Science on Substack
The top 100 Science 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
- 169
- Median followers, Bestsellers
- 26,605
- Smallest on the board
- 403
- HeartGuideDentistry Academy, #81
- New recommendations, 30 days
- 487
- to writers whose main category this is
Rising in Science: 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.
ixcarus
203k followers · #18 Science Bestsellers
Scott Alexander
300k followers · #3 Science Bestsellers
Science Is Fun
41k followers
Adam Mastroianni
133k followers · #16 Science Bestsellers
Nick Norwitz MD PhD
77k followers · #2 Science Bestsellers
Dr. Lee Warren
74k followers · #27 Science Bestsellers
Eric Topol
313k followers · #8 Science 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: Incentivising #98 to #87, Carlyn Beccia #73 to #68, Dr. Lee Warren #29 to #27, Nicole Arzt #85 to #83, Samuel Hume #100 to #98.
| # | Move | Writer | Followers | Recommended by | Paid | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 |  Katelyn JetelinaYour Local Epidemiologist |
505,809 | 78 +8 | Tens of thousands | |
| 2 | 0 |  Nick Norwitz MD PhDStayCurious Metabolism |
77,261 | 53 +14 | Thousands | |
| 3 | 0 |  Scott AlexanderAstral Codex Ten |
300,332 | 81 +21 | Thousands | |
| 4 | 0 |  Jessica Knurick, PhD, RDNDr. Jessica Knurick |
108,062 | 59 +5 | Thousands | |
| 5 | 0 |  Rob HendersonRob Henderson's Newsletter |
157,101 | 73 +6 | Thousands | |
| 6 | 0 |  Adam Cifu, MDSensible Medicine |
109,074 | 61 +5 | Thousands | |
| 7 | 0 |  Morgan McSweeney, PhDDr. Noc, PhD |
76,767 | 52 +2 | Thousands | |
| 8 | 0 |  Eric TopolGround Truths |
313,076 | 77 +10 | Thousands | |
| 9 | 0 |  PulmCCM@pulmccm |
45,270 | 50 | Thousands | |
| 10 | 0 |  James ButcherJournalology |
9,641 | 22 +1 | Thousands | |
| 11 | 0 |  Roberto BurioniRoberto Burioni, medico |
29,352 | 50 +2 | Thousands | |
| 12 | 0 |  Razib KhanRazib Khan's Unsupervised Learning |
90,700 | 66 +2 | Thousands | |
| 13 | 0 |  Edward DuttonThe Jolly Heretic with Prof Edward Dutton |
25,047 | 52 +1 | Thousands | |
| 14 | 0 |  CremieuxCremieux Recueil |
68,495 | 58 +1 | Thousands | |
| 15 | 0 |  Matt WillisYour Local Epidemiologist in California |
35,192 | 51 | Thousands | |
| 16 | 0 |  Adam MastroianniExperimental History |
133,098 | 65 +19 | Thousands | |
| 17 | 0 |  Jeremy Faust, MDInside Medicine |
149,208 | 69 +5 | Thousands | |
| 18 | 0 |  ixcarusThe Forbidden Files |
202,927 | 54 +22 | Thousands | |
| 19 | 0 |  Sasha LatypovaDue Diligence and Art |
105,097 | 77 +8 | Thousands | |
| 20 | 0 |  Vinay Prasad MD MPHVinay Prasad's Observations and Thoughts |
157,930 | 56 | Thousands | |
| 21 | 0 |  Erik HoelThe Intrinsic Perspective |
160,480 | 62 +4 | Thousands | |
| 22 | 0 |  Curt Jaimungal@curtjaimungal |
23,415 | 57 +8 | 100+ badge | |
| 23 | 0 |  Steve Stewart-WilliamsThe Nature-Nurture-Nietzsche Newsletter |
33,234 | 60 +1 | Thousands | |
| 24 | 0 |  Brian Klaas@brianklaas |
62,888 | ? | none shown | |
| 25 | 0 |  Colin WrightReality’s Last Stand |
89,911 | 66 +1 | Thousands | |
| 26 | 0 |  Maryanne Demasi, PhD@maryannedemasi |
26,254 | ? | none shown | |
| 27 | ▲2 |  Dr. Lee WarrenSelf-Brain Surgery™ with Dr. Lee Warren |
73,694 | 54 +13 | 100+ badge | |
| 28 | ▼1 |  KayaFundamental Nourishment |
13,391 | 50 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 29 | ▼1 |  Jules EvansEcstatic Integration |
26,605 | 55 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 30 | ▼29 | Katelyn JetelinaYour Local Epidemiologist |
505,809 | 78 +8 | Tens of thousands | |
| 31 | 0 |  Jonathan Shedler, PhDJonathan Shedler |
18,286 | 51 +5 | 100+ badge | |
| 32 | ▲2 |  Doze por OitoDozeNews - Cardiologia pela Doze por Oito |
8,574 | 50 | 100+ badge | |
| 33 | ▼1 |  Unbiased Science@theunbiasedscipod |
167,049 | 60 +8 | Thousands | |
| 34 | ▼1 |  Aporia@aporiamagazine |
36,400 | 59 +7 | 100+ badge | |
| 35 | 0 |  Jane McLellandBeyond the Metro Map |
30,287 | 26 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 36 | 0 |  Dr Michael SikoravPsychiatrie Internationale |
14,008 | 50 | 100+ badge | |
| 37 | 0 |  Dan WilliamsConspicuous Cognition |
72,252 | 58 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 38 | 0 |  Rupert Sheldrake@rupertsheldrake |
39,476 | 56 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 39 | 0 |  Tivadar DankaThe Palindrome |
72,468 | 58 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 40 | 0 |  Biotech Distilled@biotechdistilled |
3,227 | 35 +5 | 100+ badge | |
| 41 | 0 |  Heather HeyingNatural Selections |
44,940 | 56 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 42 | 0 |  The Skeptical Cardiologist@theskepticalcardiologist |
19,906 | 53 +6 | 100+ badge | |
| 43 | 0 |  Neuroscience & Wellness@neurosciencewellness |
669,915 | 55 51+ | 100+ badge | |
| 44 | 0 |  Mike SowdenEverything Is Amazing |
60,208 | 72 +2 | Thousands | |
| 45 | 0 |  Ryan McCormick, M.D.Examined |
16,885 | 52 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 46 | 0 |  Dr. Emily SmithFriendly Neighbor Epidemiologist |
65,288 | 57 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 47 | 0 |  Dr. Andrea LoveDr. Andrea Love | ImmunoLogic |
67,856 | 55 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 48 | 0 |  Those Nerdy GirlsNews from Those Nerdy Girls |
36,762 | 54 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 49 | 0 |  Malcolm Richard ClarkThe Secret Gender Files |
13,078 | 53 | 100+ badge | |
| 50 | ▲1 |  Geert Vanden BosscheVoice for Science and Solidarity by Geert Vanden Bossche |
50,494 | 55 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 51 | ▼1 |  Cortney Gensemer, PhDCort Does Science |
10,932 | 52 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 52 | 0 |  Awais AftabPsychiatry at the Margins |
35,926 | 56 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 53 | 0 |  Sosa@sosapsychology |
7,233 | 7 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 54 | 0 |  David ChapmanMeaningness |
8,815 | 51 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 55 | 0 |  GabrielGabriel's Archive |
17,642 | 51 +4 | 100+ badge | |
| 56 | 0 |  ★🔭๋࣭ ⭑˚ Slavlander🔥𖥔 ݁ ˖ִ🛸༄˖°.The Slavland Chronicles |
17,262 | 52 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 57 | 0 |  Alexander BeinerKainos |
44,353 | 57 | 100+ badge | |
| 58 | 0 |  Dr Anders SørensenCrossing Zero |
3,856 | 41 | 100+ badge | |
| 59 | 0 |  James Lyons-Weiler, PhDPopular Rationalism |
50,891 | 58 +4 | 100+ badge | |
| 60 | 0 |  Judith Hubbard & Kyle BradleyEarthquake Insights |
13,192 | 52 +5 | 100+ badge | |
| 61 | 0 |  Agy | Health LiterateHealth Literate |
14,380 | 52 +4 | 100+ badge | |
| 62 | 0 |  Benjamin RyanHazard Ratio: Benjamin Ryan |
13,221 | 53 | 100+ badge | |
| 63 | 0 |  Abhishaike MahajanOwl Posting |
14,953 | 51 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 64 | 0 |  David B. WilliamsStreet Smart Naturalist: Explorations of the Urban Kind |
5,533 | 50 | 100+ badge | |
| 65 | ▲1 |  Peter GrayPlay Makes Us Human |
45,341 | 56 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 66 | ▼1 |  Adam Gaertnerveryvirology |
19,606 | 50 +1 | none shown | |
| 67 | 0 |  Lyman Stone@lymanstone |
6,841 | 32 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 68 | ▲5 |  Carlyn BecciaThe Grim Historian |
21,453 | 51 +6 | 100+ badge | |
| 69 | ▼1 |  Jamie AndrewsThe Virology Controls Studies Project |
28,588 | 55 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 70 | ▼1 |  David EpsteinRange Widely |
88,764 | 59 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 71 | 0 |  Michael Guillén, PhDMORE THAN MEETS THE IQ |
6,164 | 21 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 72 | ▼2 |  Todd KashdanProvoked with Dr. Todd Kashdan |
18,236 | 53 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 73 | ▼1 |  Richard DawkinsThe Poetry of Reality with Richard Dawkins |
108,102 | 55 +5 | 100+ badge | |
| 74 | ▲1 |  Eric ThompsonStream of Consciousness |
5,966 | 24 | 100+ badge | |
| 75 | ▼1 |  John Hawks@johnhawks |
5,524 | 45 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 76 | 0 |  Health NerdGideon M-K: Health Nerd |
58,716 | 58 +4 | 100+ badge | |
| 77 | ▲1 |  Duncan PondDwarfVision |
2,115 | 12 | 100+ badge | |
| 78 | ▼1 |  Mike HaggettPine Tree Weather |
1,005 | 4 | 100+ badge | |
| 79 | ▲1 |  Rachel BarrRachel Barr’s Notebook |
20,339 | 52 +4 | 100+ badge | |
| 80 | ▼1 |  Dr. Angela RasmussenRasmussen Retorts |
20,862 | 56 +4 | 100+ badge | |
| 81 | 0 |  HeartGuideDentistry Academy@heartguidedentistry |
403 | 1 | none shown | |
| 82 | 0 |  Nicholas DeckerHomo Economicus |
13,502 | 51 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 83 | ▲2 |  Nicole ArztNicole Arzt's Substack |
4,557 | 8 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 84 | ▼1 |  Scott Barry KaufmanBeautiful Minds Newsletter |
62,031 | 54 +4 | none shown | |
| 85 | ▼1 |  John MandrolaStop and Think |
116,112 | 52 | Thousands | |
| 86 | 0 |  Mike StoneViroLIEgy Newsletter |
16,813 | 53 | 100+ badge | |
| 87 | ▲7 |  IncentivisingThe Structuralist |
7,252 | 28 +4 | 100+ badge | |
| 88 | ▼1 |  Pascal BieseLLM Watch |
78,815 | 55 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 89 | 0 |  Janna LevinJanna Levin's Higher Dimensions |
20,888 | 52 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 90 | ▼2 |  Eric F CoppolinoChiron Return - Planet Waves FM |
13,835 | 53 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 91 | ▼1 |  Feed your MindFeed Your Mind - Your Brain on Nutrients |
7,717 | 51 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 92 | ▼1 |  Kevin Kirkpatrick MSc.The Orthomolecular Guy |
6,006 | 21 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 93 | ▼1 |  Nick Jikomes, PhDMind & Matter |
6,371 | 51 | 100+ badge | |
| 94 | ▼1 |  Maciej CegłowskiMars For The Rest of Us |
1,599 | 5 | 100+ badge | |
| 95 | ▲3 |  Davide PifferPifferPilfer |
2,981 | 22 | 100+ badge | |
| 96 | ▲1 |  Melanie Matheu, PhDLIL Science |
42,106 | 50 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 97 | ▼2 |  Emil O. W. KirkegaardJust Emil Kirkegaard Things |
16,704 | 56 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 98 | ▲2 |  Samuel HumeBreakthrough |
4,959 | 19 +2 | none shown | |
| 99 | ▼3 |  Zach Wissner-GrossFiddler on the Proof |
9,096 | 50 | 100+ badge | |
| 100 | new |  dNews, a newsletter do dPlacedNews 📕 l dPlace, o seu lugar na dermatologia |
4,880 | 13 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Katelyn Jetelina | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Nick Norwitz MD PhD | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Scott Alexander | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Jessica Knurick, PhD, RDN | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Rob Henderson | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Adam Cifu, MD | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Morgan McSweeney, PhD | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Eric Topol | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| PulmCCM | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| James Butcher | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| Roberto Burioni | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| Razib Khan | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 0 |
| Edward Dutton | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 0 |
| Cremieux | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 0 |
| Matt Willis | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 0 |
| Adam Mastroianni | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 0 |
| Jeremy Faust, MD | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 0 |
| ixcarus | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 0 |
| Sasha Latypova | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 0 |
| Vinay Prasad MD MPH | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 0 |
History starts on Oct 31, 2026. Each day adds a column.
Who recommends Science writers
Publications with the most live recommendations pointing at writers whose main category is Science. If you write in this category, these are the readers' lists worth being on.