The recent New Yorker article piece by Michael Shulman has resulted in a ton of media pickups, mostly focused on her responses to questions about scientology. There have been a number of takes on this of interest: Martha Ross wrote an excellent piece in the SJ Mercury News Martha quotes journalist Yashar Ali who tweeted: And Tony Ortega added some thoughts from Geoff Levin who was extensively interviewed for the story, but little of it made it into print: Now, let me add some of my thoughts, as it was my job back in the day to … [Read more...]
Fair Game Podcast
Leah and I are taking a break from our Fair Game podcast for a very brief time. Until then, there are 80 episodes we recorded so far (FairGamePodcast.com) and all episodes of Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath are available on Netflix if you are yet to see it. We thank you for your continued support and look forward to getting back to you in a few weeks. … [Read more...]
Fair Game Podcast
We are taking off for Spring Break, so no new episode. I am taking the family to New York City for the week. Re-listen to any episodes you may have missed. Or re-listen to those you especially enjoyed. I guarantee you will get more out of them the second time through, there is always information that slides by because there is SO MUCH to learn. I also recommend Jon Atack's podcast (Jon Atack, family and friends) on YouTube. I have some postings pre-prepared, and there will be the usual Thursday Funnies and Regraded Being. … [Read more...]
Episode 80: Tony Ortega Inside the Scientology Bubble
We welcome our old friend Tony Ortega back to the Fair Game podcast to talk about the current state of scientology, their ongoing financial crimes and the devastation COVID 19 has wrought on their information control. Tony is a gold mine of information about the cult, and our chat was no exception. He documents the world of scientology on his daily blog: The Underground Bunker. Tony's two books on scientology: Battlefield Scientology Unbreakable Miss Lovely We talk about Miscavige's Pandemic bulletin of March 2020: … [Read more...]
Episode 79: Roberta Blevins MLM Whistleblower
This week, it IS Roberta Blevins. Sorry for the error in thinking it was her episode last week. We spoke with Roberta Blevins, a former member of a Multi-Level-Marketing (MLM) scam known as LuLaRoe. The similarities between MLM's and cults are legion. Peer pressure. Information control. Even Fair Game tactics. Roberta discusses her experiences and her work today as a whistleblower against what she calls "Commercial Cults." Her story gives an insight into this world and she is an engaging voice warning others not to get trapped as she was. Roberta was featured in the Amazon Prime doc … [Read more...]
Episode 78: Dylan Gill and Church of Spiritual Technology
My apologies -- I mistakenly thought Roberta Blevins episode was airing this week. It is in fact our fascinating interview with Dylan Gill. Roberta will air next week, so you have that to look forward to! We talk to Dylan Gill, former executive of Church of Spiritual Technology (CST) about the organization established to preserve Hubbard's words in the event of a nuclear holocaust for all future civilizations, what the symbols etched into the ground mean, the various homes built for Hubbard after his death that are maintained to this day, and much more. Dylan has … [Read more...]
Episode 77: Jefferson Hawkins
We are joined by Jeff Hawkins, an extremely talented, thoughtful and articulate former Sea Org member to recount his experiences with David Miscavige, his role in making Dianetics a bestseller again the 80's and his journey into and out of scientology. He is the author of 3 books on the subject. Jeff's brilliant book Counterfeit Dreams Leaving Scientology Closing Minds The Sociopath Next Door One of the famous Dianetics "Question" ads from 1980's that Jeff created, returning … [Read more...]
Episode 76: Professor Aharon Friedman
Aharon Friedman is a professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering, a former scientologist and today serves on the Board of the Israeli Center for Cults’ Victims. Unlike L. Ron Hubbard, he really IS a nuclear physicist, his official title is Head - Schlesinger Knowledge Center for Accelerators and Radiation Sources. We talk about his experiences in scientology, what drove him to escape and his work helping victims of cults today. The brilliant book Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl about his time in Nazi concentration camps and what he learned from his … [Read more...]
Episode 75: Marc Headley on Scientology and the Internet
We welcome back our old friend Marc Headley to talk about Scientology and the internet, including covering the bonkers domain names scientology has registered, and how they have unsuccessfully attempted to control access to information on the World Wide Web. Marc's wonderful book: Blown For Good The Audiobook version The Scientology Money Project blog article listing many of the scientology owned domains: A YouTube video listing some of the troll domains registered by scientology: The Jokers & Degraders PL/HCOB: … [Read more...]
Episode 74: Julian Wain on WISE
We speak to our old friend and Leah family member Julian Wain about his experiences with WISE (World Institute of Scientology Enterprises) companies and how they implement high pressure sales techniques into dental and chiropractic offices, and are recruitment agencies for scientology. I did an earlier post about these WISE Guys This is the entry on WISE in Wikipedia Here is the definition of "Hard Sell" contained in the official scientology dictionary -- this is the sanitized version. The meaning in scientology fundraising circles is "do … [Read more...]