The Big Dig Presents: Catching The Codfather - podcast cover

The Big Dig Presents: Catching The Codfather

GBH News www.wgbh.org

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. 


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“This is a town where there are three pastimes: politics, sports and revenge.” The town is Boston.


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.



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CREDITS:

Host & Creator: Ian Coss

Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins

Producer: Isabel Hibbard

Story Editor: Lacy Roberts 

Contact us as thebigdig@wgbh.org

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Episodes

The Big Dig | 7. The Turnpike Revolt

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 ...

Nov 01, 202357 minSeason 1Ep. 7

The Big Dig | 6. The Up Down Charts

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 ...

Oct 25, 202350 minSeason 1Ep. 6

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

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 Scorin...

Oct 18, 202354 minSeason 1Ep. 5

The Big Dig | 4. The Double Cross

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...

Oct 11, 202356 minSeason 1Ep. 4

The Big Dig | 3. All Politics is Local

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: Meiq...

Oct 04, 202354 minSeason 1Ep. 3

The Big Dig | 2. Unholy Alliance

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 Proj...

Sep 27, 202352 minSeason 1Ep. 2

The Big Dig | 1. We Were Wrong

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 W...

Sep 27, 202354 minSeason 1Ep. 1

Introducing Season One: The Big Dig

Can America still do big things? Can we build the ambitious projects we will need to survive climate change and improve our cities? This 9-part series looks for clues in the story of the Big Dig – one of the most notoriously troubled infrastructure projects in American history. The nine episode series is produced by GBH News. Credits: Host and scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Stephanie ...

Sep 13, 20235 min
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