Thom Tillis, a Hegseth logo and JD Vance in Alaska on Michael Ian Black's vodcast
The Wednesday companion podcast, with producers Jodi Lennon and Jim Biederman beside the team captain, stands out on a quiet day for the channel and for the talk shows around it.
Have I Got News For You US
Story of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 63,658 views a day, 14 times a normal first day on this channel (4,604).
Trump's Red-State Race! Trump to Iran: 'Take Out' San Diego & LA?! Thom Tillis on Hegseth! | VODCAST
Among the talk-show channels closest to its size, nobody is having a big day. Would I Lie To You?, Saturday Night Live UK and the TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle channel are all running below their usual pace, and so is Have I Got News For You US as a whole. One upload is the exception: the newest vodcast, the show's companion podcast, passed 37,000 views in its first ten hours, many times what a new video here usually gathers on its first day.
It is a smaller affair than the Saturday broadcast. Michael Ian Black, one of the show's two team captains, sits down with producers Jodi Lennon and Jim Biederman to go through the week. Their theme is Republicans on the road before the midterms: Pete Hegseth in Colorado Springs, JD Vance campaigning in Alaska, and a long stretch on whether that state's Senate seat could change hands.
Thom Tillis gets his own chapter for speaking out about Hegseth. He is the North Carolina Republican who said in 2025 that he would not run for another term, and the description asks whether he spoke up too little, too late. The three also look at a redesigned Department of War logo, the government-funded ads Trump presents as public service announcements, and, to close, his remark that Iran could "take out" Los Angeles and San Diego.
The comment section works through the chapters. One viewer answers the new logo with a pun on Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle. Another reminds everyone that Alaska has had more than one well-known Dan Sullivan, since Anchorage once had a mayor by that name. Several say that getting to know Jodi and Jim has made Wednesday their favorite day of the show's week.
The Saturday episode's clips with Dave Foley are still the channel's biggest recent videos. The podcast now has a following of its own.
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- Channel
- Have I Got News For You US
- Subscribers
- 289,000 ▲ 2,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 1,019,204
- Channel views, pace per day
- 67,959 (on a normal day: 106,434)
- Video published
- October 7, 2026
- Video views so far
- 37,846 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 63,658
The numbers
A strong first day for the podcast, on a day when the channel overall ran below its usual pace.
💡 Test your knowledge
Roy Wood Jr., host of Have I Got News For You US, spent years as a correspondent on which show?
Roy Wood Jr. joined The Daily Show as a correspondent in 2015 and stayed for years under Trevor Noah.
