Podcast Episodes

Why do some parts of government work better than others?

Season 2 Episode 11

This podcast has featured two stories about government endeavors: the much-criticized infrastructure project known as ‘The Big Dig,’ and of course th…

10 months, 3 weeks ago

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Should we be nostalgic for machine politics?

Season 2 Episode 10

There’s a lot of talk lately about patronage politics returning to Washington – a system based on loyalty, relationships, favors and transactions – b…

10 months, 4 weeks ago

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Why does sports betting feel different?

Season 2 Episode 9

Lotteries are part of a long trend toward more and more legal gambling: bingo helped open the door for lotteries, just as lotteries helped open the d…

11 months ago

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The Other Massachusetts Miracle

Season 2 Episode 8

Part 8: Most lottery games follow a predictable life cycle: a burst of interest followed by a long decline. But something else happened with the scra…

11 months, 1 week ago

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The Dirtiest Race in the Commonwealth

Season 2 Episode 7

Part 7: By 1986 Treasurer Bob Crane has turned the lottery into the most successful operation of its kind, but now he’s in the fight of his political…

11 months, 2 weeks ago

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The Game Dreams Are Made Of

Season 2 Episode 6

Part 6: The Mass Lottery stumbles when it attempts to launch the nation’s first ‘lotto’ game. But that failure soon becomes an opportunity – and a na…

11 months, 4 weeks ago

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The Cherry Sheets

Season 2 Episode 5

Part 5: The lottery was never just about stopping crime; it was about bringing in money. In 1980, an anti-tax ballot measure throws Massachusetts sta…

1 year ago

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The Last Mafia Boss of Boston

Season 2 Episode 4

Part 4: The state lottery can’t run the mob out of the numbers business on their own. Luckily they’ve got help from the FBI, who are just launching a…

1 year ago

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Have You Played Your Number?

Season 2 Episode 3

Part 3: Before the Massachusetts Lottery can claim to be number one, they have to take out the competition. So in 1976 the state lottery challenges o…

1 year ago

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The Lottery Czar

Season 2 Episode 2

Part 2: When states got into the gambling business, they wanted the same thing organized crime wanted: money and power. The question now is who in go…

1 year ago

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