for improvement? Aaron Klein and Diego Zuluaga weigh in on this important question.Featuring:- Aaron Klein, Fellow in Economic Studies and Policy Director, Center on Regulation and Markets, Brookings Institution- Diego Zuluaga, Policy Analyst, Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, Cato InstituteAdditional Resources:- "The Community Reinvestment Act in the Age of Fintech and Bank Competition" (https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/community-reinvestment-act-age-fintech-bank-competition)- "Bank-like credit unions should follow bank rules" (https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/bank-like-credit-unions-should-follow-bank-rules/)- "A tool meant to help minorities buy homes is instead speeding up gentrification in D.C." (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/local-opinions/a-tool-that-helps-minorities-buy-homes-is-speeding-up-gentrification-in-the-district/2019/08/09/10c08366-a744-11e9-9214-246e594de5d5_story.html)Visit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

Nov 26, 2019 • 45min
Deep Dive 83 – Medicare for All
In this episode, Roger Klein and Adam Broad debate the merits of the increasingly prominent "Medicare for All" proposal for healthcare. The discussion is moderated by Courtney Hughes.Featuring:- Roger Klein, Faculty Fellow, Center for Law, Science & Innovation at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University- Adam Broad, Organizer, Illinois Single Payer Coalition- [Moderator] Courtney Hughes, Associate Professor, Northern Illinois University’s College of Health and Human SciencesVisit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

Nov 18, 2019 • 24min
Explainer Episode 7 – Carpenter v. United States
In this episode, Ashley Baker and Jennifer Huddleston discuss the implications of the famous privacy case, in which the Supreme Court decided that the warrant-less seizure of the plaintiff's cell phone records violated his Fourth Amendment rights.Featuring:Ashley Baker, Director of Public Policy, Committee for JusticeJennifer Huddleston, Research Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason UniversityVisit our website – RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

Nov 13, 2019 • 20min
Explainer 6 – Regulating Biometric Access Technologies
With emerging debates around facial recognition technology, the issue of regulating biometric access technologies has become more prominent. San Francisco, notably, has banned government use of facial recognition, and states like Illinois and Texas have also begun more aggressive regulations on biometrics. The implications of these technologies for civil rights and the rules to limit their use are explored and explained in this podcast.Featuring:- Ashley Baker, Director of Public Policy, Committee for Justice- Jennifer Huddleston, Research Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason UniversityVisit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

Nov 12, 2019 • 53min
Deep Dive Episode 82 – A Preview of County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund
The oral argument for County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund was heard before the Supreme Court on November 6, 2019. The issue at hand is: "Whether the Clean Water Act requires a permit when pollutants originate from a point source but are conveyed to navigable waters by a nonpoint source, such as groundwater." This teleforum previews the major issues of the case. Featuring:Brianne Gorod, Chief Counsel, Constitutional Accountability CenterGlenn E. Roper, Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation[Moderator] Prof. Donald Kochan, Parker S. Kennedy Professor in Law, Chapman UniversityVisit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

Nov 8, 2019 • 58min
Deep Dive 81 – Vertical Integration in Broadcasting: A Cause for Concern?
The broadcasting market used to be straightforward. It functioned on a linear model consisting of content companies, distribution channels and audiences. The advent of the internet disrupted that model, placing new competitive pressures on traditional players and forcing them to rethink their strategy.Vertical integration – the common ownership or control of both programming and distribution undertakings – has been hailed as a useful strategy for legacy broadcasters to survive in the new digital environment. Regulators and the courts, to a large extent, have endorsed this rationale. Earlier this year, AT&T fended off an antitrust challenge to its merger with Time Warner, successfully claiming that the merger was necessary to take on platforms such as Netflix, Facebook and Google.Has vertical integration succeeded in making the broadcasting sector more innovative and competitive? Are additional regulatory safeguards necessary to prevent and sanction anti-competitive conduct? What can the United States learn from Canada, a broadcasting market with higher levels of vertical integration and cross-media ownership?Featuring:- Brad Danks, Chief Executive Officer, OUTtve Lee, - Will Rinehart, Director of Technology and Innovation Policy, American Action Forum- [Moderator] Paul Beaudry, Director of Broadband Policy and Regulatory Affairs, TELUS Communications Inc.Visit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.


