In April 2026, Ian Coss, host of the Peabody-Award winning podcast “The Big Dig,” came to WXXI Studios to record an episode in front of a live studio audience. Ian was joined by a panel of guests to unpack the issues facing Rochester’s Inner Loop. WXXI’s production crew was there to capture the conversation for this special presentation.
The Big Dig: Closing the Gap airs Tuesday, August 18 at 8 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streaming on the WXXI and PBS apps.
Ian’s panel included:
Erik Frisch, Acting Commissioner of Neighborhood & Business Development , City of Rochester
Shawn Dunwoody, Executive Director, Hinge Neighborhoods, Inc.
Suzanne Mayer, Co-Founder and board Chair, Hinge Neighborhoods, Inc.
Brian Sharp, Investigations and Enterprise Editor, WXXI News
More about the podcast:
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.
In the Spring of 2026 Ian Coss, host of the Peabody-Award winning podcast “The Big Dig,” took the show on the road to do live tapings in different cities facing the same issue – in Seattle, Portland, Austin, Syracuse, Baltimore and Rochester!
“The Big Dig” from GBH News explores Boston’s controversial effort to bury a downtown highway – once the most expensive public works project in American history – and the lessons that it holds for the ambitious infrastructure ideas of today. The series was named one of the best podcasts of 2023 by the New Yorker and one of the best podcasts of all time by Time Magazine.
The live tapings will be released as part of a new season of “The Big Dig” podcast, which was honored with a Peabody Award in 2024. It spent over six weeks in the top 100 shows on Apple Podcasts.
The Big Dig: Closing the Gap repeats Sunday, August 23 at 1 p.m. on WXXI-TV.