The Defender has 20,007 followers on Substack as of Nov 1, 2026. On the latest board read, Nov 6, 2026, they were #81 on Substack's Health Politics Bestsellers board. 57 publications recommend them, 3 of them new in the last 30 days, and they recommend 50.
Followers read · Boards read
Last read Nov 1, 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
- 20,007
- read Nov 1
- Last 7 days
- first number on Nov 7
- Last 30 days
- first number on Nov 30
- Subscribers
- 6.5K+
- rounded by Substack
- Paid subscribers
- none shown
- Recommended by
- 57
- +3 in 30 days
- Recommends
- 50
- Bestsellers rank
- #81
- Health Politics
Followers by day
Tracking since Oct 31, 2026. 2 days of readings. 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.
Show as a table
| Date | Followers | Change | Subscribers | Paid band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 1, 2026 | 20,007 | +16 | 6.5K+ | |
| Oct 31, 2026 | 19,991 | 6.5K+ |
Leaderboard positions
| Board | Rank now | Best on record | Reads on it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Politics Bestsellers | #81 | #80 | 4 of 4 |
Rank on each read
| Writer | Oct 3107:00 | Oct 3113:00 | Oct 3119:47 | Nov 621:50 | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Politics Bestsellers | 80 | 80 | 80 | 81 | ▼1 |
I read every board once a day.
Recommendations
57 publications recommend The Defender; 3 started in the last 30 days. The Defender recommends 50, and 12 of those recommend back. Lists read Oct 31.
When the recommendations started
Show as a table
| Month | Started |
|---|---|
| 2024-08 | 1 |
| 2024-09 | 3 |
| 2024-10 | 2 |
| 2024-11 | 2 |
| 2024-12 | 3 |
| 2025-01 | 2 |
| 2025-02 | 3 |
| 2025-03 | 1 |
| 2025-04 | 1 |
| 2025-05 | 5 |
| 2025-06 | 1 |
| 2025-07 | 1 |
| 2025-09 | 1 |
| 2025-10 | 1 |
| 2025-12 | 2 |
| 2026-01 | 2 |
| 2026-02 | 2 |
| 2026-03 | 4 |
| 2026-04 | 1 |
| 2026-05 | 1 |
| 2026-06 | 6 |
| 2026-07 | 1 |
| 2026-08 | 3 |
| 2026-09 | 2 |
| 2026-10 | 6 |
Recommended by
Steve Kirsch340k followers · started Jun 26, 2026 · mutual
Meryl Nass111k followers · started Oct 2024 · mutual
Sasha Latypova105k followers · started Dec 22, 2025 · mutual
Mark Crispin Miller104k followers · started Sep 23, 2026 · mutual
Sayer Ji74k followers · started Nov 2024 · mutual
James Lyons-Weiler, PhD51k followers · started Jul 2025 · mutual
Sonia Elijah26k followers · started Sep 2024
GeoffPainPhD11k followers · started Jan 2025
Scarlett Fang144 followers · started Jun 2, 2026- Linda's Substackstarted Oct 19, 2026new
- Kathy's Substackstarted Oct 18, 2026new
- Rachel Finnstarted Oct 10, 2026new
- LJBstarted Oct 6, 2026
- Dead Serious... Kinda Notstarted Oct 4, 2026
- Andrew Burgoynestarted Oct 3, 2026
- Make America Great Againstarted Sep 15, 2026
- The EMF Guystarted Aug 28, 2026 · mutual
- Ed Balbona MDstarted Aug 16, 2026
- Shannon Joystarted Aug 13, 2026 · mutual
- sarahstarted Jul 7, 2026
- NursesOutLoudstarted Jun 27, 2026 · mutual
- Shirley Whitakerstarted Jun 17, 2026
- Catherine Ross Blair's Substackstarted Jun 7, 2026
- Kertész Nikistarted Jun 5, 2026
All 57
- Elgato Weebeestarted May 3, 2026
- Greppy's Substackstarted Apr 7, 2026
- Jeanne Coppolastarted Mar 31, 2026
- michael smuldersstarted Mar 27, 2026
- Jana's Substackstarted Mar 24, 2026
- MAISON's Substackstarted Mar 5, 2026
- Evelyne Therrienstarted Feb 17, 2026
- Walking Wise Waystarted Feb 5, 2026
- Barbara Fisherstarted Jan 23, 2026
- Jean's Substackstarted Jan 20, 2026
- Jan's Substackstarted Dec 17, 2025
- HFDF's Substackstarted Oct 2025 · mutual
- Viktor’s Substackstarted Sep 2025
- Richard Raymondstarted Jun 2025
- Empowered Collectivestarted May 2025
- Dallas’s Substackstarted May 2025
- dr’s Substackstarted May 2025
- Maria Schulzstarted May 2025
- INGRID C DURDENstarted May 2025
- Zara’s Substackstarted Apr 2025
- Another Betrayed Liberalstarted Mar 2025
- Lorettastarted Feb 2025
- WCH Floridastarted Feb 2025
- Amy Harlibstarted Feb 2025
- Besides The Revolutionstarted Jan 2025 · mutual
- Suzanne’s Substackstarted Dec 2024
- Atitaya’s Substackstarted Dec 2024
- Vaccine Research Projectstarted Dec 2024
- Mari Goldstarted Nov 2024
- Phillip’s Substackstarted Oct 2024
- Reclaim Substackstarted Sep 2024
- Ray Flores Short Stackstarted Sep 2024 · mutual
- CMM | The Fellowship of Truthstarted Aug 2024
Recommends
Dr. Robert W. Malone448k followers · started Oct 19, 2026new- Steve Kirsch340k followers · started Oct 19, 2026 · mutualnew
The MAHA Report283k followers · started May 2025
Peter A McCullough, MD, MPH238k followers · started Mar 2024
The Vigilant Fox229k followers · started Oct 26, 2026new
Pierre Kory, MD, MPA193k followers · started Oct 19, 2026new
Dr. Gator142k followers · started Oct 19, 2026new
Karen Kingston111k followers · started Feb 2025- Meryl Nass111k followers · started Mar 2024 · mutual
- Sasha Latypova105k followers · started Sep 16, 2026 · mutual
- Mark Crispin Miller104k followers · started Oct 19, 2026 · mutualnew
Aaron Siri80k followers · started Oct 19, 2026new
Rav Arora77k followers · started Nov 2024- Sayer Ji74k followers · started Dec 2024 · mutual
Lioness of Judah Ministry66k followers · started Oct 19, 2026new- James Lyons-Weiler, PhD51k followers · started May 2025 · mutual
Ed Dowd: Beyond the Narrative36k followers · started Apr 30, 2026
Jenna McCarthy22k followers · started Oct 17, 2026new
Collapse Life20k followers · started Sep 29, 2026
JeffreyTucker16k followers · started Mar 2024
Moorea Maguire2.1k followers · started May 28, 2026- In G-d’s Army There’s Only Truthstarted Oct 19, 2026new
- Vinu’s Newsletterstarted Oct 19, 2026new
- The EMF Guystarted Oct 19, 2026 · mutualnew
All 50
- Shannon Joystarted Oct 19, 2026 · mutualnew
- Denis’s Substackstarted Oct 17, 2026new
- Besides The Revolutionstarted Sep 11, 2026 · mutual
- Dan Fournier's Inconvenient Truthsstarted Sep 11, 2026
- Vital Animal Substackstarted Sep 11, 2026
- HFDF's Substackstarted Sep 11, 2026 · mutual
- Gretchen’s Substackstarted May 28, 2026
- NursesOutLoudstarted May 28, 2026 · mutual
- BrokenTruth.TVstarted Apr 9, 2026
- Carrie Weston Clarkstarted Feb 18, 2026
- Prioritize’s Substackstarted Jan 30, 2026
- The Solari Report’s Substackstarted Dec 10, 2025
- Through The Legal Glassstarted Oct 2025
- On Second Thoughtstarted May 2025
- MD REPORTSstarted May 2025
- How to End the Autism Epidemicstarted May 2025
- Ray Flores Short Stackstarted Jan 2025 · mutual
- Teachers for Choicestarted Jan 2025
- JonFleetwood.comstarted Oct 2024
- Small Farm Republicstarted Aug 2024
- UnSpunstarted Mar 2024
- Independent Medical Alliancestarted Mar 2024
- The New Ledestarted Mar 2024
- Vibrant Lifestarted Mar 2024
- Unsettled Sciencestarted Mar 2024
- Lee Fangstarted Mar 2024
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.
Recommended by the same publications
Writers who share the most recommenders with The Defender. Useful for finding peers, and for sponsors looking for similar audiences.
- 6 shared
A Midwestern DoctorThe Forgotten Side of Medicine
425k followers - 6 shared
Peter A McCullough, MD, MPHFOCAL POINTS (Courageous Discourse™)
238k followers - 6 shared
Sayer JiSayer Ji's Substack
74k followers - 5 shared
Dr. Robert W. MaloneMalone News
448k followers - 5 shared
Jenna McCarthyJenna’s Side
22k followers - 5 shared
JeffreyTuckerBrownstone Insights
16k followers - 4 shared
Pierre Kory, MD, MPAPierre Kory’s Medical Musings
193k followers - 4 shared
Toby RogersuTobian
86k followers
Who recommends writers like this one
Publications that recommend at least two other Health Politics writers with 10,000 to 50,000 followers (46 writers in that group), but not The Defender.
- recommends 5 of themShona’s Substack
- recommends 4 of them
Senta Depuydt@sentadepuydt - recommends 4 of themAlicia’s Newsletter
- recommends 4 of themDear Church Leaders (and everyone else)
- recommends 4 of themDenis Kristan
- recommends 4 of themLowell Hubbs
- recommends 4 of themHans U. P. Tolzin
- recommends 3 of them
The MAHA Report@theofficialmahareport - recommends 3 of them
Dr. Paul Alexander@drpaulalexander - recommends 3 of them
Lioness of Judah Ministry@lionessofjudah
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