The Big Dig podcast artwork
History

The Big Dig

by GBH News

Today: #176 in History on our combined chart.

Share this ranking Claiming needs an RSS feed. Contact us.
Listen on Apple PodcastsOvercast

Chart positions today

History
#176 New on this chart
#167 Pulse 3

If you like The Big Dig, try…

Lore podcast artwork
Lore
Aaron Mahnke

Ranking history

History builds daily. We started tracking this show on the History chart recently, so the trend line appears after a second day of data.
View as table
DateApple Podcasts
Oct 3#167

About the show

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.

Latest episodes

  • Highway Teardown Tour | 2. Syracuse, NY

    May 27, 2026 · 48 min

    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…

  • Highway Teardown Tour | 1. New York, NY

    May 20, 2026 · 52 min

    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…

  • Highway Teardown Tour | Enter Here

    May 20, 2026 · 7 min

    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 | 9. Hearts and Minds

    November 15, 2023 · 38 min

    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…

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

    November 8, 2023 · 57 min

    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…

  • The Big Dig | 7. The Turnpike Revolt

    November 1, 2023 · 57 min

    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…

  • The Big Dig | 6. The Up Down Charts

    October 25, 2023 · 50 min

    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…

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

    October 18, 2023 · 54 min

    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…