Scratch & Win
By GBH News
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Category: History
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Subscribers: 541
Reviews: 7
Episodes: 23
2bepainted
Aug 24, 2025
28-3 Never Forget
Apr 1, 2025
Another great deep dive into the MA political machines of yesteryear.
Annie
Mar 6, 2025
I loved the Big Dig! wasn't sure about the lotto story but 3 episodes in, it's fascinating so far.
Jan 29, 2025
Swapped feed to a different podcast because they didn't have confidence in their new podcast. Very disrespectful to both subscribers and staff.
Mar 7, 2024
Mischa
Nov 29, 2023
How is a podcast about infrastructure so gripping? What a wild ride and informative true tale.
Annie
Nov 7, 2023
Description
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.
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
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How to sue the government, and win from NPR's Throughline
|
Apr 09, 2025 |
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Why do some parts of government work better than others?
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Apr 02, 2025 |
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Should we be nostalgic for machine politics?
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Mar 26, 2025 |
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Why does sports betting feel different?
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Mar 19, 2025 |
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The Other Massachusetts Miracle
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Mar 12, 2025 |
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The Dirtiest Race in the Commonwealth
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Mar 05, 2025 |
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The Game Dreams Are Made Of
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Feb 26, 2025 |
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The Cherry Sheets
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Feb 19, 2025 |
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The Last Mafia Boss of Boston
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Feb 12, 2025 |
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Have You Played Your Number?
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Feb 05, 2025 |
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The Lottery Czar
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Jan 29, 2025 |
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The Instant Ticket
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Jan 29, 2025 |
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Introducing: Scratch & Win
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Jan 22, 2025 |
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A note from The Big Dig team
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Jun 12, 2024 |
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Hearts and Minds
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Nov 15, 2023 |
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I Want Justice for What Happened
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Nov 08, 2023 |
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The Turnpike Revolt
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Nov 01, 2023 |
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The Up Down Charts
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Oct 25, 2023 |
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Hatchet Man vs. the 800 Pound Gorilla
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Oct 18, 2023 |
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The Double Cross
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Oct 11, 2023 |
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Unholy Alliance
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Sep 27, 2023 |
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We Were Wrong
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Sep 27, 2023 |
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Introducing: The Big Dig
|
Sep 13, 2023 |