Michael Balter

@michaelbalter · Words For the Wise · Substack profile · News

Compare Share

Michael Balter has 2,753 followers on Substack as of Oct 31, 2026. 9 publications recommend them, and they recommend 15.

Followers read 6 days ago

Last read Oct 31, 2026 (UTC). Followers are not email subscribers. Substack lists only the newest 50 recommendations for each publication, so a recommender count of 50 or more is a floor. History starts Oct 31, 2026; Substack publishes nothing earlier.

Followers: 2,753; read Oct 31
Last 7 days: first number on Nov 7
Last 30 days: first number on Nov 30
Subscribers: 2.3K+; rounded by Substack
Paid subscribers: 100+; bestseller badge 100+
Recommended by: 9; none new in 30 days
Recommends: 15
Bestsellers rank: not on a board

Followers by day

Tracking since Oct 31, 2026. This is the first reading. Substack doesn't publish past follower counts, so history starts the day I first read a writer and grows by one reading every 3 days (daily if it's on your watchlist). The 7-day change appears on Nov 7, the 30-day change on Nov 30. Recommendation dates below go further back: they're Substack's own.

One reading a day, the last of the day. Marked: leaderboard steps (into the top 25, top 10, or #1). Followers are people who follow Michael Balter on Substack; they aren't email subscribers.

Show as a table

Daily readings
Date	Followers	Change	Subscribers	Paid band
Oct 31, 2026	2,753		2.3K+

Leaderboard positions

Not on a category leaderboard right now

Substack's boards list the top 100 per category, by paid subscribers (Bestsellers) and by recent paid growth (Rising). I read all 66 of them once a day, so a new entry shows up within a day.

Recommendations

9 publications recommend Michael Balter. Michael Balter recommends 15, and 2 of those recommend back. Lists read Oct 31.

The 9 largest publications on each side, by followers. Bigger dot, more followers. Orange: started in the last 30 days. Gray dots: publications I don't track, so no follower count.

When the recommendations started

Live recommendations by the month each began, using Substack's own start date. Removed ones aren't listed by Substack, so they don't appear.

Show as a table

Recommendations started per month
Month	Started
2022-06	1
2022-10	1
2022-11	1
2023-02	1
2024-05	1
2024-08	1
2024-11	1
2025-06	1
2026-08	1

Recommended by

The Coop Scoop4.4k followers · started Jun 2022 · mutual
Iain Davidsonstarted Aug 2, 2026
Heidi N. Moorestarted Jun 2025
Am up to stuff by Dr Alicia Colsonstarted Nov 2024 · mutual
Eileen’s Substackstarted Aug 2024
The Oppenheimstarted May 2024
BlockedVirology’s Substackstarted Feb 2023
Colin’s Newsletterstarted Nov 2022
Broadsides & Bankshotsstarted Oct 2022

Recommends

Drop Site News911k followers · started Nov 2024
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar331k followers · started Apr 2022
Anand Giridharadas303k followers · started Jun 2024
Jessica Valenti283k followers · started Apr 2022
Parker Molloy223k followers · started Apr 2022
Peter Beinart206k followers · started Apr 2022
Sarah Kendzior118k followers · started Nov 2024
Molly Crabapple22k followers · started Dec 2024
The Coop Scoop4.4k followers · started Apr 2022 · mutual
David McKay Wilson2.1k followers · started Feb 2, 2026
Am up to stuff by Dr Alicia Colsonstarted Nov 2024 · mutual
eyy i'm walkin herestarted Aug 2022
PRESS RUNstarted Apr 2022
UnSpunstarted Apr 2022
Discourse Blogstarted Apr 2022

Substack lists the 50 newest recommenders of each publication. I add every recommendation found in the full lists of the 6,392 publications I read, so writers with many recommenders may still be missing a few small ones. "Started" is Substack's date.

Who recommends writers like this one

Publications that recommend at least two other News writers with 1,000 to 5,000 followers (44 writers in that group), but not Michael Balter.

The Intellectual Investor
recommends 3 of them
The Lefferts Gardens Ledger
recommends 2 of them