My old friend from the Apollo, Neil Sarfati alerted me yesterday that he had finally "made the big time." He didn't mean he had a new number one album of his sax playing, he was referring to becoming a target of the STAND League haters. It's familiar stuff from STAND buffoon Martin Landon. First, if you have not do so, you should listen to the interview Neil did with the BBC Outlook program. I link to it below. It is very even-handed, mild-mannered and rather gentle on L. Ron Hubbard and life in the Sea Org back in the days of the Apollo. But because Neil is a no longer a cult … [Read more...]
Episode 34: Journalist and Author John Sweeney
Our friend and scientology nemesis, journalist, author and podcaster John Sweeney, joins us this week. John was for many years a correspondent for the original TV investigative magazine show, Panorama. He did a program about scientology for Panorama in 2007, where I was one of the "handlers" on behalf of scientology. It was a catalyst for me leaving -- I was in London defending scientology and Miscavige from the "chaos merchants" at the BBC. After I had left, I did a second Panorama show with John explaining some of the things that had happened in that first program. We had a lot to … [Read more...]
John Sweeney’s Classic Scientology Expose
I was looking through old scientology shows and came across this one from 2010. I had not watched it in many years, but found it fascinating. Obviously, my views about scientology have changed. But I have a much greater appreciation for the show now having worked on 3 seasons of Scientology and The Aftermath. This is a terrific piece of investigative reporting and a finely crafted show that contains a LOT of information. John Sweeney and his brilliant producer Sarah Mole did a masterful job of putting this together. They battled with the legal constraints imposed on them by the … [Read more...]