Top Late Night Hosts Form Strike News Podcast as Studios Stall on Demands

As the writers’ strike continues, many eyes have turned towards light night talk show hosts to see how they would respond. Since writers are such a crucial part of talk shows, the way these hosts reacted to the strikes could either be a boon or a hindrance, depending on which way they swung.

Thankfully, some of the biggest names in late night have a conscience, which they’ll now be broadcasting to Spotify via a podcast: “Strike Force Five,” a strike update podcast featuring Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, John Oliver, and—in a surprising twist of events—Jimmy Fallon. The podcast will share conversations that were once private between these hosts, in an attempt to educate the public and bolster advocacy for these writers. Bringing it a step further, all proceeds will go towards funding their out-of-work staff.

The official Spotify description is as such:

Late night talk show hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver are teaming up for a new podcast to support their striking workers and out of work staffs. Strike Force Five! welcomes you to a conversation between five rival colleagues for an inside look at late night television.

Strike Force Five

The podcast launched on August 30 and will run for at least twelve episodes, with the role of moderator rotating between each of the hosts. This first episode will be hosted by all five concurrently, with the same wit, humor, and panache that we’ve come to expect from most of these hosts.

And truly, this is such a heartening and important display of support for the WGA, who have continually been met with pushback ever since the striking began in May. These are powerful men in entertainment, whose audiences span hundreds of thousands of people. By publicly coming together to express their support and educate listeners on what’s going on, they’re doing a great service to the strikers, as well as the efforts of unions as a whole.

You can listen to Strike Force Five today on all major listening platforms.

(featured image: Spotify)

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Madeline Carpou

Madeline (she/her) is a staff writer with a focus on AANHPI and mixed-race representation. She enjoys covering a wide variety of topics, but her primary beats are music and gaming. Her journey into digital media began in college, primarily regarding audio: in 2018, she started producing her own music, which helped her secure a radio show and co-produce a local history podcast through 2019 and 2020. After graduating from UC Santa Cruz summa cum laude, her focus shifted to digital writing, where she's happy to say her History degree has certainly come in handy! When she's not working, she enjoys taking long walks, playing the guitar, and writing her own little stories (which may or may not ever see the light of day).

Link to madelinecwrites.com