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.

For instant access to the whole season, join The Big Dig membership program. Learn more at wgbh.org/hovlane. 

Major sponsorship for Catching The Codfather is provided by Roger’s Fish Co.

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

NEW name. NEW art. NEW season. NEW events. NEW mailing list. Listen for all the updates and a preview of what's to come. 

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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. 

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."

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.”

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.

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

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

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