Culture on Substack
The top 100 Culture writers on Substack's Bestsellers and Rising boards, with moves between my reads, follower counts, who's gaining recommendations and who recommends them. Boards read once a day.
Board read · moves compare with the read at Oct 31 19:47 UTC
- Writers on the two boards
- 172
- Median followers, Bestsellers
- 42,352
- Smallest on the board
- 4,295
- ガメ・オベール JamesJames, #83
- New recommendations, 30 days
- 695
- to writers whose main category this is
Rising in Culture: new recommendations
Writers in this category who picked up the most new recommenders in the last 30 days. A new recommendation puts a writer in front of another publication's readers.
Cool Stories About Art
248k followers · #76 Culture Bestsellers
shit you should care about
844k followers · #41 Culture Bestsellers
Jordan Younger
67k followers · #11 Culture Bestsellers
Diabolical Lies
98k followers · #2 Culture Bestsellers
Jessica Valenti
283k followers · #8 Culture Bestsellers
Dean Blundell
114k followers · #10 Culture Bestsellers
Roxane Gay
308k followers · #27 Culture BestsellersNew recommenders per week, last 12 weeks; the orange bar is this week to date. Same scale in every panel. Dated by Substack; only recommendations still live. Outlined weeks are incomplete: Substack lists only a publication's 50 newest recommenders, so for busy writers older weeks can't be counted, and a 30-day count marked + is a floor.
Bestsellers
Substack ranks Bestsellers by paid subscribers. Followers are my daily reading.
Climbed most since Oct 31: Marina Hyde #86 to #75, Stephen L. Miller #53 to #50, Emily Amick #24 to #22, Bart Nijman #69 to #67, Gutter Catholic Daily Digest #72 to #70.
| # | Move | Writer | Followers | Recommended by | Paid | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 |  Selvaggia LucarelliVale Tutto - di Selvaggia Lucarelli |
250,840 | 51 +9 | Tens of thousands | |
| 2 | 0 |  Diabolical Lies@diabolicallies |
98,310 | 64 +20 | Tens of thousands | |
| 3 | 0 |  Niall HarbisonHappy Doggo |
18,936 | 50 +6 | none shown | |
| 4 | 0 |  The Fifth ColumnThe Fifth Column (A Podcast) |
89,351 | 59 +7 | Thousands | |
| 5 | 0 |  Blocked and Reported@blockedandreported |
84,847 | 72 +4 | Tens of thousands | |
| 6 | 0 |  Sam Harris@samharris |
506,142 | 73 +14 | none shown | |
| 7 | 0 |  Jessica Reed KrausHouse Inhabit |
465,997 | 60 +7 | Thousands | |
| 8 | 0 |  Jessica ValentiAbortion, Every Day |
282,591 | 79 +17 | Thousands | |
| 9 | 0 |  TriggernometryTRIGGERnometry |
122,608 | 59 +8 | Thousands | |
| 10 | 0 |  Dean Blundell@deanblundell |
113,522 | 65 +17 | Thousands | |
| 11 | 0 |  Jordan YoungerThe Balanced Blonde |
66,671 | 59 +21 | Thousands | |
| 12 | ▲1 |  Philippa Perry@philippaperry |
52,931 | 58 +5 | Thousands | |
| 13 | ▼1 |  Haley NahmanMaybe Baby |
151,250 | 69 +7 | Thousands | |
| 14 | 0 |  Rod DreherRod Dreher's Diary |
53,911 | 57 +3 | Thousands | |
| 15 | 0 |  Andrea GibsonThings That Don't Suck |
253,677 | 66 +6 | Thousands | |
| 16 | 0 |  Tina BrownFRESH HELL Tina Brown's Diary |
158,435 | 68 +7 | Thousands | |
| 17 | 0 |  Kaizen AsieduClear Thinker |
96,382 | 51 +5 | Thousands | |
| 18 | 0 |  Jeffery Mead@thejefferymead |
223,165 | 51 +5 | Thousands | |
| 19 | 0 |  Dr Stacey Patton@drstaceypatton1865 |
63,866 | 52 +5 | Thousands | |
| 20 | 0 |  Casey LewisAfter School by Casey Lewis |
153,880 | 82 +10 | Thousands | |
| 21 | 0 |  Tova | Wholesome Filth@cheftova |
46,787 | 52 +3 | Thousands | |
| 22 | ▲1 |  Emily AmickEmily in Your Phone with Emily Amick |
98,064 | 59 +3 | Thousands | |
| 23 | ▲1 |  Priya ParkerGroup Life by Priya Parker |
118,957 | 61 +5 | Thousands | |
| 24 | ▼2 |  Sam KrissNumb at the Lodge |
92,466 | 62 +5 | Thousands | |
| 25 | 0 |  Kate BowlerEverything Happens with Kate Bowler |
191,605 | 59 +10 | Thousands | |
| 26 | 0 |  Shallon LesterEat Prey Love |
10,180 | 50 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 27 | 0 |  Roxane GayThe Audacity. |
307,720 | 86 +16 | Thousands | |
| 28 | 0 |  Sari BottonOldster Magazine |
222,606 | 108 +12 | Thousands | |
| 29 | 0 |  Steve Sailer@stevesailer |
20,863 | 53 +1 | Thousands | |
| 30 | ▲1 |  Freddie deBoer@freddiedeboer |
167,926 | 72 +2 | Thousands | |
| 31 | ▼1 |  Gabriele ParpigliaGabriele Parpiglia - News |
22,654 | 50 +1 | Thousands | |
| 32 | 0 |  Heather Cocks & Jessica MorganDrinks With Broads |
31,725 | 63 +3 | Thousands | |
| 33 | 0 |  Thais FarageNo News, Bad News |
40,969 | 53 | Thousands | |
| 34 | 0 |  Connie SchultzHopefully Yours |
139,672 | 60 +2 | Thousands | |
| 35 | ▲1 |  Richard SpencerAlexandria |
12,697 | 51 +3 | Thousands | |
| 36 | ▼1 |  Dr Naomi WolfOutspoken with Dr Naomi Wolf |
185,955 | 59 +3 | Thousands | |
| 37 | ▲1 |  Cheek Media Co.Cheek Media Co. |
33,296 | 52 +6 | Thousands | |
| 38 | ▼1 |  Jon Rappoport Archive@jonrappoportarchive |
78,047 | 59 +2 | Thousands | |
| 39 | 0 |  Jesse SingalSingal-Minded |
229,751 | 63 +3 | Tens of thousands | |
| 40 | 0 |  David AaronovitchNotes from the Underground with David Aaronovitch |
41,808 | 55 +1 | Thousands | |
| 41 | 0 |  shit you should care about✿ shit you should care about ✿ |
844,171 | 55 +23 | Thousands | |
| 42 | 0 |  Carson GriffithRich People Shit |
18,400 | 47 +6 | Thousands | |
| 43 | 0 |  Anne LamottHallelujah Anyway |
171,524 | 58 +6 | Thousands | |
| 44 | 0 |  Glenn Harlan ReynoldsGlenn’s Substack |
43,433 | 55 +6 | Thousands | |
| 45 | 0 |  David Bentley HartLeaves in the Wind |
31,670 | 55 +6 | Thousands | |
| 46 | 0 |  Parker MolloyThe Present Age |
222,903 | 71 +1 | Thousands | |
| 47 | 0 |  Brett McKayDYING BREED |
23,910 | 53 | Thousands | |
| 48 | ▲1 |  Julie Brener DavichThe Appraisal |
6,112 | 13 | Thousands | |
| 49 | ▼1 |  Popbitch@popbitch |
5,494 | ? | none shown | |
| 50 | ▲3 |  Stephen L. MillerThe Versus Media Podcast by Stephen L. Miller |
10,406 | 50 +2 | Thousands | |
| 51 | 0 |  James Howard KunstlerClusterfuck Nation |
42,352 | 54 +5 | Thousands | |
| 52 | 0 |  Robert ChristgauAnd It Don't Stop |
26,936 | 55 +3 | Thousands | |
| 53 | ▼3 |  Graham LinehanThe Glinner Update |
62,133 | 63 +1 | Thousands | |
| 54 | 0 |  Amanda Yates GarciaMystery Cult with Amanda Yates Garcia |
32,805 | 54 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 55 | 0 |  Hanif KureishiTHE KUREISHI CHRONICLES |
87,842 | 66 +3 | Thousands | |
| 56 | 0 |  Polly VernonBroad with Polly Vernon |
18,284 | 57 +2 | Thousands | |
| 57 | 0 |  LaineyGossipThe Squawk |
16,645 | 51 | Thousands | |
| 58 | ▲1 |  Natalie JarveyLike & Subscribe from Natalie Jarvey |
151,856 | 50 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 59 | ▼1 |  Sean RossDrop Your Buffs |
4,649 | 17 +3 | Thousands | |
| 60 | ▲1 |  John FultonThe Eastside Rag |
10,710 | 47 +2 | Thousands | |
| 61 | ▼1 |  Nora McInernyFeelings & Co. by Nora McInerny |
51,165 | 56 +2 | Thousands | |
| 62 | ▲1 |  Misha CollinsThe AnteSocial by eM&M |
393,163 | 50 +6 | 100+ badge | |
| 63 | ▼1 |  Sean Monahan8Ball |
32,228 | 57 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 64 | 0 |  Meghan DaumThe Unspeakeasy with Meghan Daum |
39,295 | 64 +2 | Thousands | |
| 65 | 0 |  PJ and ThomasOkay McKay |
23,240 | 53 +4 | Thousands | |
| 66 | 0 |  Marina CooleyProf Off Duty |
14,867 | 52 +3 | Thousands | |
| 67 | ▲2 |  Bart NijmanNijmans Nieuwsbriefje |
12,696 | 51 +4 | Thousands | |
| 68 | 0 |  Allie JonesGossip Time |
33,441 | 56 +4 | Thousands | |
| 69 | ▼2 |  Joshua CitarellaDoomscroll |
41,009 | 54 +4 | Thousands | |
| 70 | ▲2 |  Gutter Catholic Daily DigestGutter Catholic Daily Digest |
8,543 | 33 +2 | Thousands | |
| 71 | 0 |  Mary Harrington@moveincircles |
49,862 | 61 +1 | Thousands | |
| 72 | ▲1 |  Julie Ciardi-50 Not Finished📕50 Not Finished |
21,851 | 52 +7 | 100+ badge | |
| 73 | ▼3 |  Emilie HagenEmilie’s Substack |
14,627 | 47 | Thousands | |
| 74 | 0 |  Mystic MichaelaAura Culture with Mystic Michaela |
6,806 | 47 +2 | Thousands | |
| 75 | ▲11 |  Marina HydeAlways On with Marina Hyde |
55,058 | 41 +40 | 100+ badge | |
| 76 | ▲1 |  Cool Stories About ArtCool Stories About Art |
247,962 | 73 +39 | Thousands | |
| 77 | ▼1 |  Brandi MorinIndigenous Insider |
15,713 | 53 +7 | 100+ badge | |
| 78 | ▼3 |  The Nerve w/ Maureen CallahanThe Nerve with Maureen Callahan |
17,394 | 50 +4 | Thousands | |
| 79 | ▼1 |  Bob DunningThe Wary One |
7,931 | 53 | Thousands | |
| 80 | ▼1 |  Lauren BastideLa Douceur |
36,003 | 52 +4 | Thousands | |
| 81 | ▼1 |  Shay Stewart-BouleyShay’s Cogitations:A Detour From Black Girl in Maine |
15,367 | 52 +1 | Thousands | |
| 82 | ▼1 |  Judith DuportailRebelles |
13,307 | 51 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 83 | ▼1 |  ガメ・オベール JamesJames@gamayauber007 |
4,295 | 50 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 84 | ▼1 |  Aaron M. RennAaron Renn |
36,980 | 56 +4 | 100+ badge | |
| 85 | ▼1 |  Karen AttiahThe Golden Hour by Karen Attiah |
93,311 | 59 +1 | Thousands | |
| 86 | ▲1 |  Julia SamuelThe Therapy Works Substack |
14,512 | 52 +3 | Thousands | |
| 87 | ▼2 |  Jennie YoungBurned Haystack |
63,534 | 50 +5 | Thousands | |
| 88 | ▲1 |  The Paris End@theparisend |
12,683 | 53 +3 | Thousands | |
| 89 | ▼1 |  Dominique Morgan@thedominiquemorgan |
15,859 | 50 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 90 | ▲1 |  Old Money Luxury@oldmoneyluxury |
13,802 | 19 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 91 | ▲1 |  Daniel PinchbeckLiminal News With Daniel Pinchbeck |
44,944 | 58 +3 | Thousands | |
| 92 | ▼2 |  Nicole WaltersContext is Everything |
21,863 | 51 | 100+ badge | |
| 93 | 0 |  TlonTlonletter - di Maura Gancitano e Andrea Colamedici |
56,959 | 51 +3 | Thousands | |
| 94 | ▲1 |  Deuxmoi@deuxmoi |
118,433 | 51 +5 | Thousands | |
| 95 | ▲1 |  Erin H MoonThe Swipe Up |
27,442 | 54 +1 | Thousands | |
| 96 | ▼2 |  Med Gold@medgold |
16,822 | 51 | 100+ badge | |
| 97 | 0 |  Avabookbear express |
42,349 | 52 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 98 | 0 |  Sally Bedell SmithROYALS EXTRA BY SALLY BEDELL SMITH |
30,805 | 53 +1 | Thousands | |
| 99 | ▲1 |  Chris RyanTangentially Speaking with Chris Ryan |
23,849 | 55 +2 | Thousands | |
| 100 | ▼1 |  Evie Magazine@eviemagazine |
171,901 | 51 +7 | 100+ badge |
The top 20 on every read
Rank on each read of the Bestsellers board. Darker is higher. A gap means the writer was outside the top 100 on that read.
| Writer | Oct 3107:00 | Oct 3113:00 | Oct 3119:47 | Nov 621:50 | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selvaggia Lucarelli | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Diabolical Lies | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Niall Harbison | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| The Fifth Column | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Blocked and Reported | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Sam Harris | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Jessica Reed Kraus | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Jessica Valenti | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Triggernometry | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Dean Blundell | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| Jordan Younger | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| Philippa Perry | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | ▲1 |
| Haley Nahman | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | ▼1 |
| Rod Dreher | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 0 |
| Andrea Gibson | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 0 |
| Tina Brown | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 0 |
| Kaizen Asiedu | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | ▲1 |
| Jeffery Mead | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | ▼1 |
| Dr Stacey Patton | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 0 |
| Casey Lewis | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 0 |
History starts on Oct 31, 2026. Each day adds a column.
Who recommends Culture writers
Publications with the most live recommendations pointing at writers whose main category is Culture. If you write in this category, these are the readers' lists worth being on.