The Free Press has 2,615,674 followers on Substack as of Nov 1, 2026. On the latest board read, Oct 31, 2026, they were #1 on Substack's U.S. Politics Bestsellers board. 131 publications recommend them, at least 50 of them new in the last 30 days.
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
- 2,615,674
- read Nov 1
- Last 7 days
- first number on Nov 7
- Last 30 days
- first number on Nov 30
- Subscribers
- not shown
- rounded by Substack
- Paid subscribers
- Hundreds of thousands
- bestseller badge 10,000+
- Recommended by
- 131
- 50+ in 30 days
- Recommends
- 0
- Bestsellers rank
- #1
- U.S. 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 | 2,615,674 | +2,654 | Hundreds of thousands | |
| Oct 31, 2026 | 2,613,020 | Hundreds of thousands |
Leaderboard positions
| Board | Rank now | Best on record | Reads on it |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Politics Bestsellers | #1 | #1 | 4 of 4 |
| Podcasts Bestsellers | #4 | #4 | 4 of 4 |
| U.S. Politics Rising | #7 | #7 | 1 of 4 |
Rank on each read
| Writer | Oct 3107:00 | Oct 3113:00 | Oct 3119:47 | Nov 621:50 | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Politics Bestsellers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Podcasts Bestsellers | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| U.S. Politics Rising | 7 | new |
I read every board once a day.
Recommendations
131 publications recommend The Free Press; at least 50 started in the last 30 days. Lists read Oct 31.
When the recommendations started
Show as a table
| Month | Started |
|---|---|
| 2022-04 | 9 |
| 2022-05 | 4 |
| 2022-06 | 2 |
| 2022-07 | 1 |
| 2022-08 | 1 |
| 2022-09 | 1 |
| 2022-10 | 2 |
| 2022-12 | 1 |
| 2023-01 | 2 |
| 2023-02 | 3 |
| 2023-03 | 1 |
| 2023-05 | 1 |
| 2023-08 | 1 |
| 2023-09 | 1 |
| 2023-10 | 1 |
| 2023-11 | 2 |
| 2023-12 | 4 |
| 2024-01 | 2 |
| 2024-03 | 3 |
| 2024-04 | 2 |
| 2024-05 | 1 |
| 2024-06 | 1 |
| 2024-07 | 4 |
| 2024-08 | 1 |
| 2024-09 | 3 |
| 2024-10 | 1 |
| 2024-11 | 1 |
| 2025-01 | 3 |
| 2025-02 | 1 |
| 2025-04 | 2 |
| 2025-06 | 2 |
| 2025-07 | 3 |
| 2025-09 | 1 |
| 2025-10 | 2 |
| 2025-12 | 1 |
| 2026-03 | 1 |
| 2026-04 | 3 |
| 2026-06 | 1 |
| 2026-07 | 3 |
| 2026-09 | 2 |
| 2026-10 | 50 |
Recommended by
Yascha Mounk261k followers · started Jul 2024
Bill Maher252k followers · started Sep 2024
Jeff Childers250k followers · started Apr 2022
Leandra Medine Cohen233k followers · started Jan 2024
Dr Naomi Wolf186k followers · started Jun 15, 2026
Mayim Bialik's Breakdown149k followers · started Apr 2025
Niall Ferguson130k followers · started Oct 2024
Dave Barry127k followers · started Jan 2025
Ethan Strauss105k followers · started Jul 2022
Francis Foster96k followers · started Jul 2024
Colin Wright90k followers · started Apr 2022
The Fifth Column89k followers · started May 2022
Blocked and Reported85k followers · started Aug 2022
John Ellis82k followers · started Jun 2022
Joshua Coleman, Ph.D.76k followers · started Mar 2024
Kelly Wearstler71k followers · started Jan 2025
Melanie Phillips67k followers · started May 2022
Graham Linehan62k followers · started Apr 2022
Coleman Hughes61k followers · started Dec 2022
Glenn Loury60k followers · started Apr 2022
David Lat57k followers · started Jun 2022
Daniel Gordis56k followers · started May 2022
Rod Dreher54k followers · started Dec 15, 2025
Sasha Stone50k followers · started Apr 2022
All 131
Sherman Alexie45k followers · started Apr 2022
Glenn Harlan Reynolds43k followers · started Jan 2023
Stefano Feltri42k followers · started Feb 2023
Josh Szeps42k followers · started Nov 2024
Justus R. Hope38k followers · started Oct 2022
The Adam Carolla Show37k followers · started Aug 2024
Michael Oren35k followers · started Sep 2023
Andrew Fox35k followers · started Sep 2024
Rod D. Martin33k followers · started Apr 2024
Steve Stewart-Williams33k followers · started Jan 2024
Sally Bedell Smith31k followers · started Nov 2023
Conor Friedersdorf31k followers · started Apr 2022
Lisa Selin Davis26k followers · started May 2022
Michael F. Bird26k followers · started Apr 2022
Diane Francis26k followers · started Jul 2, 2026
Brian Lilley24k followers · started Jun 2025
Terry Glavin22k followers · started Sep 2022
John Anderson21k followers · started Apr 29, 2026
Emily Stimpson Chapman19k followers · started Mar 2023
Howard Jacobson17k followers · started Mar 2024
Rachel Reeves16k followers · started Dec 2023
Adam Spencer15k followers · started Feb 2025
Benjamin Ryan13k followers · started Sep 2024
Philippe Corbé13k followers · started Apr 2025
Adam Jacobs12k followers · started Jul 2025
Andrea Linett12k followers · started Jul 2024
Stephen L. Miller10k followers · started Feb 2023
Kate Spicer10k followers · started Aug 2023
Leland Vittert10k followers · started Apr 15, 2026
Nachum Kaplan נחום קפלן9.8k followers · started Dec 2023
Jake Wallis Simons9.4k followers · started Jul 2024
David Roseberry9.3k followers · started Dec 2023
Bob Kravitz8.4k followers · started May 2024
Julie Skolnick, M.A., J.D.7.8k followers · started Oct 2025
Pablo Majluf7.5k followers · started Jul 18, 2026
Matusik Missive7.4k followers · started Sep 2025
tmatt7.2k followers · started Mar 2024
Latika M Bourke6.5k followers · started Jun 2024
Hymie Rubenstein6.4k followers · started Nov 2023
Ido Singer4.5k followers · started Mar 4, 2026
Elizabeth Grace Matthew3.4k followers · started Dec 2023
Gawain Towler3.4k followers · started Jul 2025
Matthew Cole3.2k followers · started Apr 2024
Based Camp | Simone & Malcolm2.6k followers · started May 2023
Greg Landegger2k followers · started Jul 2025
Ilan Berman1.9k followers · started Apr 7, 2026
Serge Milshtein1.8k followers · started Sep 17, 2026
Tony DePrato1.2k followers · started Apr 2022
Robert lynch1.1k followers · started Oct 2025
Carlos D. Lloret922 followers · started Oct 2022
Richard Tavares Bosshardt877 followers · started Jan 2023
Ricklef Münnich755 followers · started Oct 2023
Carl Corey625 followers · started Jan 2025
Rabbi David Gerber578 followers · started Sep 16, 2026
Laurel Kenner198 followers · started Jun 2025
Mahj on the Beach4 followers · started Jul 5, 2026- Shivaansh Sharmastarted Oct 31, 2026new
- Anup Rajputstarted Oct 31, 2026new
- Founder Reachstarted Oct 31, 2026new
- Mir Sayedstarted Oct 30, 2026new
- Ash Perkostarted Oct 30, 2026new
- معمري نوالstarted Oct 30, 2026new
- Gabriel Josué Arruda De Souzastarted Oct 30, 2026new
- marinettedupainchengstarted Oct 30, 2026new
- Seema mittalstarted Oct 30, 2026new
- Kirsten's Substackstarted Oct 30, 2026new
- xiaolanstarted Oct 30, 2026new
- Keith's Substackstarted Oct 30, 2026new
- Sue's Substackstarted Oct 30, 2026new
- Amarstarted Oct 30, 2026new
- Michael Jamesstarted Oct 30, 2026new
- Danny's Substackstarted Oct 29, 2026new
- Raul Fautschstarted Oct 29, 2026new
- PayneyBstarted Oct 29, 2026new
- Kabirstarted Oct 29, 2026new
- Daniel Great T.O obarostarted Oct 29, 2026new
- Max's Substackstarted Oct 29, 2026new
- The Business Editstarted Oct 29, 2026new
- prathimaaivistarted Oct 29, 2026new
- Educatistarted Oct 29, 2026new
- VEYRANstarted Oct 29, 2026new
- nancy's Substackstarted Oct 29, 2026new
- ElGerkinstarted Oct 29, 2026new
- Le Substack de Bertrandstarted Oct 29, 2026new
- Exiles in the Empirestarted Oct 28, 2026new
- Brand Up With Ralphstarted Oct 28, 2026new
- John's Substackstarted Oct 28, 2026new
- rubystarted Oct 28, 2026new
- Ravi Vananistarted Oct 28, 2026new
- Le Substack de Opmstarted Oct 28, 2026new
- A.T. Floodstarted Oct 28, 2026new
- Johana Belen Avilastarted Oct 28, 2026new
- Nícestarted Oct 28, 2026new
- THE GIRMITIYASstarted Oct 28, 2026new
- motorcar.aestarted Oct 28, 2026new
- Isabella the Yachtstarted Oct 28, 2026new
- Ancient huếstarted Oct 28, 2026new
- Dharshuustarted Oct 28, 2026new
- Yarmuhammadstarted Oct 28, 2026new
- Asyiahstarted Oct 28, 2026new
- Nova Fin Global UAEstarted Oct 28, 2026new
- JobVumiSeostarted Oct 28, 2026new
- Fatima Ishaqstarted Oct 28, 2026new
- Aureliastarted Oct 28, 2026new
- Pondering The Orbs in my Mindstarted Oct 28, 2026new
- Substack الخاصة بـ د.احمدstarted Oct 28, 2026new
- Unnamed publicationstarted Feb 2023
Recommends
The Free Press doesn't recommend anyone.
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 Free Press. Useful for finding peers, and for sponsors looking for similar audiences.
- 22 shared
Andrew SullivanThe Weekly Dish
354k followers - 14 shared
Matt TaibbiRacket News
584k followers - 11 shared
Sam Harris@samharris
506k followers - 9 shared
Blocked and Reported@blockedandreported
85k followers - 8 shared
Nate SilverSilver Bulletin
457k followers - 8 shared
Konstantin Kisin@konstantinkisin
195k followers - 8 shared
The Fifth ColumnThe Fifth Column (A Podcast)
89k followers - 7 shared
Yascha Mounk@yaschamounk
261k followers
Who recommends writers like this one
Publications that recommend at least two other U.S. Politics writers with 50,000 or more followers (124 writers in that group), but not The Free Press.
- recommends 37 of themFlorida For Jolly
- recommends 18 of them
Michael Fanone@michaelfanone - recommends 17 of them
MeidasTouch Network@meidastouch - recommends 17 of them
Brian Tyler Cohen@briantylercohen - recommends 17 of them
Jess Piper@jesspiper - recommends 17 of them
JoJoFromJerz@jojofromjerz - recommends 17 of them
Grounded Podcast@groundedpodcast - recommends 15 of them
Jim Acosta@jimacosta - recommends 15 of them
Dan Pfeiffer@messagebox - recommends 15 of them
Justin Wolfers@justinwolfers
Share, badge and embed
Badge for your About page
Shows the follower count and weekly change, updates on its own and links here. Pro removes the small Stackblade mark.
<a href="https://stackblade.app/w/thefreepress"><img src="https://stackblade.app/badge/thefreepress.svg" alt="The Free Press on Substack: follower count" height="28"></a>
Substack posts don't take HTML. There, add the badge as an image (its address is in the snippet above) and link it to this page.
Card for a website
A small live card with followers and recommendations. Iframe, 360 by 190.
<iframe src="https://stackblade.app/embed/w/thefreepress" width="360" height="190" style="border:0" title="The Free Press on Stackblade" loading="lazy"></iframe>