The Big Dig
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 Boston’s Big Dig. Infamous for its ever-increasing price tag, this massive highway tunneling effort became a symbol of waste and corruption. Yet the project delivered on its promise to transform the city. So how did the narrative go so horribly wrong? And what lessons can the Big Dig offer for the ambitious projects of today?
This nine-episode series is produced by GBH News and hosted by Ian Coss. New episodes come out every Wednesday. Listen below and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.
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How do these things all connect: Wu-Tang Clan, Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump, and the largest garbage dump in the world? That story is the subject of a new series from the podcast Revisionist History called “The Staten Island Problem.” The series reconstructs the largest secession movement in the U.S. since the Civil War – how it nearly tore New York City apart, and how it foreshadows the politics of today. We bring you the first episode of the series: “The Mayor vs. the Borough President.” Find more episodes of Revisionist History: The Staten Island Problem wherever you get podcasts.Link: lnk.to/SIPDig
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Our show now has three seasons in the feed, and it just dawned on Ian that every topic we’ve covered also happens to be a rich topic in American song: highways, gambling, and fishing. So today we share a special playlist curated by singer, songwriter and record collector Eli "Paperboy" Reed.Hear the full playlist here. Pre order 'Getting There' by Eli "Paperboy" Reed here.
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The Big Dig in Boston was a fluke, a unicorn, something we may never see again. But there are simpler and cheaper ways to rethink our urban highways – Providence, RI tried one. Guests: Edward Fitzpatrick, Zack Cunha, Mike LewisRecorded live with Globe Rhode Island at CIC ProvidenceHear the full Washington Bridge Blues playlist here
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The final chapter of the Big Dig story is what happened to the land after the highway was gone. Like the rest of the project, it was messy, and other cities would be wise to learn from it. Guests: Stephanie Pollack, Chris CookRecorded live at the MIT Museum
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Even as cities try to heal the damage of the interstate era, we are also continuing to expand our urban highways, continuing to turn parks and neighborhoods into new lanes and new off-ramps. So why is it so hard to stop?Guests: Inga Saffron, Daniel Pearson, Leslie RichardsRecorded at The Pen & Pencil Club with support from Miles Bryan and Tom Grahsler
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This episode is about a very different kind of teardown – one that came suddenly, tragically, and without warning. But within this utterly unique story there are some universal questions about how we build for the present and the future.Guests: Johnny Olszewski, Samantha Biddle, Wambui Kamau, Arkia Wade, Klaus PhilipsenRecorded live with WYPR at the Baltimore Museum of Industry.
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In the stories we tell about public works, there is a constant bias towards the projects that actually happened, but it’s the apparently ‘failed’ projects that can often teach us the most. Guests: Marcus Green, Tyler Allen, Ken HerndonRecorded live with LPM at the LPM Performance Studio.
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The anti-highway movement, like any movement, has always been a coalition. Different people with different backgrounds and different interests finding a common cause. But sometimes the coalition cracks. Guests: Lillian Karabaic, Shawn Granton, Sharon Gary-Smith, Chris SmithRecorded live with Oregon Public Broadcasting at Literary Arts in East Portland.
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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 VasquezRecorded live with KUOW at the Seattle Public Library.Archival audio courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives
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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 SiegelRecorded live at the KUT Festival in Austin, TX.
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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 MayerRecorded live at the WXXI studios in Rochester, NY.
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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 DriscollRecorded live in partnership with WRVO and the Syracuse Museum of Science and Technology.