World Politics on Substack
The top 100 World 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
- 161
- Median followers, Bestsellers
- 48,741
- Smallest on the board
- 3,257
- Liviu Alexa, #47
- New recommendations, 30 days
- 672
- to writers whose main category this is
Rising in World 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.
Timothy Snyder
650k followers · #2 World Politics Bestsellers
Anne Applebaum
354k followers · #13 World Politics Bestsellers
Glenn Diesen
68k followers · #69 World Politics Bestsellers
Chris Hedges
284k followers · #5 World Politics Bestsellers
Paul Kingsnorth
127k followers · #21 World Politics Bestsellers
Dexter Ingram
8.6k followers · #96 World Politics Bestsellers
Ruth Ben-Ghiat
484k followers · #8 World 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: Dexter Ingram new at #96, Parlons Peu Parlons Bien #43 to #39, Kjetil Rolness #70 to #67, Trita Parsi #81 to #78, James Bosworth (Boz) #100 to #97.
| # | Move | Writer | Followers | Recommended by | Paid | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 |  Drop Site News@dropsitenews |
910,764 | 85 +34 | Tens of thousands | |
| 2 | 0 |  Timothy SnyderThinking about... |
649,664 | 108 +21 | Tens of thousands | |
| 3 | 0 | Sam FreedmanComment is Freed |
127,641 | 69 +7 | Tens of thousands | |
| 4 | 0 |  Glenn Greenwald@greenwald |
407,160 | 71 +5 | Tens of thousands | |
| 5 | 0 |  Chris HedgesThe Chris Hedges Report |
284,097 | 69 +16 | Thousands | |
| 6 | 0 |  Predictive HistoryPredictive History Substack |
132,035 | 54 +9 | Thousands | |
| 7 | 0 |  Prof Robert Pape@professorrobertpape |
82,772 | 53 +10 | Thousands | |
| 8 | 0 |  Ruth Ben-GhiatLucid |
483,580 | 85 +13 | Thousands | |
| 9 | 0 |  Matt Goodwin@mattgoodwin |
128,342 | 67 +7 | Thousands | |
| 10 | 0 |  Team ZeteoZeteo UK |
748,044 | 51 +5 | Tens of thousands | |
| 11 | 0 |  SimpliciusSimplicius's Garden of Knowledge |
82,489 | 57 +2 | Thousands | |
| 12 | 0 |  Black Man Spy - Malcolm NanceMalcolm Nance: Special Intelligence |
170,532 | 63 +7 | Thousands | |
| 13 | 0 |  Anne ApplebaumOpen Letters, from Anne Applebaum |
353,675 | 81 +18 | Thousands | |
| 14 | 0 |  Carole CadwalladrHow to Survive the Broligarchy |
196,770 | 68 +2 | Thousands | |
| 15 | ▼8 | Prof Robert Pape@professorrobertpape |
82,772 | 53 +10 | Thousands | |
| 16 | ▼1 |  Bernard HickeyThe Kākā by Bernard Hickey |
35,104 | 54 +1 | Thousands | |
| 17 | 0 |  Lev ParnasLev Remembers |
141,632 | 62 +2 | Thousands | |
| 18 | ▲1 |  Dominic CummingsDominic Cummings substack |
99,753 | 55 +6 | Thousands | |
| 19 | ▼1 |  Paul Wells@paulwells |
57,292 | 58 +4 | Thousands | |
| 20 | ▲1 |  Restoring the West by AyaanRestoring the West by Ayaan Hirsi Ali |
99,022 | 62 +3 | Thousands | |
| 21 | ▼1 |  Paul KingsnorthThe Abbey of Misrule |
126,883 | 68 +15 | Thousands | |
| 22 | 0 |  Konstantin Kisin@konstantinkisin |
195,465 | 75 +8 | Thousands | |
| 23 | 0 |  Scott RitterReal Scott Ritter |
100,314 | 53 +7 | Thousands | |
| 24 | 0 |  Maurice HöfgenGeld für die Welt |
56,268 | 52 +4 | Thousands | |
| 25 | 0 |  Line EditorThe Line |
49,432 | 55 +2 | Thousands | |
| 26 | 0 |  Eve BarlowBlacklisted |
31,100 | 53 +3 | Thousands | |
| 27 | 0 |  Louise PerryMaiden Mother Matriarch |
69,701 | 59 +1 | Thousands | |
| 28 | 0 |  Amit SegalIt's Noon In Israel |
48,741 | 52 +6 | Thousands | |
| 29 | 0 |  Peter GeogheganDemocracy for Sale |
76,434 | 64 +7 | Thousands | |
| 30 | 0 |  Will HaywardThe Will Hayward Newsletter |
16,537 | 50 +3 | Thousands | |
| 31 | 0 |  Melanie Phillips@melaniephillips |
66,745 | 60 +6 | Thousands | |
| 32 | 0 |  Jasper Diamond NathanielInfinite Jaz |
31,119 | 57 +8 | Thousands | |
| 33 | 0 |  Yascha Mounk@yaschamounk |
261,019 | 74 +2 | Thousands | |
| 34 | 0 |  Josh SzepsUncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps |
41,933 | 56 +2 | Thousands | |
| 35 | 0 |  The Mike Graham Show@themikegrahamshow |
29,137 | 51 +5 | Thousands | |
| 36 | 0 |  Derek DavisonForeign Exchanges |
57,903 | 57 +3 | Thousands | |
| 37 | 0 |  elizabeth nicksonWelcome to Absurdistan |
50,486 | 57 +5 | Thousands | |
| 38 | 0 |  Alexander VindmanWhy It Matters |
514,951 | 67 +5 | Thousands | |
| 39 | ▲4 |  Parlons Peu Parlons Bien@parlonspeuparlonsbien |
30,500 | 50 +1 | Thousands | |
| 40 | ▼1 |  The Grayzone@thegrayzone |
89,586 | 54 +6 | Thousands | |
| 41 | ▼1 |  Rod D. MartinThe Rod Martin Report |
33,432 | 55 +1 | Thousands | |
| 42 | ▼1 |  Conflicts ForumConflicts Forum’s Substack |
26,763 | 52 +12 | Thousands | |
| 43 | ▼1 |  Nick CohenWriting from London |
50,631 | 59 +3 | Thousands | |
| 44 | 0 |  Andrew Fox@mrandrewfox |
34,616 | 60 +8 | Thousands | |
| 45 | 0 |  Milosz MatuschekFreischwebende Intelligenz |
4,292 | 54 +3 | none shown | |
| 46 | ▲1 |  Robert Yoho, MDSurviving Healthcare |
92,183 | 54 +4 | Thousands | |
| 47 | ▼1 |  Liviu AlexaStrict Secret |
3,257 | 50 +1 | Thousands | |
| 48 | 0 |  Aaron MatéAaron Mate |
133,391 | 56 +7 | Thousands | |
| 49 | 0 |  Ian DuntStriking 13 |
40,345 | 56 +4 | Thousands | |
| 50 | 0 |  Alon MizrahiThe Mizrahi Perspective |
29,689 | 54 +4 | Thousands | |
| 51 | 0 |  Joel BowmanNotes from the End of the World |
15,327 | 52 +5 | Thousands | |
| 52 | 0 |  Rachel GilmoreBubble Pop with Rachel Gilmore |
30,288 | 54 +2 | Thousands | |
| 53 | 0 |  Karolis Žukauskas@zalzakas |
18,385 | 48 +2 | Thousands | |
| 54 | 0 |  This Will Hold@thiswillhold |
79,940 | 57 +3 | Thousands | |
| 55 | 0 |  Diane Francis@dianefrancis1 |
25,994 | 53 +2 | Thousands | |
| 56 | 0 |  Shankar NarayanThe Concis |
17,886 | 51 +5 | Thousands | |
| 57 | 0 |  Guy Christensen@yourfavoriteguy |
52,149 | 51 +1 | Thousands | |
| 58 | 0 |  TurbulenceTurbulence Podcast |
6,615 | 28 +7 | Thousands | |
| 59 | 0 |  Alessandro Di BattistaScomode Verità |
43,486 | 50 +3 | Thousands | |
| 60 | 0 |  Jordan SchneiderChinaTalk |
137,468 | 65 +10 | 100+ badge | |
| 61 | 0 |  Claire BerlinskiThe Cosmopolitan Globalist |
101,615 | 65 +4 | Thousands | |
| 62 | 0 |  Robert WrightNonZero Newsletter |
87,288 | 61 | Thousands | |
| 63 | 0 |  Bertrand SCHOLLER@bertrandscholler |
6,363 | ? | none shown | |
| 64 | ▲2 |  Naomi KleinPatterns by Naomi Klein |
229,043 | 68 +13 | Thousands | |
| 65 | 0 |  Demography Unplugged@demographyunplugged |
19,283 | 54 | 100+ badge | |
| 66 | ▼2 |  Éric GrenierThe Writ |
21,505 | 54 +3 | Thousands | |
| 67 | ▲3 |  Kjetil Rolness@kjetilrolness |
10,275 | 43 +3 | Thousands | |
| 68 | ▼1 |  Kaiser Y KuoSinica |
42,547 | 59 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 69 | 0 |  Glenn DiesenGlenn Diesen’s Substack |
68,207 | 55 +17 | 100+ badge | |
| 70 | ▼2 |  Mick RyanFutura Doctrina |
69,811 | 68 +3 | Thousands | |
| 71 | 0 |  Portugal DecodedPORTUGAL DECODED |
13,149 | 51 +2 | Thousands | |
| 72 | 0 |  Terry GlavinThe Real Story |
21,992 | 56 | Thousands | |
| 73 | 0 |  Jonathan Cook@jonathancook |
63,790 | 52 +8 | Thousands | |
| 74 | 0 |  J’accuse@jaccusepaper |
10,808 | 51 | 100+ badge | |
| 75 | 0 |  alimcforever@alimcforever |
16,729 | 51 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 76 | 0 |  Alice TeodorescuKlartext av Alice Teodorescu |
16,304 | 51 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 77 | 0 |  Sean D. NaylorThe High Side |
15,334 | 54 +1 | Thousands | |
| 78 | ▲3 |  Trita Parsi@tritaparsi |
57,963 | 54 +11 | 100+ badge | |
| 79 | ▼1 |  Douglas MacgregorWarrior Diplomacy Substack |
58,389 | 52 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 80 | ▼1 |  Grace Blakeley@graceblakeley |
67,559 | 61 +5 | 100+ badge | |
| 81 | ▼1 |  Fall of the Cabal OfficialFall of the Cabal - Cyntha Koeter |
47,841 | 50 +6 | 100+ badge | |
| 82 | 0 |  Jacob KaarsboIntel Brief by Jacob Kaarsbo |
22,022 | 53 +7 | Thousands | |
| 83 | 0 |  Bryce EdwardsThe Democracy Project |
13,259 | 52 +1 | Thousands | |
| 84 | 0 |  Owen JonesBattleLines with Owen Jones |
128,936 | 52 +5 | Thousands | |
| 85 | 0 |  Nick RockelNick's Kōrero |
6,141 | 51 | Thousands | |
| 86 | 0 |  Foreign Office by M.WeissForeign Office by Michael Weiss |
19,211 | 55 +4 | 100+ badge | |
| 87 | 0 |  Peter FrankopanGlobal Threads with Peter Frankopan |
18,493 | 55 | 100+ badge | |
| 88 | 0 |  Geopolitical Dispatch@geopoliticaldispatch |
38,983 | 57 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 89 | 0 |  Philippe J. Fournier338Canada.ca |
30,562 | 53 +3 | Thousands | |
| 90 | 0 |  Mark Leon GoldbergGlobal Dispatches |
33,629 | 57 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 91 | 0 |  Cole BennettCole.notcole |
22,776 | 51 +2 | Thousands | |
| 92 | 0 |  Maryann, Revealing LightMaryann Weston |
12,075 | 51 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 93 | ▲2 |  Wajeeh Lion@wajeehlion |
13,129 | 53 +8 | Thousands | |
| 94 | ▼1 |  Alex KrainerAlex Krainer's Substack |
55,568 | 60 +9 | Thousands | |
| 95 | ▼1 |  Gareth RobertsThe Culture Bunker |
10,351 | 23 | 100+ badge | |
| 96 | new |  Dexter IngramDexter Ingram: Declassified |
8,586 | 52 +14 | 100+ badge | |
| 97 | new |  James Bosworth (Boz)Latin America Risk Report |
15,437 | 55 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 98 | ▼1 |  The Lesbian Project Podcast@thelesbianprojectpod |
8,699 | 43 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 99 | ▼3 |  d. a. t. greenThe Empty City - a law and polity blog |
16,949 | 52 +2 | none shown | |
| 100 | ▼2 |  Policy Tensor@policytensor |
17,047 | 51 +1 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drop Site News | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Timothy Snyder | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Sam Freedman | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Glenn Greenwald | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Chris Hedges | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Predictive History | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Prof Robert Pape | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Ruth Ben-Ghiat | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Matt Goodwin | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Team Zeteo | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| Simplicius | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| Black Man Spy - Malcolm Nance | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 0 |
| Anne Applebaum | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 0 |
| Carole Cadwalladr | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 0 |
| Bernard Hickey | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | ▼1 |
| Lev Parnas | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 0 |
| Dominic Cummings | 20 | 19 | 19 | 18 | ▲2 |
| Paul Wells | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | ▼1 |
| Restoring the West by Ayaan | 21 | 21 | 21 | 20 | ▲1 |
History starts on Oct 31, 2026. Each day adds a column.
Who recommends World Politics writers
Publications with the most live recommendations pointing at writers whose main category is World Politics. If you write in this category, these are the readers' lists worth being on.