The Big Dig Season 4: Mitt & Ted, a healthcare story

The controversial centerpiece of the Affordable Care Act – the requirement for all Americans to purchase health insurance – began its strange political journey at the conservative Heritage Foundation. In deep blue Massachusetts the mandate was considered a fringe idea, until it lands on Governor Romney’s desk. 

After their bruising senate campaign, Kennedy and Romney reunite for a mission to lobby the Bush administration. At stake: more than a billion dollars of federal money that is propping up the state’s entire healthcare system. 

In the midst of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon reaches out to his rival Ted Kennedy and offers him a deal – a one time chance to reshape American healthcare, which might also save Nixon’s doomed presidency. Will the young senator take the deal?

Mitt Romney’s first political campaign was not for president or governor; it was for the U.S. Senate, and it was against Ted Kennedy. Early on the challenger looks unstoppable – handsome, eloquent, moderate – then the Kennedy camp starts digging into Romney’s past. 

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Special thanks to FRONTLINE for archival sound from The Long March of Newt Gingrich & The Health Care Gamble. 

Healthcare is the problem American politics cannot solve. It’s the subject of screaming matches at town halls, the cause of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, the justification for political assassination in cold blood. But how did our most basic need become such a divisive issue?

In Season Four of The Big Dig podcast, "Mitt & Ted", we tell the origin story of national healthcare reform. Mitt Romney and Ted Kennedy began their political journeys on opposite sides of the issue, and they ended once again on opposite sides, but for a brief period in the middle they worked together to pass a groundbreaking law – one that promised to finally transform the politics of American healthcare – the law known as Romneycare. So, what brought this odd couple together and what ultimately pulled them apart?

For early access to episodes, join The Big Dig membership program. Learn more at wgbh.org/hovlane. 

September 11th changed the world forever; but in particular, it changed airports. In this special episode of The Big Dig, we go inside the world of Logan Airport – the place where the 9/11 attacks began – to tell the story of how that day unfolded, and how it transformed everything from security screening and terminal design, to restaurants, lounges, and luxury boutiques. 

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

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. 

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 Cook

Recorded live at the MIT Museum

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 Lewis

Recorded live with Globe Rhode Island at CIC Providence

Hear the full Washington Bridge Blues playlist here