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David Bowie, 1947-2016

 “We used to call him Garson The Parson in the Spiders, poor love, when he was into Scientology. But it did cause us one or two problems. I was thinking about having him back in the band and the thing that really clinched it was hearing that he was no longer a Scientologist.”

— David Bowie, []

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A business executive looks at Scientology as a (poorly run) business

[Blue states contain active Scientology orgs.]

Jeffrey Augustine is back, this time with a new look at Scientology’s current strength in the United States. We think he’s got a unique perspective in this []

‘Archetypical newshound’ Paulette Cooper described in ‘thrilling account’ — Kirkus

 Our London publisher, Humfrey Hunter of Silvertail Books, submitted our book about Paulette Cooper, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely, to Kirkus Reviews. []

Jon Atack: The best thing ever written about the language traps in Scientology’s Bible, ‘Dianetics’

Jon Atack is the author of A Piece of Blue Sky, one of the very best books on L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. He has a new edition of the book for sale, and for more than a year on Saturdays he helped us sift through the legends, myths, and contested facts about Scientology that []

AUDIO: Hear Scientology boast about the $5.7 million it got from Google in free ads

 In September 2014, we published a story that we expected would get more attention. We reported that at a gala celebration in the San Fernando Valley, a gathering of about 500 Scientologists who had paid $100 each to attend were told that the Church of Scientology had benefited from its relationship with Google, which had []

Scientology becoming a ghost town; ALSO: Illinois man arrested for threatening Miscavige

 The “L. Ron Hubbard Golden Age” theater troupe visited a middle school in St. Petersburg, Florida recently in order to bring back to life the words of the pulp fiction writer. Having actors read the corn-pone tales that Hubbard cranked out in the 1930s is just one of a dizzying number of stealthy ways that []

Scientology posts the new ad that will likely be its Super Bowl entry this year

 The new ad that Scientology uploaded to its website right around midnight on New Year’s Eve is now on Scientology’s YouTube page, and so we can embed it, []

Scientology’s appeal on rehab zoning fight in Maryland to be heard today

 We’re hoping to get a report today from some correspondents on the scene when Scientology’s administrative appeal in Frederick County, Maryland is argued in a court of law. []

Scientology’s state of the union, 2016: Former spokesman Mike Rinder predicts ‘more pain’

 A year ago, Jeffrey Augustine interviewed former Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder for his predictions about Scientology’s 2015. It went so well, they’re back again this year. Jeff leads Rinder through the highlights of what happened to Scientology in the last year, with observations about what David Miscavige is likely to do in the []

Scientology’s 2016: CNN plans to give L. Ron Hubbard his best press in decades

 Last year, former Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder predicted that 2015 would bring his former employer “pain.” And it sure was a tough year for David Miscavige and his followers. With Alex Gibney’s documentary Going Clear and Leah Remini’s book Troublemaker, more people than ever are learning about Scientology and its []