Scratch & Win podcast

Scratch & Win

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  GBH News  

Never in American history has it been so easy to gamble, legally at least. We’ve got casinos, sports betting, online poker, keno — but it was all made possible by state lotteries, which brought gambling out of the shadows and into the public square — into the government itself.  “Scratch & Win” follows the unlikely rise of America’s most successful lottery. We begin in 1970s Boston, with state bureaucrats going toe to toe with mafia bookmakers, and each other, as they struggle to launch the state's greatest innovation: the scratch ticket. But the story reaches all the way to the present moment. How do we feel about the gambling industry that lotteries helped summon into being? And should the state be in this business at all?  “Scratch & Win” is made by the Peabody Award-winning team behind “The Big Dig,” produced by GBH News and distributed by PRX. --------------------------- Credits: Host and scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Story Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Jen McKim Fact Checkers: Ryan Alderman and Isabel Hibbard Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Graphic Design: Bill Miller Project Manager: Meiqian He

Never in American history has it been so easy to gamble, legally at least. We’ve got casinos, sports betting, online poker, keno — but it was all made possible by state lotteries, which brought gambling out of the shadows and into the public square — into the government itself.  “Scratch & Win” follows the unlikely rise of America’s most successful lottery. We begin in 1970s Boston, with state bureaucrats going toe to toe with mafia bookmakers, and each other, as they struggle to launch the state's greatest innovation: the scratch ticket. But the story reaches all the way to the present moment. How do we feel about the gambling industry that lotteries helped summon into being? And should the state be in this business at all?  “Scratch & Win” is made by the Peabody Award-winning team behind “The Big Dig,” produced by GBH News and distributed by PRX. --------------------------- Credits: Host and scriptwriter: Ian Coss Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss Story Editor: Lacy Roberts Editorial Advisor: Jen McKim Fact Checkers: Ryan Alderman and Isabel Hibbard Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss Graphic Design: Bill Miller Project Manager: Meiqian He

 

#17

Part 5: The Cherry Sheets

The lottery was never just about stopping crime; it was about bringing in money. In 1980, ... more

19 Feb 2025

56 MINS

56:02

19 Feb 2025


#16

Part 4: The Last Mafia Boss of Boston

The state lottery can’t run the mob out of the numbers business on their own. Luckily they... more

12 Feb 2025

43 MINS

43:48

12 Feb 2025


#15

Part 3: Have You Played Your Number?

Before the Massachusetts Lottery can claim to be number one, they have to take out the com... more

05 Feb 2025

50 MINS

50:52

05 Feb 2025


#14

Part 2: The Lottery Czar

When states got into the gambling business, they wanted the same thing organized crime wan... more

29 Jan 2025

56 MINS

56:50

29 Jan 2025


#13

Part 1: The Instant Ticket

It’s 1974, illegal bookies are everywhere and the brand new state lottery is struggling to... more

29 Jan 2025

49 MINS

49:36

29 Jan 2025


#12

Introducing: Scratch & Win

Legal gambling is everywhere. But how did it get like this? And why can't we fully embrace... more

22 Jan 2025

04 MINS

04:02

22 Jan 2025


#11

A note from The Big Dig team

Just dropping in to share some news about the show, and what's coming next. 

12 Jun 2024

02 MINS

02:50

12 Jun 2024


#10

Part 9: Hearts and Minds

It’s been fifty years since the Big Dig was first conceived, thirty years since constructi... more

15 Nov 2023

37 MINS

37:32

15 Nov 2023


#9

Part 8: I Want Justice for What Happened

Just as the project turns the corner towards completion, its entire legacy becomes clouded... more

08 Nov 2023

56 MINS

56:59

08 Nov 2023


#8

Part 7: The Turnpike Revolt

By the year 2000, the Big Dig has passed through many hands, but in its final years a powe... more

01 Nov 2023

56 MINS

56:34

01 Nov 2023


#7

Part 6: The Up Down Charts

As work progresses through the 1990s and the tunnels take shape, the true cost of the Big ... more

25 Oct 2023

50 MINS

50:07

25 Oct 2023


#6

Part 5: Hatchet Man vs. the 800 Pound Gorilla

In 1991, the Big Dig is handed off to a new leader – the brash, aggressive, hatchet-toting... more

18 Oct 2023

53 MINS

53:37

18 Oct 2023


#5

Part 4: The Double Cross

The project faces an unexpected challenge on the home front: resistance from local environ... more

11 Oct 2023

56 MINS

56:05

11 Oct 2023


#4

Part 3: All Politics is Local

The Big Dig needs federal funding. House Speaker Tip O’Neill is determined to get it; Pres... more

04 Oct 2023

53 MINS

53:32

04 Oct 2023


#3

Part 2: Unholy Alliance

In the early 1970s a radical idea took shape: tearing down Boston’s elevated downtown high... more

27 Sep 2023

52 MINS

52:00

27 Sep 2023


#2

Part 1: We Were Wrong

There is a strange irony behind the Big Dig: the most expensive highway project ever built... more

27 Sep 2023

54 MINS

54:17

27 Sep 2023


#1

Introducing: The Big Dig

Can America still do big things? Can we build the ambitious projects we will need to survi... more

13 Sep 2023

05 MINS

05:03

13 Sep 2023