Advertise on podcast: The Big Dig Presents: Catching The Codfather

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★★★★★

4.8

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1857 reviews

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“This is a town where there are three pastimes: politics, sports and revenge.” Seemingly dry topics become gripping political dramas in this Peabody Award winning show from creator Ian Coss and GBH News. Each season of “The Big Dig” uncovers a different facet of society – infrastructure, gambling, food, healthcare – together the pieces connect to tell the story of modern America. Season One: "The Big Dig" The highway project known as “The Big Dig” is infamous – a shorthand for government failure – but it all started as one engineer’s dream to correct the wrongs of the past, and its legacy is far from simple. Season Two: "Scratch & Win" America’s most successful state lottery – and its greatest innovation, the scratch ticket – all starts with mafia bookmakers and state bureaucrats going toe to toe in a battle to own the future of gambling. Season Three: "Catching The Codfather" A fishing tycoon is arrested in an elaborate sting operation, but claims he’s the real hero fighting back against the state. The first episode drops Wednesday, February 11. --- CREDITS Producer: Isabel Hibbard Story Editor: Lacy Roberts Host & Creator: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Contact us as [email protected]

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Check latest episodes from The Big Dig Presents: Catching The Codfather podcast

Introducing Season Three: Catching The Codfather

2026/02/04

A fishing tycoon is arrested in an elaborate sting operation, but claims he’s the real hero fighting back against an overbearing state. So who is Carlos “The Codfather” Rafael really – a folk hero, a crook, a righteous rebel, a selfish conman? In Season 3 of The Big Dig podcast, “Catching The Codfather,” we go down to the docks. It’s a place where food, work, nature, money and politics all meet – where dreams are born, fortunes ruined, and where the watchful eye of the government is always present. The series traces the rise of Carlos Rafael and his escalating conflict with the government, because to judge the crimes of The Codfather, you also have to judge the whole system that he chose to break. Episode 1 drops February 11. For instant access to the whole season, join The Big Dig membership program. Learn more at wgbh.org/hovlane.

HOV Lane Ahead

2026/01/28

Your official invitation to join The Big Dig membership program. Listen on for details, sign up at wgbh.org/hovlane

The Instant Ticket

2025/01/29

Part 1: It’s 1974, illegal bookies are everywhere and the brand new state lottery is struggling to compete. But a simple piece of paper is about to change the game forever: the nation’s first scratch ticket. --------------------------- Credits: Host and Scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Story Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Jenifer McKim Fact-checkers: Ryan Alderman and Isabel Hibbard Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Project Manager: Meiqian He Graphic Design: Bill Miller

The Lottery Czar

2025/01/29

Part 2: When states got into the gambling business, they wanted the same thing organized crime wanted: money and power. The question now is who in government will get to wield that awesome power? --------------------------- Credits: Host and Scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Story Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Jenifer McKim Fact-checkers: Ryan Alderman and Isabel Hibbard Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Project Manager: Meiqian He Graphic Design: Bill Miller

Have You Played Your Number?

2025/02/05

Part 3: Before the Massachusetts Lottery can claim to be number one, they have to take out the competition. So in 1976 the state lottery challenges organized crime head on by copying their most popular game: 'the numbers.' --------------------------- Credits: Host and Scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Story Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Jenifer McKim Fact-checkers: Ryan Alderman and Isabel Hibbard Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Project Manager: Meiqian He Graphic Design: Bill Miller

The Last Mafia Boss of Boston

2025/02/12

Part 4: The state lottery can’t run the mob out of the numbers business on their own. Luckily they’ve got help from the FBI, who are just launching a daring operation of their own – to bug the headquarters of the Boston mafia. --------------------------- Credits: Host and Scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Story Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Jenifer McKim Fact-checkers: Ryan Alderman and Isabel Hibbard Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Project Manager: Meiqian He Graphic Design: Bill Miller

The Cherry Sheets

2025/02/19

Part 5: The lottery was never just about stopping crime; it was about bringing in money. In 1980, an anti-tax ballot measure throws Massachusetts state finances into chaos, putting new pressure on the lottery to close the gap. --------------------------- Credits: Host and Scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Story Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Jenifer McKim Fact-checkers: Ryan Alderman and Isabel Hibbard Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Project Manager: Meiqian He Graphic Design: Bill Miller

The Game Dreams Are Made Of

2025/02/26

Part 6: The Mass Lottery stumbles when it attempts to launch the nation’s first ‘lotto’ game. But that failure soon becomes an opportunity – and a national craze – when Treasurer Bob Crane brings in a new agency to take over the state’s marketing efforts. --------------------------- Credits: Host and Scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Story Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Jenifer McKim Fact-checkers: Ryan Alderman and Isabel Hibbard Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Project Manager: Meiqian He Graphic Design: Bill Miller

The Dirtiest Race in the Commonwealth

2025/03/05

Part 7: By 1986 Treasurer Bob Crane has turned the lottery into the most successful operation of its kind, but now he’s in the fight of his political life with a challenger who says he’s the real crook. To cement his legacy he will have to win one last election, and it’s a dirty one. --------------------------- Credits: Host and Scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Story Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Jenifer McKim Fact-checkers: Ryan Alderman and Isabel Hibbard Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Project Manager: Meiqian He Graphic Design: Bill Miller

The Other Massachusetts Miracle

2025/03/12

Part 8: Most lottery games follow a predictable life cycle: a burst of interest followed by a long decline. But something else happened with the scratch ticket, and it changed how every lottery in the country operates. --------------------------- Credits: Host an Scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Story Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Jenifer McKim Fact-checkers: Ryan Alderman and Isabel Hibbard Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Project Manager: Meiqian He Graphic Design: Bill Miller

Why does sports betting feel different?

2025/03/19

Lotteries are part of a long trend toward more and more legal gambling: bingo helped open the door for lotteries, just as lotteries helped open the door for casinos. And by that logic, sports betting is just the latest addition to the trend. So why does it feel so different? In the first of three interview episodes expanding on themes from the series, host Ian Coss speaks with gambling historian Jonathan Cohen about why this expansion of legal gambling is unlike anything that came before it. Cohen’s new book "Losing Big: America’s Reckless Bet on Sports Gambling” is out April 1st, 2025.

Should we be nostalgic for machine politics?

2025/03/26

There’s a lot of talk lately about patronage politics returning to Washington – a system based on loyalty, relationships, favors and transactions – but this kind of system is not new. Patronage was once the beating heart of the Democratic Party, and of course, the Massachusetts state lottery. So what changed? How did the party of patronage become the party of technocrats? In this second interview episode, host Ian Coss speaks with historian Lily Geismer, co-editor of a new book about the evolution of the Democratic Party: “Mastery and Drift: Professional Class Liberals Since 1960.”

Why do some parts of government work better than others?

2025/04/02

This podcast has featured two stories about government endeavors: the much-criticized infrastructure project known as ‘The Big Dig,’ and of course the wildly successful state lottery. So why do these two stories play out so differently? In the final interview episode for this season, host Ian Coss speaks with Marc Dunkelman, a research fellow at Brown University, about why some parts of government draw intense scrutiny while others run quietly in the background. Dunkelman’s new book is "Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress -- and How to Bring It Back."

How to sue the government, and win

2025/04/09

Last week, we heard about a movement to challenge the authority of government agencies and push power down to the people. This week, the story of a central figure in that movement: Ralph Nader. This episode comes from NPR’s Throughline, co-hosted by Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei.

Introducing: Scratch & Win

2025/01/22

Legal gambling is everywhere. But how did it get like this? And why can't we fully embrace it? "Scratch & Win" looks for answers in the unlikely story of America's most successful lottery, and the charismatic state treasurer who was determined to beat the mob at their own game. --------------------------- Credits: Host and Scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Story Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Jenifer McKim Fact-checkers: Ryan Alderman and Isabel Hibbard Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Project Manager: Meiqian He Graphic Design: Bill Miller

Podcast reviews

Read The Big Dig Presents: Catching The Codfather podcast reviews

4.8 out of 5

1857 reviews

★★★★★

Midwestern Michael 2026/01/26

Great long-form storytelling

Really thoughtful well done stories on how government works and does not. And greet Boston flavor. I miss Boston.

★★★★★

stevedechips 2025/11/24

new favorite podcast

so interesting - I’ve been telling everyone to listen! Can’t wait for season 3

★★★★★

DBBest 2025/11/17

Modern history

What a great show! The research and story telling is impeccable. I love the journey this took me on and everything I learned.

★★★★★

J756833 2025/11/11

Essential listening for anyone living in Boston

Absolutely astounding podcast, storytelling, and essential history for anyone in Boston.

★★★★★

1 & 2 in 2018 2025/10/31

So fun!

Excited to listen to season one!

★★★★★

Randy from Delaware 2025/10/21

Excellent podcast even if you never lived in New England

Both seasons were outstanding! I couldn't wait until the next episode. Fantastic production values. You made me love you!

★★★★★

katieeefrankooo 2025/10/08

Can’t wait for the next season!

Both seasons are so well-edited, well-researched, and engaging. The storytelling makes subjects that could be perceived as dry into deep dives into th...

★★★★★

Slslslslsl 2025/09/30

Wonderful

Amazing research and great presentation. Engaging as could be.

★★★★★

Moochonski 2025/09/29

Riveting

Even though I lived through these times, I learned so much from listening to both seasons. Looking forward to the next season.

★★★★★

torreswannabe 2025/09/24

More Solid, Entertaining Reporting about Massachusetts

I love both seasons for being high-quality and important for MA residents to know about. Good pacing, good characters, great stories.