What's trending on Substack today: Oct 16, 2026

The Lowe Post remains rank 1 on Substack for October 16, 2026, snapshot 08:01:36.048850, the same Zach Lowe basketball newsletter that led October 15. Noth Things enters at rank 5, Josh Appelbaum at rank 7, and Latrice Littleton at rank 10. Vital By Design, Lincoln Project, and Zeta Webber drop. Always On with Marina Hyde and The Babylon Bee hold ranks 2 and 3.

The Lowe Post
NBA newsletter at rank 1, same slot as October 15. Zach Lowe's basketball letter remains the board leader. No widely reported October 16 guest-note trigger identified beyond the continued hold.
Always On with Marina Hyde
Media newsletter at rank 2, same slot as October 15. Hyde's column holds behind Lowe. No widely reported trigger identified for October 16, 2026.
The Babylon Bee
Satire newsletter at rank 3, same slot as October 15. The parody site's Substack holds the third slot. No widely reported trigger identified for October 16, 2026.
hanapee
Creator newsletter at rank 4 after rank 5, up 1. The title climbed one slot as Hussain Makke slipped. No widely reported trigger identified for October 16, 2026.
Noth Things
New creator newsletter at rank 5. The row replaces Hussain Makke at this slot. No widely reported news trigger identified for the October 16 entry; the rank debut is the documented change.
Hussain Makke
Creator newsletter at rank 6 after rank 4, down 2. The title remains in the ten after slipping two slots. No widely reported trigger identified for October 16, 2026.
Josh Appelbaum
New creator newsletter at rank 7. The row is a new personal letter on this ten. No widely reported news trigger identified for October 16, 2026.
Martini Mondays
Lifestyle newsletter at rank 8 after rank 6, down 2. The drinks letter remains in the ten. No widely reported trigger identified for October 16, 2026.
The Anti-Inflammatory Club
Health newsletter at rank 9 after rank 7, down 2. The wellness letter remains in the ten. No widely reported trigger identified for October 16, 2026.
Latrice Littleton
New creator newsletter at rank 10. The row replaces Zeta Webber. No widely reported news trigger identified for October 16, 2026.

The live ranked board beyond today's top 10 is available via the Trends MCP API. Get your free API key

What changed on Substack since yesterday

New: Noth Things at 5, Josh Appelbaum at 7, Latrice Littleton at 10. Drop-off: Vital By Design with Kori Meloy, Lincoln Project, Zeta Webber. hanapee 5 to 4. Hussain Makke 4 to 6. Martini Mondays 6 to 8. Anti-Inflammatory Club 7 to 9. Held: Lowe Post 1, Marina Hyde 2, Babylon Bee 3. Clock 08:01:46.763347 on October 15 to 08:01:36.048850 on 2026-10-16. No 5-rank mover.

What today's Substack trends reveal

The top 3 is still sport, media column, and satire. The rotation is in ranks 5, 7, and 10, where three creator letters replaced a wellness title, a political PAC letter, and Zeta Webber. No 5-rank jump. See the Substack trending API page.

Track these trends in real time with Trends MCP

This ranked list came from the Trends MCP get_top_trends tool for Substack with limit 10. The call is for newsletter desks that need the live ranked board.