--- --- Jul 09, 2025 # V Spehar @underthedesknews by Leslie Horn Peterson  Tasos Katopodis—GLAAD/Getty Images More than half of Americans get at least some of their news from social media, according to Pew Research. So it’s no surprise that V Spehar—better known online as Under the Desk News—has become a trusted source for an audience of 4.5 million across [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@underthedesknews?lang=en) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/underthedesknews/?hl=en). The 42-year-old, who identifies as non-binary, went viral for their first-ever segment: during the [Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. capitol](https://time.com/6692956/trump-supreme-court-insurrection-jan-6/), they shared a short TikTok video addressed to then-Vice President Mike Pence while lying under a desk—as if in a tornado drill. These days, while they typically address viewers from the comfort of a chair, they continue to break down the issues of the day in short-form, digestible clips—from the political impact of the 2025 New York City mayoral election to the latest developments in reproductive rights. They also co-host the _Betches_ podcast _American Fever Dream_, diving deeper into issues shaping politics and pop culture. Spehar has landed high-profile collaborations with notable figures, including former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and last year interviewed then-Vice President Kamala Harris about bodily autonomy for the podcast. In October, they diversified their reach by launching on Substack, where they’ve amassed more than 150,000 subscribers. _Data and insights powered by #paid_ V Spehar Is on the 2025 TIME100 Creators List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-creators-2025/7299181/under-the-desk-news/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-creators-2025/7299181/under-the-desk-news/"},"headline":"Under the Desk News: TIME100 Creators 2025","datePublished":"2025-07-09T11:37:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:51:24.679Z","description":"Find out why V Spehar is one of the 100 most influential digital voices of 2025.","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-creators-2025/7299181/under-the-desk-news/","keywords":["Social Media","list","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88d0bdc03a522e80/6998c81af1b08282d66f180e/TIME100-Creators-2025-V-Spehar-034.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88d0bdc03a522e80/6998c81af1b08282d66f180e/TIME100-Creators-2025-V-Spehar-034.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-creators-2025/7299181/under-the-desk-news/","name":"Under the Desk News: TIME100 Creators 2025"}}]}] ```