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The Big Dig Season 4: Mitt & Ted, a healthcare story

GBH News
The Big Dig Season 4: Mitt & Ted, a healthcare story
Latest episode

60 episodes

  • The Big Dig Season 4: Mitt & Ted, a healthcare story

    Mitt & Ted | 7. Death Panels

    04/11/2026 | 1h 1 mins.
    In 2009, the moment for national healthcare reform has arrived, and there is hope that just like in Massachusetts, the effort can be bipartisan. But as negotiations begin in Washington, the politics outside the capital are shifting fast.
  • The Big Dig Season 4: Mitt & Ted, a healthcare story

    Mitt & Ted | 6. The Massachusetts Plan

    28/10/2026 | 55 mins.
    Immediately ‘Romneycare’ becomes the template for national healthcare reform. And while Democrats are focused on replicating the successes of the plan, there are already cracks showing in the coalition that came together to pass it.
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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: Azita Ghahramani
    Fact-checkers: Ryan Alderman and Isabel Hibbard
    Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss
    Graphic Design: Bill Miller
  • The Big Dig Season 4: Mitt & Ted, a healthcare story

    Mitt & Ted | 5. A Thousand Fathers

    21/10/2026 | 1h
    Time is running out for Massachusetts to pass healthcare reform. The bill’s fate now rests with the two old friends who run the state legislature and control everything that happens there. Unfortunately, these old friends have stopped talking. 
    ---------------------------
    Credits:
    Host and Scriptwriter: Ian Coss
    Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins
    Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss
    Story Editor: Lacy Roberts
    Editorial Advisor: Azita Ghahramani
    Fact-checkers: Ryan Alderman and Isabel Hibbard
    Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss
    Graphic Design: Bill Miller
  • The Big Dig Season 4: Mitt & Ted, a healthcare story

    Mitt & Ted | 4. Three-Legged Stool

    14/10/2026 | 56 mins.
    The controversial centerpiece of the Affordable Care Act – the requirement for all Americans to purchase health insurance – began its strange political journey at the conservative Heritage Foundation. In deep blue Massachusetts the mandate was considered a fringe idea, until it lands on Governor Romney’s desk. 
    ---------------------------
    Credits:
    Host and Scriptwriter: Ian Coss
    Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins
    Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss
    Story Editor: Lacy Roberts
    Editorial Advisor: Azita Ghahramani
    Fact-checkers: Ryan Alderman and Isabel Hibbard
    Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss
    Graphic Design: Bill Miller
  • The Big Dig Season 4: Mitt & Ted, a healthcare story

    Mitt & Ted | 3. Save The Money

    07/10/2026 | 51 mins.
    After their bruising senate campaign, Kennedy and Romney reunite for a mission to lobby the Bush administration. At stake: more than a billion dollars of federal money that is propping up the state’s entire healthcare system. 
    ---------------------------
    Credits:
    Host and Scriptwriter: Ian Coss
    Executive Producer: Devin Maverick Robins
    Producers: Isabel Hibbard and Ian Coss
    Story Editor: Lacy Roberts
    Editorial Advisor: Azita Ghahramani
    Fact-checkers: Ryan Alderman and Isabel Hibbard
    Scoring and Music Supervision: Ian Coss
    Graphic Design: Bill Miller
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About The Big Dig Season 4: Mitt & Ted, a healthcare story
“This is a town where there are three pastimes: politics, sports and revenge.” The town is Boston.Seemingly dry topics become gripping political dramas in this Peabody Award winning show from creator Ian Coss and GBH News. Each season of “The Big Dig” uncovers a different facet of society – infrastructure, gambling, food, healthcare – together the pieces connect to tell the story of modern America. Season 1: "The Big Dig" The highway project known as “The Big Dig” is infamous – a shorthand for government failure – but it all started as one engineer’s dream to correct the wrongs of the past, and its legacy is far from simple. Season 2: "Scratch & Win" America’s most successful state lottery – and its greatest innovation, the scratch ticket – all starts with mafia bookmakers and state bureaucrats going toe to toe in a battle to own the future of gambling. Season 3: "Catching The Codfather"A fishing tycoon is arrested in an elaborate sting operation, but claims he’s the real hero fighting back against the state.Season 4: "Mitt & Ted, a healthcare story" Mitt Romney and Ted Kennedy began their political journeys on opposite sides of the healthcare 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 Mitt and Ted apart?--------------CREDITS:Host & Creator: Ian CossExecutive Producer: Devin Maverick RobinsProducer: Isabel HibbardStory Editor: Lacy Roberts Contact us as thebigdig@wgbh.org
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