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

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 Richards

Recorded at The Pen & Pencil Club with support from Miles Bryan and Tom Grahsler

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 Philipsen

Recorded live with WYPR at the Baltimore Museum of Industry.

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 Herndon

Recorded live with LPM at the LPM Performance Studio.

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 Smith

Recorded live with Oregon Public Broadcasting at Literary Arts in East Portland. 

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 Vasquez

Recorded live with KUOW at the Seattle Public Library.

Archival audio courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives