We earlier had Jon Atack join us for two episodes taking a deeper look into the life of L. Ron Hubbard. This week, our old friend Bruce Hines joins us for Part 1 (of 3) where we take a look at the scientology "Bridge to Total Freedom" in more detail. In this episode we address the lower levels of the Bridge. Bruce was a highly trained scientology "Auditor" (counselor) and "Case Supervisor" (one who oversees auditors to ensure they are following the words of Hubbard exactly). Bruce appeared on an episode of The Aftermath and did a series of articles for Tony Ortega with Claire Headley on the … [Read more...]
The Great Wisdom of Ron
Every day, Tony Ortega has a piece of Hubbard wisdom from the same date in history. The one from May 28th struck me. “Now, you’re a registrar and somebody is coming in, or you’re signing up PCs. (All of you have to wear a registrar’s hat at one time or another.) And you’re trying to get somebody to get some auditing, you’re a registrar, see? And there you are one fine day with a yow-yow-yow and a scream-scream-scream standing in front of your face: Seventy-five hours of auditing have been delivered — he feels terrible! He says, ‘Oh, I could kill everybody in the place,’ and he ought to go out … [Read more...]
WISE Shows Their Stuff (And a MythVision Podcast)
OK, these people claim to have the "only workable technology" of management, sales, PR, marketing, personnel and anything else you can think of. If this promotional piece and their accompanying video represents the pinnacle of what they've got... This looks like it was put together in an 8th grade computer class. These are the experts? They actually do believe that because they have some scribbling from Hubbard that says it is "the only workable technology of ______" that it's true. But what is even more remarkable is that they then offer their … [Read more...]
Episode 37: Mormon Stories Host Dr. John Dehlin
This week Leah and I venture into the world of Mormonism with Dr. John Dehlin. I recently appeared on his long-running and very popular podcast, Mormon Stories, and we are now welcoming him to ours. He is not just a podcaster, he is a non-profit CEO, activist, public speaker, and religious transitions coach. He advocates for the rights of skeptics in Mormonism, LGBT rights, equality for women, and other individual views outside mainstream Mormonism. He has Master’s degree in Instructional Technology, and a Ph.D. in Clinical and Counseling Psychology. We learned a great deal from John … [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...]
Episode 31: NXIVM Whistleblower Sarah Edmondson
This week, Leah and I talk with Sarah Edmondson, featured in The Vow, author of Scarred and host (with her husband Anthony "Nippy" Ames) of a new podcast, A Little Bit Culty. We talked about the similarities between Nxivm and scientology, the systems of control and even the language are remarkably similar, so much so that there is little doubt in my mind that Keith Raniere studied Hubbard. We talk about The Vow and what recovering from a cult experience is like and the impact of Scientology and The Aftermath had on her. Both Nxivm and scientology use the idea of personal … [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...]
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...]
Scientology: Fair Game. Episode 0
Episode 0 (Introduction) is now available to download on iHeart and everywhere else podcasts are available. You can even google it directly. Unfortunately, the website that was going to accompany the podcast has been hacked and sabotaged. Should be fixed in the next few hours and as soon as it is live I will update with the link here. Update: Site is now live. It is simply a resource for documents and will be updated as each podcast goes live on Tuesdays. Meanwhile, for those who are looking for the documents that are talked about in this episode, I have included them … [Read more...]
First Podcast Episode Available at Midnight EDT Tonight
The first episode of the new Scientology: Fair Game podcast will be available at midnight EDT tonight. (When iHeart says July 21st, they mean one minute past midnight, something I learned yesterday!) It can be listened to on ANY podcast App. Of course, if you don't already listen to podcasts, we would like you to download the iHeart App as they are the ones who are producing the podcast. But it can be listened to on iTunes, Spotify, Google, etc. etc. Anywhere you currently listen to podcasts will have Scientology: Fair Game, though the producers at iHeart told me it might take an hour or … [Read more...]