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In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in projects that attempt to address the harm done by urban highways – covering them up, transforming them into boulevards, or removing them entirely. But even as the problems with these structures are easy to see, the right solution for any given city is usually not obvious. Often, it’s contentious.

Two years ago, GBH News in Boston released the acclaimed podcast The Big Dig, about that city’s messy attempt to reckon with its own highways. Now host Ian Coss is taking the show on the road to do live tapings in different cities facing the same issue – in Seattle, Portland, Austin, Syracuse, Baltimore and more — looking at stories from the past, present and future. It’s called The Highway Teardown Tour.

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Episodes

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    Highway Teardown Tour | Enter Here

    Every American city is divided by crumbling old highways. Every city is trying to figure out what to do with them. But even if the problems with these structures are obvious, the solutions are not – often they are contentious. Welcome to The Big Dig Highway Teardown Tour.
    The Highway Teardown Tour
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    Highway Teardown Tour | 1. New York, NY

    What to do with the BQE? It’s a one of a kind highway in desperate need of repair, but no one can agree how to fix it. Guests: Polly Trottenberg, Lara Birnback, Stephen Nessen Recorded live at WNYC’s Greenspace Archival audio courtesy of Municipal Archives, City of New York.
    The Highway Teardown Tour
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    Highway Teardown Tour | 2. Syracuse, NY

    Is it possible to re-write the Interstate map and send highways around cities instead of through them? Syracuse, NY is doing just that. Guests: Marie Therese Dominguez, Lanessa Owens-Chaplin, Joe DriscollRecorded live in partnership with WRVO and the Syracuse Museum of Science and Technology
    The Highway Teardown Tour
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    Highway Teardown Tour | 3. Rochester, NY

    Once the highway is gone, can the divisions these structures created actually be healed? Can the people on either side become neighbors again? Rochester, NY is trying to answer that question. Guests: Erik Frisch, Brian Sharp, Shawn Dunwoody, Suzanne Mayer Recorded live at the WXXI studios in Rochester, NY.
    The Highway Teardown Tour
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    Highway Teardown Tour | 4. Austin, TX

    How did the Austin City Council find themselves locked in a ‘death match’ over what to do about Interstate 35? Two councilors and two journalists talk through the fraught politics of so-called highway caps. Guests: Megan Kimble, Nathan Bernier, José “Chito” Vela, Mike Siegel Recorded live at the KUT Festival in Austin, TX.
    The Highway Teardown Tour
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    Highway Teardown Tour | 5. Seattle, WA

    There is exactly one other American city crazy enough to attempt anything like what Boston did with The Big Dig. That city is Seattle, and they are not done tearing down highways. Guests: Joshua McNichols, Greg Nickels, Cayce James, José Manuel Vasquez Recorded live with KUOW at the Seattle Public Library. Archival audio courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives
    The Highway Teardown Tour
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    Highway Teardown Tour | 6. Portland, OR

    The anti-highway movement, like any movement, has always been a coalition. Different people with different backgrounds and different interests finding a common cause. But sometimes the coalition cracks. Guests: Lillian Karabaic, Shawn Granton, Sharon Gary-Smith, Chris Smith Recorded live with Oregon Public Broadcasting at Literary Arts in East Portland.
    The Highway Teardown Tour
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    More from The Big Dig

    Each season of “The Big Dig” uncovers a different facet of society in Boston – infrastructure, gambling, food, healthcare – together the pieces connect to tell the story of modern America.