Advertise on podcast: The Big Dig

Rating

★★★★★

4.9

from

181 reviews

Description

There is a cynicism that hangs over the topic of American infrastructure – whether it’s high-speed rail or off-shore wind – it feels like this country can’t build big things anymore. No one project embodies that cynicism quite like what Bostonians call ‘The Big Dig.’ Infamous for its ever-increasing price tag, this massive highway tunneling effort was once ridiculed as the Big Mess, the Big Hole, the Big Pig, the Big Lie. But now, decades later the story looks more complicated. So how did the narrative around this project go so horribly wrong? And what lessons can it offer for the ambitious projects of today? The nine episode series is produced by GBH News in partnership with PRX.

Unlock The Big Dig podcast Email contact info,
Listeners & Audience details

Email contact information

Direct podcast contact details

Listeners

Audience numbers & engagement insights

Audience details

Podcast Insights

Podcast episodes

Check latest episodes from The Big Dig podcast

Highway Teardown Tour | 5. Seattle, WA

2026/06/17

There is exactly one other American city crazy enough to attempt anything like what Boston did with The Big Dig. That city is Seattle, and they are not done tearing down highways. Guests: Joshua McNichols, Greg Nickels, Cayce James, José Manuel Vasquez Recorded live with KUOW at the Seattle Public Library. Archival audio courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives

Highway Teardown Tour | 4. Austin, TX

2026/06/10

How did the Austin City Council find themselves locked in a ‘death match’ over what to do about Interstate 35? Two councilors and two journalists talk through the fraught politics of so-called highway caps. Guests: Megan Kimble, Nathan Bernier, José “Chito” Vela, Mike Siegel Recorded live at the KUT Festival in Austin, TX.

Highway Teardown Tour | 3. Rochester, NY

2026/06/03

Once the highway is gone, can the divisions these structures created actually be healed? Can the people on either side become neighbors again? Rochester, NY is trying to answer that question. Guests: Erik Frisch, Brian Sharp, Shawn Dunwoody, Suzanne Mayer Recorded live at the WXXI studios in Rochester, NY.

Highway Teardown Tour | 2. Syracuse, NY

2026/05/27

Is it possible to re-write the Interstate map and send highways around cities instead of through them? Syracuse, NY is doing just that. Guests: Marie Therese Dominguez, Lanessa Owens-Chaplin, Joe Driscoll Recorded live in partnership with WRVO and the Syracuse Museum of Science and Technology.

Highway Teardown Tour | 1. New York, NY

2026/05/20

What to do with the BQE? It’s a one of a kind highway in desperate need of repair, but no one can agree how to fix it. Guests: Polly Trottenberg, Lara Birnback, Stephen Nessen Recorded live at WNYC’s Greenspace. Archival audio courtesy of Municipal Archives, City of New York.

Highway Teardown Tour | Enter Here

2026/05/20

Every American city is divided by crumbling old highways. Every city is trying to figure out what to do with them. But even if the problems with these structures are obvious, the solutions are not – often they are contentious. Welcome to The Big Dig Highway Teardown Tour.

The Big Dig | 9. Hearts and Minds

2023/11/15

Part 9: It’s been fifty years since the Big Dig was first conceived, thirty years since construction began, more than a dozen years since it was completed – and the final twist is: the project has largely delivered on its promises. How do we reconcile that reality with the scandal and outrage we’ve heard so much about? Credits: Host and scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Stephanie Leydon Fact Checker: Lisa Wardle Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Project Manager: Meiqian He

The Big Dig | 8. I Want Justice for What Happened

2023/11/08

Part 8: Just as the project turns the corner towards completion, its entire legacy becomes clouded. The tunnels are leaking, concrete suppliers are being arrested, and everyday drivers are forced to wonder: are these tunnels safe? Credits: Host and scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Stephanie Leydon Fact Checker: Lisa Wardle Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Project Manager: Meiqian He

The Big Dig | 7. The Turnpike Revolt

2023/11/01

Part 7: By the year 2000, the Big Dig has passed through many hands, but in its final years a power struggle spills into public view – over who will determine the project’s fate, and who will take responsibility for its mistakes. Credits: Host and scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Stephanie Leydon Fact Checker: Lisa Wardle Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Project Manager: Meiqian He

The Big Dig | 6. The Up Down Charts

2023/10/25

Part 6: As work progresses through the 1990s and the tunnels take shape, the true cost of the Big Dig remains unknown to the public, until a series of revelations pulls down the curtain and shakes confidence in the whole project. Credits: Host and scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Stephanie Leydon Fact Checker: Lisa Wardle Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Project Manager: Meiqian He

The Big Dig | 5. Hatchet Man vs. the 800 Pound Gorilla

2023/10/18

Part 5: In 1991, the Big Dig is handed off to a new leader – the brash, aggressive, hatchet-toting Jim Kerasiotes – who makes it clear he plans to shake things up. The one thing he can’t shake is the equally aggressive private company managing the project. Now they have to work together. Credits: Host and scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Stephanie Leydon Fact Checker: Lisa Wardle Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Project Manager: Meiqian He

The Big Dig | 4. The Double Cross

2023/10/11

Part 4: The project faces an unexpected challenge on the home front: resistance from local environmentalists and residents – the very people the Big Dig was intended to please. Now, they say that Fred Salvucci has lost his way. Credits: Host and scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Stephanie Leydon Fact Checker: Lisa Wardle Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Project Manager: Meiqian He

The Big Dig | 3. All Politics is Local

2023/10/04

Part 3: The Big Dig needs federal funding. House Speaker Tip O’Neill is determined to get it; President Ronald Reagan is determined to stop it – setting up a final showdown in one of the great political rivalries of the 20th century. Credits: Host and scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Stephanie Leydon Fact Checker: Lisa Wardle Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Project Manager: Meiqian He

The Big Dig | 2. Unholy Alliance

2023/09/27

Part 2: In the early 1970s a radical idea took shape: tearing down Boston’s elevated downtown highway, and rebuilding it underground. But making it happen will require a grand bargain between two competing tunnel projects, and between bitter enemies. Credits: Host and scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Stephanie Leydon Fact Checker: Lisa Wardle Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Project Manager: Meiqian He

The Big Dig | 1. We Were Wrong

2023/09/27

Part 1: There is a strange irony behind the Big Dig: the most expensive highway project ever built in America began with a man who hated highways. This is the story of Fred Salvucci’s journey into activism, during what is perhaps the most transformative anti-highway movement in the nation’s history. Credits: Host and scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Stephanie Leydon Fact Checker: Lisa Wardle Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Project Manager: Meiqian He

Podcast reviews

Read The Big Dig podcast reviews

4.9 out of 5

181 reviews

★★★★★

Hiker23416 2026/10/21

It’s a must listen

Season 1 and season 4 are amazing. You have to listen to this! This podcast tells a story that you don’t want to end.

★★★★★

Picky and smart 2026/09/24

Fascinating for anyone not just highway aficionados

Season one is a super story that looks at the decades-long process of fixing a highway in Boston. Multiple points of view are considered which gives ...

★★★★★

Margenbe 2026/06/15

A surprisingly human story of roads

A hopeful and thoughtful look at the challenges and opportunities of our shared life.

★★★★★

J@FM 2026/06/06

Very Informative and Well Balanced- Highly Recommended!

Ian Coss does a superb job explaining significant historical events/times and putting them in context

★★★★★

fixit210 2026/05/25

Great informative view and reporting

The big dig series Was done without that political feel felt more historical and informative. Great job Ian. I hope you get an award for what you do.

★★★★★

JackStraw58 2026/05/03

Outstanding

I worked in Massachusetts finance during these years. Ian did an amazing job reconstructing the history and telling the story of the Big Dig in a ve...

★★★★★

cbmactham 2026/05/03

Local politicians this is a MUST listen 📢

Episodes 1-3 were especially resonant as a local politician. It reminded me why we should try to do big things & think big! The storytelling in every ...

★★★★★

Monte in MT 2026/04/22

Amazing Storytelling

Ian Coss is a New England treasure. THANK YOU for this podcast. Terrific historical journalism; amazing storytelling. Every episode is pinpoint perfec...

★★★★★

ltrain100 2026/04/09

The more you hear the more you want to know

Amazing presentation of all the competing interests and people associated with the Big Dig. Looking at the Greenwat now you’d never know!!! It looks l...

★★★★★

mmannetta 2026/02/28

Great

This was very interesting and informative. You should do something similar with the MBTA next

check all reviews on apple podcasts