Dissident Science is NPRI's video podcast and channel: independent scientific scrutiny, argued in the open. Hosts David de Hilster (lead host and editorial originator) and Matthew "Fractional Mateo" Stroul (co-host and producer) interview researchers working on alternative theories and translate their criticisms of mainstream science into explanations a general audience can follow.

The goal

Grow the channel to 500,000 subscribers in two years and bring that audience to NPRI scientists. Podcast subscribers who want to take part feed into NPRI membership; members publish in the Natural Philosophy Journal and present on Saturday mornings.

This project produces the plan for that growth and then runs it.

The show

A video-first science and culture program built on disciplined skepticism, consequential questions and real intellectual disagreement. It is:

• independent without being reflexively anti-institutional;
• pro-evidence without treating today's consensus as permanent truth;
• accessible without flattening difficult ideas;
• curious about unconventional claims, but unwilling to protect them from scrutiny.

It is not a conspiracy channel, a personality cult, or a vehicle for declaring every outsider a suppressed genius. Material errors are corrected publicly.

Format: weekly, about 60–90 minutes. Each episode frames a question, builds the strongest case, cross-examines it, hears the strongest objection, and ends with what would change our minds?

Editorial territories: foundational physics and cosmology · Earth and planetary models · scientific method and critical thinking · institutions, incentives and culture · media and public understanding · new tools (AI, simulation, citizen science, open data).

The audience path

Discover → Subscribe → Return → Participate → Join NPRI → Publish and present.

Distribution

YouTube (flagship video, clips, Shorts, live), podcast RSS, Substack companion notes, Instagram and Twitch; LinkedIn, Bluesky, Facebook and Threads as secondary channels. Each episode yields a full video and audio episode, source notes, several clips and short-form moments.

Roadmap

1. Apprentice (first 90 days): show, workflow and analytics in place. Gate: three consecutive releases on standard and on schedule.
2. Journeyman (months 4–9): more formats and guests, community, membership and sponsorship.
3. Master (months 10–18+): broadcast-quality production; network development.

How to help

We need video editors, clip and Shorts producers, guest researchers, moderators and sponsors. Members can join the project; anyone can suggest an idea.