This week, Leah and I had a wonderful time talking with my old and very dear friend Marc Headley —The BFG — on our Fair Game Podcast. Marc not only has a phenomenal memory, he possesses a great sense of humor. Anyone who has read his book knows both of these things to be true. We covered plenty of ground -- talking about the Int base and David Miscavige, the infamous musical chairs incident depicted in Going Clear and even how the Rinder bobblehead came to be. Throughout I mentioned including links, you will find them below. This is definitely an episode you don't want to … [Read more...]
Mike Rinder on Mormon Stories Podcast
On Friday, I had the pleasure of joining John Dehlin on his Mormon Stories podcast. We had a terrific discussion about cults and differences and similarities between Mormonism and scientology. He is very well informed and articulate. This is the oldest and I dare say most popular blog on the subject of the problems with the LDS church. It's worth a listen for a bit of a different perspective. … [Read more...]
Episode 29: Journalist Tony Ortega
Leah and I talk to our old friend Tony Ortega this week. Tony has been reporting on scientology for decades and as anyone who reads this blog likely knows, he writes pieces every day relating to scientology at the Underground Bunker. This is the most complete repository of reporting on scientology anywhere. It is an invaluable source of accurate information about scientology. Though never a scientologist, over the years, Tony has become extremely well-versed in the all things scientology and Hubbard, beyond a surface understanding, he grasps the nuances and makes use of his … [Read more...]
How Did This Get Made Podcast with Leah and Mike
For those who may have missed it on social media, Leah and I joined June Diane Raphael and her husband Paul Scheer for an episode of their popular podcast. June Diane had commented on social media about The Aftermath. I thanked her for speaking up and that began an exchange that resulted in us joining them for a talk about scientology and Hollywood. I think readers of this blog will enjoy it. You can hear the episode here: … [Read more...]
Episode 27: Jon Atack — OG Scientology Whistleblower
This week Leah and I welcome the insightful and wonderfully well-informed Jon Atack. (If anyone doesn't know the term OG, it comes from "Original Gangster" and means "someone who's incredibly exceptional, authentic, or “old-school”" and Jon certainly fills the bill). Way back in the 1980's, Jon was a pioneer whistleblower about scientology abuses. He wrote a seminal book "Let's Sell These People a Piece of Blue Sky" which was first published in 1990. He has since written two other books on the subject of scientology. Jon was a "public" Scientologist for nine years, until 1983, when … [Read more...]
Episode 26: Phil Jones The Man Behind The Billboard
This week, Leah and I welcome the wonderful Phil Jones. You may know him (and his charming wife Willie) from the "Call Me" billboards they put up after trying to reach their disconnected children, Mike and Emily. We cover a lot of ground in our talk, what happened that caused them to leave scientology, their efforts to reach their children, the LAPD, scientology's Fair Game intimidation tactics and the realities of family life in scientology. I will add the link as soon as it is available: This is one of the last shots they have of the family together: The billboard … [Read more...]
Episode 25: Valeska Guider Paris
It was a great pleasure to welcome our old friend Valeska Guider Paris to the podcast. She has one of the more harrowing tales of life raised as a scientologist, being held prisoner on the Freewinds and losing her family to disconnection. Valeska is married to Chris Guider, former professional rugby league star in Australia. He was also the former "Inspector General MAA" assigned the task of enforcing the orders of Miscavige. They escaped from the RPF in Australia where they had both been sent to get them out of sight and out of mind. I will include the link here as soon as it's … [Read more...]
Episode 23: Activist and Blogger Stefani Hutchison
Leah and I talk with Stefani Hutchison this week, and the conversation was a true delight. We cover a lot of topics. Stefani was never a scientologist, but she has become a very effective and vocal whistleblower on the abuses of scientology. She is an example of what anyone can do if they want to take an active role in ending the pain and suffering that scientology causes for so many. I will post the link here once available. Here is how Stefani describes herself on her blog. I am a stay at home mother of one wonderful son. Married over 25 years to a wonderful man who puts up with … [Read more...]
Episode 21: Listener Questions Part 3
Today's episode is Leah and I responding to questions from listeners. We cover a lot of things in more detail than we had time to do on The Aftermath, and in many cases even more details than I can find the time to write about on the blog. A few documents we mentioned would be made available here and at fairgamepodcast.com. Scientology's COVID response: Tony Ortega has extensively covered scientology's response to the pandemic. Here is the Miscavige's briefing document where he calls COVID 19 a "planetary bullbait." Here are … [Read more...]
Recent Podcasts with Jon Atack
I have done a couple of podcasts with the wonderfully informed Jon Atack. The second of them went live yesterday and Tony Ortega included it on his site. I am including it here also, as well as the earlier one, as I think the discussions are illuminating. Jon is such a wealth of information. And has such good takes on all things scientology. Leah and I are planning on talking with Jon on our fair Game Podcast soon. That should be a treat. This is the most recent episode of Jon's podcast. I recommend you subscribe to his YouTube channel too: This is the one we did about 6 … [Read more...]