A Special Announcement from Gillian + Lin-Manuel Miranda's First Appearance on the Pod (2017!)
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
Release Date: 08/25/2025
#500: Lin-Manuel Miranda Returns! // Part Two
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
Here we are! We've hit the 500th and final episode of The Hamilcast (at least for now). Please excuse the shameless reference, but I am honored and thrilled that in this episode, Lin-Manuel Miranda really and sincerely teaches me how to say goodbye. And honestly, we have a blast! This episode is beyond packed! We talk about how much we love Renee Elise Goldsberry (including Co-Op and Girls5Eva), the Dawson’s Creek reunion, we cast movies (and Hamilton!) with The Muppets, you’ll learn about Lin's very specific favorite parts of Hamilton including references that were cut almost...
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#499: Lin-Manuel Miranda Returns! // Part One
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
Lin-Manuel Miranda returns to The Hamilcast for the third and final time… at least for now. Lin was first on the show in 2017, and it was true Russell Hammond partying with "real Topeka people" moment when he came over to a then-stranger's apartment and recorded in my living room for about four hours. In this penultimate episode, we’re talking about HamilTEN, HamilTEEN, and HamilTIME. Translation: the ways the show did and didn’t celebrate the ten year anniversary, the fact that Hamilton will be the high school play in a few years (!!!), and how things and people have changed over...
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#498: Thomas Kail Returns! // Part Two
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
Hamilton director Thomas Kail is back for round two and he usually makes me cry at the end of the episode, but this time he’s switching it up and doing it at the top of the second episode. But don’t worry, I deflect and change the subject pretty quickly! Whew! Tommy is as thoughtful as he is honest, so while he talks about the power of live theatre and offers insight into how and why he works the way he does, he also asks the questions that permeate almost every single project he works on: How much time do I have? And what do I do with my time? Those questions, and the fact that he...
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#497: Thomas Kail Returns! // Part One
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
Hamilton’s brilliant director Thomas Kail helps me wrap up the podcast with two thoughtful, insightful, and sweet episodes. Tommy is known as “The Architect” and I’m telling you, the guy lives up to the title and then some. This week T.Kail unpacks a lot of the HamilTen celebrations and how they came to be, including how they landed on the decision to release the Hamilfilm in movie theaters, his profound experience with the original cast reuniting for the Tony Awards, and Leslie Odom Jr.’s reprising Aaron Burr in Hamilton on Broadway. Tommy also talks a lot about editing the...
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#496: Alex Lacamoire Returns! // Part Two
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
Alex Lacamoire is back for round two and I hope you're ready because not only does he put that keyboard to very good use, but Alex was also kind enough to bring isolated stems from the Hamilton cast album. Yep, I know, it's insane. Not only does he play some of his favorite parts (the Stevie Wonder moment in One Last Time and the Eleanor Rigby part of the opening number, for example) but Alex gives us a tour around the orchestra, one instrument at a time: strings from Burn, percussion from Guns and Ships, guitar in Helpless, stride piano in The Room Where It Happens, the list goes on and on...
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#495: Alex Lacamoire Returns! // Part One
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
Hamilton’s award winning music director and orchestrator Alex Lacamoire is back after his legendary three episode series in 2018 and he's here to help wrap this show up right! Lac never comes to the pod empty handed and once again brought a keyboard, a laptop full of Hamilton music that no one has ever heard, and his ✨immaculate✨ vibes. This week, Alex talks about celebrating ten years of Hamilton on Broadway including putting together the amazing performance at the Tonys, experiencing the Hamilfilm on the big screen, the pure joy of Leslie Odom Jr. reprising Aaron Burr, what his...
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#494: Andy Blankenbuehler Returns! // Part Two
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
Hamilton choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler is an absolute treasure trove. There's really no other way to say it. This is his fifth episode of The Hamilcast and he's still dropping details and Easter eggs and insight into a show we've all been talking about for over ten years. HOW DOES HE DO IT?! I have no idea, but at the very least, these episodes let you in on his incredible thought process. This week is all about the deep dives, so I hope you're ready for endless mind explosions. There are way too many to mention in the description but here's one just so I'm not totally leaving you hanging:...
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#493: Andy Blankenbuehler Returns! // Part One
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
Here we go! The grand finale of The Hamilcast is officially underway with the return of Hamilton's mastermind choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler! Andy was the last guest before lockdown, coming over in person in February of 2020. Five years later, he's back to celebrate #HamilTEN and reflect on over a decade of working the show we are still happily dissecting all these years later. I love talking to Andy because every single story he tells gives more insight into his incredible thought process. From getting Hamilton Broadway's original cast together for the 2025 Tony Awards performance, to the...
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#492: Leslie Odom, Jr. // Hamilton Broadway's Original Aaron Burr
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
It feels very fitting that after ten years and speaking to dozens of actors who have played Aaron Burr, the very last one to grace the podcast is Hamilton Broadway's original (inimitable!) Leslie Odom, Jr. We didn't have a long time, but let me tell you... we had a GREAT time. This episode is funny, it's moving, it's layered, it's healing, it's so much of why Leslie Odom, Jr. is such a fascinating person to talk to. He tells me about how his beautiful cover of Tonight, Tonight" by the Smashing Pumpkins came to be, his experience with Purlie Victorious, how much he loved pushing the nerd bar to...
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THROWBACK // Episode #93: Anna-Lee Craig (2017)
The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast
This is the last throwback before we really dive in and start wrapping up The Hamilcast. Anna-Lee Craig is HamiltonBroadway’s A2 (assistant sound), and when she came on the podcast all the way back in 2017, she made all of our heads explode. It actually keeps happening because I STILL hear from listeners about this conversation. I mean, she invented the famous ALC Special! And, come to think of it, listeners write not just about this conversation, but the many conversations I’ve had with people behind the scenes at Hamilton, in all different arenas: hair, wardrobe, management, sound, you...
info_outlineThe news is out! After nearly ten years and what will be 500 episodes, The Hamilcast will be coming to an end on January 26th, 2026, the podcast’s official ten-year anniversary. While the community isn’t going anywhere and the archive will always remain available, the weekly episodes you’ve come to expect will soon be wrapping up. Until then, this is going to be a PARTY. Let's celebrate this journey with memories, special events, plus a few repeat episodes to bring things full circle and look back on some extraordinary moments on the pod. While there is plenty of time to get emotional, I do want to make sure that I say I've loved making this show for you for all these years. Thank you for always being excited about things with me. It's been such a fantastic ride and I'm so happy to be celebrating with you.
As we kick off the final stretch of The Hamilcast, let’s revisit when we fanned that spark into a flame, otherwise known as the time Lin-Manuel Miranda came over and ate popcorn with me and Mike for four hours while drinking a custom cocktail inspired by the bodegas of Washington Heights.
We’re going back to October 2017, when Lin-Manuel Miranda himself first joined me on the podcast. It all started with a Twitter DM, which led to Lin visiting my tiny New York City apartment (slanted floors, whistling toilet, the works) to record one of the biggest conversations of my life. It was a monumental moment for me, for the podcast, and for the listeners. What followed became known as #Lintoberfest: five episodes filled with the excitement, stories, and rare audio from that unforgettable day.
Below you’ll find today’s relevant links including the rest of Lin’s episodes, as well as the original description from when Episode 88 originally dropped in 2017.
Aaron Burr Panel at the South Street Seaport
/// Lin-Manuel Miranda on The Hamilcast (so far) ///
#88: Lin-Manuel Miranda // Part One
#89: Lin-Manuel Miranda // Part Two
#90: Lin-Manuel Miranda // Part Three
#91: Lin-Manuel Miranda // Part Four // The B-Sides
#92: Lin-Manuel Miranda // Part Five // The B-Sides
#225: Lin-Manuel Miranda Returns! // Part One
#226: Lin-Manuel Miranda Returns! // Part Two
/// Original description and links from October 1st, 2017 ///
Lin-Manuel Miranda came over to my apartment and we had so much fun that I have FIVE episodes for you! Welcome to #Lintoberfest, with my husband Michael Paul Smith joining me for these episodes. In Part One, I try to get over the fact that Lin is recording in my living room – spoiler! I don’t! – But regardless, we tell the story of how Lin ended up on the podcast, details of the early days of Hamilton, why Lin is a Hamilton/Burr hybrid, and quote The West Wing a LOT. We also eat popcorn and drink the Spark Into a Flame cocktail, made especially for Lin and inspired by his Inwood, NYC roots. Stay tuned for four more episodes: two more with Lin and then the Lin B-Sides which will be outtakes, non-sequiturs, and commentary by me and Mike (you know Mike). And no, I’m still not over the fact that this happened! No chill whatsoever!
To help Puerto Rico:
https://hispanicfederation.org/donate
Donate to disaster relief:
List of charities to donate to victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria
Baker Ripley
One America Appeal
The Humane Society
Previous episodes referenced:
Shockwave Part One
Shockwave Part Two
Mandy Gonzalez
Ian Weinberger Part One
Ian Weinberger Part Two
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