Decoder Ring

The Scratch-Off Ticket’s Instant Win


Listen Later

You may never have thought very hard about scratch-off tickets, but that’s part of their power. They’re a form of gambling that’s simply a pedestrian part of American life. But not so long ago, they were risky and innovative, the killer app of their time and the must-play game of the state lottery. In this episode, Ian Coss, host of the new podcast series Scratch & Win, is going to walk us through the history of the scratch-off ticket: its invention, its popularization, and its connection to the explosion in gambling that’s now all around us. 

This episode of Decoder Ring was produced by Katie Shepherd. Decoder Ring is also produced by Willa Paskin, Evan Chung and Max Freedman. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.

Scratch & Win is a production of GBH News. It is produced by Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss and edited by Lacy Roberts. Its editorial supervisor is Jenifer McKim with support from Ryan Alderman. Mei Lei is the project manager, and the Executive Producer is Devin Maverick Robins.

If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, please email us at [email protected]. And you can also now call us at our Decoder Ring hotline — that number is 347-460-7281. We love hearing your ideas, and we especially enjoyed all the messages we got about our last episode on the ’90s swing craze. Keep ‘em coming! And even better, tell your friends to check us out.

Want more Decoder Ring? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the Decoder Ring show page. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus to get access wherever you listen.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Decoder RingBy Slate Podcasts

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

1,947 ratings


More shows like Decoder Ring

View all
Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,786 Listeners

This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

90,766 Listeners

Slate Culture by Slate Podcasts

Slate Culture

1,879 Listeners

Hang Up and Listen by Slate Podcasts

Hang Up and Listen

989 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,167 Listeners

Slate Debates by Slate Podcasts

Slate Debates

2,854 Listeners

Care and Feeding | Slate's parenting show by Slate Podcasts

Care and Feeding | Slate's parenting show

1,016 Listeners

Death, Sex & Money by Slate Podcasts

Death, Sex & Money

7,716 Listeners

Slate Money by Slate Podcasts

Slate Money

1,011 Listeners

Whistlestop: Presidential History and Trivia by Slate Podcasts

Whistlestop: Presidential History and Trivia

1,380 Listeners

Slate News by Slate Podcasts

Slate News

5,656 Listeners

Sidedoor by Smithsonian Institution

Sidedoor

2,179 Listeners

Twenty Thousand Hertz by Dallas Taylor

Twenty Thousand Hertz

3,912 Listeners

Slate Health by Slate Podcasts

Slate Health

54 Listeners

Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia by Slate Podcasts

Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia

2,030 Listeners

What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future by Slate Podcasts

What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future

240 Listeners

Slow Burn by Slate Podcasts

Slow Burn

23,940 Listeners

Endless Thread by WBUR

Endless Thread

2,663 Listeners

You're Wrong About by Sarah Marshall

You're Wrong About

21,572 Listeners

Slate Presents: One Year by Slate Podcasts

Slate Presents: One Year

1,285 Listeners

American Hysteria by chelsey weber-smith

American Hysteria

3,174 Listeners

Articles of Interest by Avery Trufelman

Articles of Interest

3,302 Listeners

One Year by Slate Podcasts

One Year

1,188 Listeners

Culture Gabfest by Slate Podcasts

Culture Gabfest

412 Listeners

You Are Good by Sarah Marshall + Alex Steed

You Are Good

2,600 Listeners

Maintenance Phase by Aubrey Gordon & Michael Hobbes

Maintenance Phase

16,099 Listeners

Search Engine by PJ Vogt

Search Engine

4,019 Listeners

If Books Could Kill by Michael Hobbes & Peter Shamshiri

If Books Could Kill

8,625 Listeners

Hear Me Out by Slate Podcasts

Hear Me Out

59 Listeners

Well, Now by Slate Podcasts

Well, Now

46 Listeners

Navel Gazing by John Dickerson

Navel Gazing

94 Listeners

Hyperfixed by Hyperfixed & Radiotopia

Hyperfixed

530 Listeners

The Law According to Trump by Slate Podcasts

The Law According to Trump

5 Listeners

Standoff: What Happened at Ruby Ridge? by Slate Podcasts

Standoff: What Happened at Ruby Ridge?

9 Listeners