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

In search of the perfect lobster roll

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

Show Notes

In the 1980s, six women on an island off the coast of Massachusetts began selling lobster rolls as a church fundraiser. Today, people travel by car, boat, and plane just to taste these hallowed summer treats. Today we bring you an episode from one of our favorite food podcasts, “The Sporkful”, in which host Dan Pashman travels to Martha’s Vineyard to uncover Grace Church’s secret recipe. Plus, Daniel Gritzer from Serious Eats breaks down the science of why frozen lobster might be better than fresh. https://www.sporkful.com/the-secret-to-grace-churchs-lobster-rolls/ Find more from The Sporkful, wherever you listen to podcasts or at www.sporkful.com --- We talked a lot this season about fish: the cod, the haddock, the flounder. We heard about monk fish and grey sole, hake and halibut. But if you’ve ever spent a summer in New England, you know that if there is one food we take more seriously than our fish, it’s our shellfish.

So today I’m excited to bring you an episode from one of my favorite podcasts – The Sporkful – in which host Dan Pashman travels to Martha’s Vineyard to uncover the secret recipe of his favorite lobster roll. Plus, Daniel Gritzer from Serious Eats breaks down the science of why frozen lobster might be better than fresh. As always, Dan and the team have a special knack for telling stories about food that also help you understand the world. You can find all their work wherever you are listening right now, just search for “The Sporkful.” And please enjoy: The Secret To Grace Church’s Lobster Rolls…

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

Oct 21, 2026

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.

Oct 14, 2026

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.

Oct 7, 2026

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.

Sep 30, 2026

In the midst of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon reaches out to his rival Ted Kennedy and offers him a deal – a one time chance to reshape American healthcare, which might also save Nixon’s doomed presidency. Will the young senator take the deal?

Sep 30, 2026

Mitt Romney’s first political campaign was not for president or governor; it was for the U.S. Senate, and it was against Ted Kennedy. Early on the challenger looks unstoppable – handsome, eloquent, moderate – then the Kennedy camp starts digging into Romney’s past. --- Special thanks to FRONTLINE for archival sound from The Long March of Newt Gingrich & The Health Care Gamble.

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