U.S. Politics on Substack
The top 100 U.S. Politics 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
- 160
- Median followers, Bestsellers
- 245,464
- Smallest on the board
- 2,460
- Politix Podcast, #94
- New recommendations, 30 days
- 1,336
- to writers whose main category this is
Rising in U.S. Politics: 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.
Heather Cox Richardson
3.5M followers · #1 Podcasts Bestsellers
The Bulwark
1.4M followers · #2 U.S. Politics Bestsellers
The Free Press
2.6M followers · #1 U.S. Politics Bestsellers
Paul Krugman
877k followers · #8 U.S. Politics Bestsellers
Andy Borowitz
783k followers · #9 U.S. Politics Bestsellers
Adam Kinzinger
795k followers · #12 U.S. Politics Bestsellers
Nate Silver
457k followers · #6 U.S. Politics 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: G. Elliott Morris #41 to #32, Galen Druke #64 to #57, Capt. Seth Keshel #85 to #79, Miles Taylor #48 to #45, David Nir #67 to #64.
| # | Move | Writer | Followers | Recommended by | Paid | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 |  The Free Press@thefreepress |
2,615,674 | 131 50+ | Hundreds of thousands | |
| 2 | 0 |  The Bulwark@thebulwark |
1,395,258 | 110 51+ | Hundreds of thousands | |
| 3 | 0 |  Heather Cox RichardsonLetters from an American |
3,531,361 | 196 51+ | Hundreds of thousands | |
| 4 | 0 |  MeidasTouch NetworkMeidas+ |
1,091,926 | 85 +34 | Tens of thousands | |
| 5 | 0 |  Mehdi HasanZeteo |
893,795 | 96 +32 | Tens of thousands | |
| 6 | ▲1 |  Nate SilverSilver Bulletin |
456,726 | 99 +34 | Tens of thousands | |
| 7 | ▼1 |  The Contrarian@contrarian |
611,878 | 97 +23 | Tens of thousands | |
| 8 | 0 |  Paul Krugman@paulkrugman |
876,534 | 107 +47 | Tens of thousands | |
| 9 | 0 |  Andy BorowitzThe Borowitz Report |
782,776 | 85 +38 | Tens of thousands | |
| 10 | 0 |  Robert Reich@robertreich |
1,698,545 | 109 52+ | Tens of thousands | |
| 11 | 0 |  Joyce VanceCivil Discourse with Joyce Vance |
1,099,278 | 110 +32 | Tens of thousands | |
| 12 | 0 |  Adam Kinzinger@adamkinzinger |
794,502 | 74 +36 | Tens of thousands | |
| 13 | 0 |  Matt TaibbiRacket News |
584,363 | 92 +7 | Tens of thousands | |
| 14 | 0 |  Matthew YglesiasSlow Boring |
365,362 | 88 +8 | Tens of thousands | |
| 15 | 0 |  Dan RatherSteady |
851,063 | 72 +19 | Tens of thousands | |
| 16 | 0 |  Heather Delaney ReeseHope for America with Heather Delaney Reese |
184,630 | 60 +13 | Tens of thousands | |
| 17 | ▲1 |  Judd LegumPopular Information |
1,095,628 | 86 +18 | Tens of thousands | |
| 18 | ▼1 |  The Preamble@thepreamble |
336,879 | 64 +4 | Tens of thousands | |
| 19 | 0 |  Lincoln SquareLincoln Square Media |
357,448 | 73 +6 | Tens of thousands | |
| 20 | 0 |  Steve SchmidtThe Warning with Steve Schmidt |
332,126 | 72 +16 | Tens of thousands | |
| 21 | 0 |  Jay KuoThe Status Kuo |
331,496 | 59 +3 | Thousands | |
| 22 | 0 |  Erin ReedErin In The Morning |
228,925 | 71 +10 | Tens of thousands | |
| 23 | 0 |  Andrew SullivanThe Weekly Dish |
354,497 | 97 +2 | Tens of thousands | |
| 24 | 0 |  Robert B. HubbellToday's Edition Newsletter |
198,527 | 59 +8 | none shown | |
| 25 | 0 |  Dan PfeifferThe Message Box |
573,347 | 60 +5 | Tens of thousands | |
| 26 | ▲1 |  Aaron RuparPublic Notice |
662,971 | 83 +10 | Tens of thousands | |
| 27 | ▼1 |  Anand GiridharadasThe.Ink |
302,960 | 70 +8 | none shown | |
| 28 | 0 |  Legal AFLegal AF's Substack |
230,924 | 53 +14 | Tens of thousands | |
| 29 | 0 |  Simon RosenbergHopium Chronicles By Simon Rosenberg |
356,376 | 75 +4 | Tens of thousands | |
| 30 | 0 |  Jessica YellinNews Not Noise |
244,892 | 68 +5 | Thousands | |
| 31 | 0 |  Raw America@rawstory |
348,766 | 60 +8 | Tens of thousands | |
| 32 | ▲9 |  G. Elliott MorrisStrength In Numbers |
195,376 | 63 +8 | Thousands | |
| 33 | ▼1 |  Jess CravenChop Wood, Carry Water |
275,457 | 77 +5 | Tens of thousands | |
| 34 | ▼1 |  Mary L TrumpThe Good in Us by Mary L. Trump |
695,762 | 74 +13 | Tens of thousands | |
| 35 | 0 |  Pantsuit Politics@pantsuitpolitics |
67,255 | 57 +2 | Thousands | |
| 36 | ▼2 |  Rick WilsonRick Wilson’s Against All Enemies |
600,435 | 76 +8 | Tens of thousands | |
| 37 | 0 |  Charlie SykesTo the Contrary |
200,627 | 74 +5 | Thousands | |
| 38 | ▼2 |  Brian Tyler Cohen@briantylercohen |
822,567 | 65 +23 | Tens of thousands | |
| 39 | ▼1 |  Thom HartmannThe Hartmann Report |
385,600 | 81 +10 | Thousands | |
| 40 | ▼1 |  Jeff Tiedricheveryone is entitled to my own opinion |
280,731 | 71 +6 | Tens of thousands | |
| 41 | ▼1 |  Crooked Media@crookedmedia |
353,916 | 57 +18 | Thousands | |
| 42 | 0 |  The Argument@theargument |
65,143 | 65 +6 | Thousands | |
| 43 | ▲1 |  Peter BeinartThe Beinart Notebook |
206,440 | 71 +14 | Thousands | |
| 44 | ▼1 |  Seth AbramsonProof |
167,157 | 56 +4 | Thousands | |
| 45 | ▲3 |  Miles TaylorDEFIANCE.org |
196,760 | 64 +20 | Thousands | |
| 46 | ▲1 |  THE LEFT HOOK with Wajahat AliThe Left Hook with Wajahat Ali |
293,491 | 91 +11 | Thousands | |
| 47 | ▼1 |  Ken Klippenstein@kenklippenstein |
272,674 | 74 +8 | Thousands | |
| 48 | ▼3 |  Michael WolffHOWL |
120,330 | 55 +3 | Thousands | |
| 49 | 0 |  Rebecca SchoenkopfWonkette |
98,639 | 68 +6 | Thousands | |
| 50 | ▲1 |  ettingermentumEttingermentum Newsletter |
76,620 | 58 | Thousands | |
| 51 | ▼1 |  Huckabee PostThe Huckabee Post |
323,979 | 55 +9 | Tens of thousands | |
| 52 | 0 |  Mike NellisEndless Urgency with Mike Nellis |
1,134,048 | 54 +18 | Thousands | |
| 53 | 0 |  Sarah KendziorSarah Kendzior’s Newsletter |
118,409 | 72 +9 | Thousands | |
| 54 | 0 |  Christopher F. Rufo@christopherrufo |
177,315 | 71 +4 | Thousands | |
| 55 | 0 |  The Big Picture@thinkbigpicture |
253,633 | 58 +4 | Thousands | |
| 56 | 0 |  Joy-Ann ReidJoy's House! (An Image Lab Joint) |
459,969 | 78 +10 | Thousands | |
| 57 | ▲6 |  Galen DrukeGD POLITICS |
35,207 | 54 +4 | Thousands | |
| 58 | ▼1 |  Chris GeidnerLaw Dork |
154,258 | 65 +5 | Thousands | |
| 59 | 0 |  Persuasion@persuasioninstitute |
132,832 | 71 +6 | Thousands | |
| 60 | 0 |  Qasim Rashid, Esq.Let's Address This with Qasim Rashid |
290,129 | 63 +2 | Thousands | |
| 61 | ▼3 |  Michael Moore@michaelmoore |
1,014,438 | 57 +15 | Thousands | |
| 62 | ▼1 |  Amanda NelsonAmanda's Mild Takes |
51,877 | 56 +3 | Thousands | |
| 63 | ▼1 |  Christopher HaleLetters from Leo — the American Pope & US Politics |
47,777 | 57 +8 | Thousands | |
| 64 | ▲3 |  David NirThe Downballot |
130,869 | 62 +9 | Thousands | |
| 65 | ▼1 |  JoJoFromJerz Are you f'ng kidding me? |
238,493 | 61 +17 | Thousands | |
| 66 | ▼1 |  Krystal Kyle & Friends@krystalkyleandfriends |
110,574 | 56 +2 | Thousands | |
| 67 | ▼1 |  Alisa Valdes-RodriguezThe Pugilist with Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez |
63,051 | 56 +4 | Thousands | |
| 68 | 0 |  Harry LitmanTalking Feds Substack |
383,846 | 63 +3 | Thousands | |
| 69 | 0 |  Gabe FleisherWake Up To Politics |
88,953 | 56 +1 | Thousands | |
| 70 | 0 |  Brian BeutlerOff Message |
468,312 | 56 +4 | Thousands | |
| 71 | ▲1 |  Scott MacFarlaneScott MacFarlane Reports |
116,939 | 61 +4 | Thousands | |
| 72 | ▼1 |  Jim HightowerJim Hightower's Lowdown |
77,036 | 54 +4 | Thousands | |
| 73 | 0 |  Allison GillThe Breakdown |
299,946 | 62 +13 | Thousands | |
| 74 | 0 |  Jess PiperThe View from Rural Missouri by Jess Piper |
257,238 | 67 +2 | Thousands | |
| 75 | 0 |  Christopher ArmitageThe Existentialist Republic |
67,554 | 60 +10 | Thousands | |
| 76 | 0 |  I Fucking Love Australia@ifloz |
120,862 | 51 +14 | Thousands | |
| 77 | 0 |  Josh BarroVery Serious |
171,240 | 60 +3 | Tens of thousands | |
| 78 | 0 |  Don LemonThe Don Lemon Show |
366,624 | 61 +8 | Thousands | |
| 79 | ▲6 |  Capt. Seth KeshelCaptain K's Corner |
51,654 | 59 +2 | Thousands | |
| 80 | ▼1 |  Liz OyerLawyer Oyer |
137,897 | 56 +10 | Thousands | |
| 81 | ▼1 |  John GanzUnpopular Front |
74,424 | 62 +3 | Thousands | |
| 82 | ▼1 |  Adam MocklerMockler HQ |
173,852 | 51 +9 | Thousands | |
| 83 | ▼1 |  Anne P. Mitchell, Esq.Notes from the Front |
24,913 | 51 +7 | Thousands | |
| 84 | ▼1 |  Jonathan Wilson-HartgroveOur Moral Moment w/ Bishop William Barber & Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove |
245,464 | 56 +5 | Thousands | |
| 85 | ▼1 |  Mary GeddryGeddry |
55,346 | 53 +4 | Thousands | |
| 86 | 0 |  Sasha StoneFree Thinking Through the Fourth Turning with Sasha Stone |
50,207 | 53 +1 | Thousands | |
| 87 | 0 |  Under the Desk News@underthedesknews |
254,389 | 60 +8 | Thousands | |
| 88 | 0 |  Steven BeschlossAmerica, America |
269,221 | 71 +12 | Thousands | |
| 89 | 0 |  Glenn Loury@glennloury1 |
59,699 | 61 +2 | Thousands | |
| 90 | 0 |  Marianne WilliamsonTRANSFORM with Marianne Williamson |
95,904 | 57 +4 | none shown | |
| 91 | 0 |  Defending The Republic@defendingtherepublic |
65,631 | 52 +6 | Thousands | |
| 92 | 0 |  David PakmanThe David Pakman Show |
460,352 | 60 +13 | Thousands | |
| 93 | 0 |  Ellie LeonardThe Panicked Writer |
82,555 | 64 +8 | Thousands | |
| 94 | ▲1 |  Politix Podcast@politix |
2,460 | ? | none shown | |
| 95 | ▼1 |  Michael FanoneThe Michael Fanone Show |
170,649 | 61 +3 | Thousands | |
| 96 | 0 |  Jonathan LarsenThe Fucking News |
121,090 | 53 +8 | Thousands | |
| 97 | 0 |  Katie HalperUseful Idiots |
69,963 | 55 +1 | Thousands | |
| 98 | 0 |  Paul QuearyThe Washington Observer |
13,310 | 50 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 99 | 0 |  Julie KellyDeclassified with Julie Kelly |
79,253 | 56 +2 | Thousands | |
| 100 | new |  Charlotte ClymerCharlotte's Web Thoughts |
133,577 | ? | Thousands |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Free Press | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| The Bulwark | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Heather Cox Richardson | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| MeidasTouch Network | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Mehdi Hasan | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Nate Silver | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | ▲1 |
| The Contrarian | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | ▼1 |
| Paul Krugman | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Andy Borowitz | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Robert Reich | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| Joyce Vance | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| Adam Kinzinger | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 0 |
| Matt Taibbi | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 0 |
| Matthew Yglesias | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 0 |
| Dan Rather | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 0 |
| Heather Delaney Reese | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 0 |
| Judd Legum | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | ▲1 |
| The Preamble | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | ▼1 |
| Lincoln Square | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 0 |
| Steve Schmidt | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 0 |
History starts on Oct 31, 2026. Each day adds a column.
Who recommends U.S. Politics writers
Publications with the most live recommendations pointing at writers whose main category is U.S. Politics. If you write in this category, these are the readers' lists worth being on.