TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: At the 75th anniversary ‘Dianetics’ event In May, Scientology leader David Miscavige announced that a new edition of L. Ron Hubbard’s controversial bestseller would be released. We’ve been waiting eagerly to get a look at it, and wow, it has some interesting changes. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“A person who has been on drugs is one of the ‘seven types of resistive cases.’ (These types are found on the Scientology Green Form No. 40.) A person who has been on drugs, alcohol or medicines seldom runs on any other type of engram, seldom goes backtrack well, and is subject to somatic, emotional and perceptic shut-offs making any other type of Dianetic running a vain activity. Drugs since 1962 have been in very widespread use. Before then they were rare. A worldwide spread of drugs occurred. A large percentage of people became and are drug takers. By drugs (to mention a few) are meant—tranquilizers, opium, cocaine, marijuana, peyote, amphetamine and the psychiatrist’s gifts to Man, LSD and Angel Dust, which are the worst. Any medical drugs are included. Drugs are drugs. There are thousands of trade names and slang terms for these drugs.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1979
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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON
We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links as Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.
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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?
[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH
— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see
[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf
— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond
[18] Trial special with Chris Shelton [19] Trial week one [20] Marc Headley on the spy in the hallway [21] Trial week two [22] Trial week three [23] Trial week four [24] Leah Remini on LAPD Corruption [25] Mike Rinder 2022 Thanksgiving Special [26] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part One [27] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part Two [28] Claire Headley on the trial [29] Tory Christman [30] Bruce Hines on spying [31] Karen de la Carriere [32] Ron Miscavige on Shelly Miscavige [33] Karen de la Carriere on the L’s [34] Mark Bunker on Miscavige hiding [35] Mark Plummer [36] Mark Ebner [37] Karen Pressley [38] Steve Cannane [39] Fredrick Brennan [40] Clarissa Adams [41] Louise Shekter [42] John Sweeney [43] Tory Christman [44] Kate Bornstein [45] Christian Stolte [46] Mark Bunker [47] Jon Atack [48] Luke Y. Thompson [49] Mark Ebner [50] Bruce Hines [51] Spanky Taylor and Karen Pressley [51] Geoff and Robbie Levin [52] Sands Hall [53] Jonny Jacobsen [54] Sandy Holeman [55] Mark Bunker [56] Trish and Liz Conley [57] Trish Conley [58] Alex Barnes-Ross [59] Alex Barnes-Ross [60] Alex Barnes-Ross [61] Alex Barnes-Ross [62] Alex Barnes-Ross [63] Alex Barnes-Ross [64] Tory Christman [65] Tammy Synovec [66] Dennis Erlich [67] Alex Barnes-Ross [68] Valerie Ross [69] Kat in Austin [70] Mark Bunker [71] Phil Jones
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“Public must like to be fooled. They’re always paying con men of some kind or another. There must be some real value in having hope shot up to the moon in the stock market because those birds are very often paid off heavily. You could reevaluate the society on the basis of what I’ve given you. Yes, you could say, ‘Well, the society makes mistakes in this direction. Yes, the society is lied to.’ Well, I don’t think the society makes mistakes in this direction. That’s a new thought, isn’t it?” — L. Ron Hubbard, August 13, 1964
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“SHERIFF SPENCE: Mitch Spence came back with a wanted poster published by 100 Substantial Citizens of Las Vegas, Mar 24, 1881. If you were there then, run it out fast!” — The Commodore, August 13, 1970
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(Person A) “I’ve heard recently that there is some nonsense going around in this group about how LRH was somehow secretly removed sometime in 1972 and replaced by a double or something like that. It’s hard to fathom how anyone could believe such crap. I personally met LRH in 1977 when I went to the secret base in La Quinta, CA. He was in the mock up of a gentleman rancher and had long red hair, a Col. Sanders goatee and big fluffy sideburns. How anyone could think that this was not LRH is beyond my comprehension.” (Person B) “In our situation of an obviously stolen church — or do you doubt that the CoS went into enemy hands? — I do not believe any witness. Only hard facts. And all hard facts speak for a takeover in 1972. I have published several books on this. Perhaps you like to take a look.”
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1997: Neil Woods reports that after weeks of assuming a hands-off policy on the Scientology folder, America Online has resumed deleting critical comments. “Critical posts have remained in the ‘Church of Scientology’ folder, where in the past they would have been deleted without comment. Dissenting views of the ‘church’ were being addressed, to a point. In some cases dialog has been occurring. And then…BAM!!!! Two new folders in the ‘Religion & Ethics’ boards are deleted in their entirety. This was done without comment. These folders were indeed very much ‘on topic’ for the area they were placed. ‘Scientology Is not a religion’ and ‘Germany Religious Persecution’ came up missing Sunday, August 10th. Both folders were enjoying a fair amount of traffic. Discussion was lively and interesting. Critic of the cult and $cieno alike participated. $cienos who swore they ignored critics posts did in a fashion reply to critic’s posts in both folders.”
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“I shook Jim Jones’ hand in the free eats line at Glide Memorial (he was serving) and I also met a man named Fred Lewis who was a friend of my dad’s. Fred lost 28 family members at Jonestown.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Found guilty on two counts on May 31, remanded to custody. Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7, 2023. DA’s response to appeal brief due August 13.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Next pretrial hearing December 1.
Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Some defamation claims were removed by Judge Hammock. Judge Hammock’s ruling is on appeal. Leah’s appeal brief was filed June 3. Respondent briefs are due September 2.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike is on appeal. Jane Does’ response to Scientology’s appeal brief submitted July 30. Scientology’s reply due October 20.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, gets ruling to depose Jane Doe 1. Trial has been set for January 10, 2028.
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After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Scientology operatives and attorneys trying to end a medical industry
[TWO years ago] Leah Remini’s new judge looks like an improvement — now watch Scientology squawk
[THREE years ago] PODCAST: She did Scientology’s dirty work, and then made historic amends for it
[FOUR years ago] Tom Cruise’s Scientology superpowers, No. 11: Levitating an ashtray
[FIVE years ago] The Top 25 People Enabling Scientology, No. 23: The apologist academics
[SIX years ago] Powerful testimonies about child abuse in Scientology keep coming to light
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology is very worried about 75-year-old Efrem Logreira and his allegations
[EIGHT years ago] The island nation that is proving to be a refuge for the Church of Scientology
[NINE years ago] Scientology’s fiery ‘Guardian’ before she hooked up with Ron, and other gems from our readers
[TEN years ago] With a trial looming in 6-year forced-abortion lawsuit, Scientology cries ‘but we’re a religion!’
[ELEVEN years ago] Denise Brennan, 1952-2014: A former insider who exposed Scientology’s corporate shell game
[TWELVE years ago] In Scientology, When the Prices Kick Up, What Do You Get for the Money?
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Joe Reaiche (1958-2024) did not see his daughter Alanna Masterson in his final 6,999 days.
Mike Rinder (1955-2025) did not see his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in his final 7,589 days.
Tammy Synovec has not seen her daughter Julia in 3,354 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,858 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,364 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,914 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,904 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,290 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,785 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,089 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,958 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,512 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,853 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,424 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,340 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,507 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,089 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,348 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,385 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,101 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,665 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,980 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,155 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,837 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,174 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,028 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,143 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,505 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,914 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,304 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,188 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,753 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,264 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,524 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,628 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on August 13, 2025 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.
Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2023 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2023), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
