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Luis A. Miranda Jr.

Luis A. Miranda Jr.

Strategist and philanthropist

Oct 7, 2026

1:48
So talk to us a little bit about that.
1:51
Listen, like many before and after me, I came to New York never thinking that I will stay in New York.
2:03
I had a scholarship from the University of Puerto Rico.
2:07
They were gonna do a psychology PhD program.
2:11
And so I was supposed to get one of those and then go back to Puerto Rico.
2:19
Instead, I got married and stayed.
2:23
So the PhD program, did allow me to meet my wife of now 48 years.

29 MINS LATER

31:52
So yeah, describe that a little bit.
230:39
So take me through those.
230:40
Okay.
230:40
So 1999 dot-com bubble.
230:47
We were talking about it, you know, offline on this.
230:50
And I was intrigued by the dot-com and, and I couldn't figure out...
230:54
And I told Fiona, "I wanna do something over here.
230:56
It looks interesting." And I've been, you know, at HDFC Bank now for six years.

1 HR 4 MINS LATER

294:54
So, uh, you know, did, did you change as a person or, um, you know, uh, how, how does one think about this? And a-am I right in the way I characterize this?
13:27
Where does that ambition come from, do you think? I
13:30
don't know, but my family was always, even though we were in a very small town in Puerto Rico, everyone was always doing things.
13:41
Whether it was the Red Cross and the Rotary Club or the church, everyone was always involved in multiple things.
14:18
In
14:18
fact, that book report that he did, he hated writing.
14:24
Yeah.
14:24
So we actually talked to the teacher and asked, can he please do the book report in film? Yes.
Stephen DubnerHOST
3:02
He's a longtime political operative and activist in New York City who has worked with mayors, senators, and many others.
3:09
The theater of politics and the theater on a stage are very, very similar.
3:16
Lin-Manuel says all the time that I go through the world collecting money for candidates, and probably half of them never have a chance, but they're fights that you must fight.
3:29
Theater is a bit the same way, you go and collect lots of money (laughs) and most of the shows don't make it, the same way that many candidates won't make it, but there's art that needs to be made.
3:42
Some shows, I always wonder, "Why did they do that?" But hey, someone had a dream.
Stephen DubnerHOST
6:10
Do you have evidence?
6:11
Yes.
6:12
I'm a poor kid from a small town in Puerto Rico that somehow felt that musicals were fantastic.

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