When federal agents first meet with Carlos Rafael, the fishing mogul offers up a tantalizing clue: a special system for ‘painting fish.’ It’s the key to understanding the entire fraud, and why Carlos is the only one who could pull it off.

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

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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

Intern: Fiona Boyd 

Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss

Graphic Design: Bill Miller

A new regulatory system is meant to end overfishing, but Carlos Rafael exploits it to accumulate even more boats and power – drawing resentment from other fishermen, and attention from the feds. 

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

---------------------------

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

Intern: Fiona Boyd 

Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss

Graphic Design: Bill Miller

The west has cowboys, the east has fishermen – it's a job defined by freedom and self-reliance. But in 1991 a contentious lawsuit forces the government to step in, setting Carlos Rafael and the regulators on a collision course.

You can watch the full film of “A Fish Story” on YouTube. 

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

---------------------------

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

Intern: Fiona Boyd

Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss

Graphic Design: Bill Miller

How did Carlos Rafael become “The Codfather”? It starts in the 1980s, when a bitter strike divides the city of New Bedford and its famed fishing fleet. But Carlos manages to turn the strike to his advantage.

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

---------------------------

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

Intern: Fiona Boyd 

Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss

Graphic Design: Bill Miller

Every American city is divided by crumbling old highways. Every city is trying to figure out what to do with them. Join us live in 10 American cities for The Big Dig “Highway Teardown Tour.” Details at wgbh.org/bigdiglive. 

Carlos “The Codfather” Rafael dominates the most valuable fishing port in the United States, and no one is quite sure how he did it. But in 2015, when undercover federal agents offer to buy his business, Carlos opens his books.

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

---------------------------

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

Intern: Fiona Boyd 

Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss

Graphic Design: Bill Miller

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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Sign up for our mailing list at: wgbh.org/thebigdig

Email us at: [email protected]

*LIVE EVENT* in Seattle, WA: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-big-dig-and-booming-podcasts-where-our-roads-go-next-tickets-1665207834459

*LIVE EVENT* in Portland, OR: https://literary-arts.org/event/opb-the-big-dig/

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."