January 26, 2026

#500: Lin-Manuel Miranda Returns! // Part Two

1 hour 14 minutes

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 immediately and the things that really are just coincidences because in a show with layers on layers on layers, some things really are just happy accidents.

Lin also talks about The Hamilton Mixtape, that time Steven Sondheim visited his high school and shared a bunch of West Side Story secrets with the class, and there are at least TWO deep dives: one is Lin's writing process with Warriors: The Concept Album and working on bringing it to the stage, and the other is about professional wrestling AND WHEN I TELL YOU I WAS ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT. I'm not even kidding; it is fascinating and so much fun.

And speaking of fun... I mean it 100% when I say I've had the time of my life making this podcast for you. The Hamilcast has changed my life, full stop. It's been a decade of stories and memories and friendships and "skitch, how did we get here?" moments. Each and every one of you have really made me feel like the richest girl in town, especially as we've been celebrating the end of the show and the journey we've all been on together. I also mean it when I say that there is always a possibility the show will drop more episodes in the future (Mariska, call me!), so you never know what the future may hold.

The Hamilcast website is staying up, the episodes will live online forever, and @TheHamilcast will continue to be active on socials. You can find me online @GillianWithaG and I'll still be recapping true crime documentaries with Patrick over at True Crime Obsessed. Mike - you know Mike! - is @MPSmithNYC on everything.

These last eight episodes with The Cabinet were recorded at WTF Studios in Manhattan in October and November of 2025. They were produced by Natalie Grillo from Any Moment Productions, in collaboration with Meghan Miles. These two incredible women are invaluable and I am so grateful for them both.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to come on this show and generously share your stories with me, sometimes more than once. I am so lucky to call so many of you my friends. And to the listeners, to quote Tommy Kail when he first came on in 2018: I made this show for you. Thank you for being excited about things with me. It has been a true honor to do this for ten years and 500 episodes and I could not have done it without you. My dearest, Patreon Peeps: you are one in a million and are definitively the kindest, warmest, and most welcoming corner of the internet.

With my unending gratitude… I am G.Pen.

xoxoxo

///

Warriors: The Concept Album

Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist by Daniel Pollack-Pelzner

Daniel Pollack-Pelzner on The Hamilcast

///

#88: Lin-Manuel Miranda // Part One (2017)

#89: Lin-Manuel Miranda // Part Two (2017)

#90: Lin-Manuel Miranda // Part Three (2017)

#91: Lin-Manuel Miranda // Part Four // The B-Sides (2017)

#92: Lin-Manuel Miranda // Part Five // The B-Sides (2017)