Over the last few weeks, Chris Owen (author of many insightful writings about Hubbard and scientology, including his excellent book, Ron The War Hero) has done a series of posts with Tony Ortega on Substack describing the history of the harassment campaigns carried out by scientology. As is always the case with Chris, he is a meticulous researcher and summarizes the information in a concise and accurate way. This is important information that should be as widely available as possible, so I am combining his 3 pieces into one longer article and reprinting it below. It's fascinating … [Read more...]
A Billion Years UK & Australia Editions Update
As many of you know, there have been some difficulties with Amazon concerning the non-US edition being published by Humfrey Hunter and Silvertail Books. Sadly, the problems with A Billion Years caused all of Silvertail's titles to be removed from Amazon, which hurt other authors they publish. Through a lot of hard work and persistence, Humfrey has now resolved the issue and all his books are back up. But titles that were previously noted as "bestsellers" have been reset to "zero." Any pre-orders of A Billion Years will likely have been lost (check your Amazon account) and you will … [Read more...]
Mike Rinder: “Lady Killer”
This is the ninth (and final) "vacation" post, revisiting some of the more important articles to have appeared on my blog over the years. This one seems especially appropriate given the attacks will surely ramp up seeking to discredit me as my book comes out. This subject has also been extensively addressed by both Stefani Hutchinson and Jeffrey Augustine at their blogs. The original post and comments are here. While the "church" of scientology has kindly nicknamed me "Lady Killer," the strange reason for this deserves some context. This post also serves to demonstrate the … [Read more...]
A Billion Years: My Escape from a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology
I have finally written a book. It was announced in a press release today -- it will be available on 27 September. You can find it at the Simon and Schuster website where there are links to all major retailers to pre-order if you are so inclined. There is also a description of the book and some initial reviews from Leah, Alex Gibney, Lawrence Wright and John Sweeney. It's taken a long time to put together. I hope it doesn't disappoint any of you who have been asking me to write a book. I am about to begin recording the audiobook. The press … [Read more...]
Scientology Fair Game Podcast All Episodes
There is no new podcast this week due to the Labor Day holiday. I thought it worth listing all the diverse list of podcast guests and topics we have done so far. There are more to come. If there are any episodes you have missed, you can find them here with links and give them a listen. It's been quite a ride. It continues. We appreciate all the support of our faithful listeners and those who have sent in questions for the popular "Listener Question" episodes. You can also find all the episodes and the supporting documents for each at fairgamepodcast.com which also includes a … [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...]
A Primer on Brainwashing
If you have watched either The Vow on HBO, or Seduced on Starz about NXIVM, or The Aftermath or Going Clear about scientology, this article will ring a lot of bells. Many of the specific control mechanisms Dr. Burkley cites about NXIVM have direct parallels in scientology. As she says, "the psychological tricks Raniere used are not particularly special. In face, his ability to ensnare so many victims is rooted in his reliance on several core psychological principles -- principles to which each of us is vulnerable." One of the great accomplishments of The Vow was how … [Read more...]
Episode 5: The History of Fair Game
In this week's episode, Leah and I discuss the history of Fair Game and the ongoing Fair Game efforts against us. As always, I include a link here to my "summary of Fair Game" entitled: Dealing with Critics of Scientology - The L. Ron Hubbard Playbook. If you have not read this before and have an interest in this subject, I recommend starting with this. Honestly, this is one of the most important episodes of this podcast. It is not disclosing "new' information, but even seasoned scientology watchers and former scientologists will learn things they likely did not know. Few have … [Read more...]
The Ever Evolving Smear Campaign on Me
The latest from my daughter Taryn Teutsch... Much of the same old stuff, but here is a new addition. The rendition of this story has evolved over the years, despite the fact the clear evidence contained in the Pinellas County Sheriff and EMT reports has not changed. It began with claims that I "attacked" my ex-wife (when she and 6 others and 2 PI's) had followed me and approached me screaming obscenities, all the way to "permanent neuorological damage" to "I could hear the bones breaking" and now "gouged flesh pouring with blood". None of these things are reflected in the … [Read more...]
Mike Rinder – A Scientology “Nobody”
I happened across this old card the other day. I didn't know I had it. It was in my wallet the day I walked out of L. Ron Hubbard's old office in Fitzroy St., London. It was my final day in scientology. I had been sent to London to deal with the BBC Panorama program being done by John Sweeney. As the card states, I was on the Board of Directors of Church of Scientology International and acting at the time as the International Spokesperson for scientology. Of course, scientology has sought to rewrite history. On their websites about me, they claim that I held no position of … [Read more...]