TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: We noted yesterday the investigation of Scientology that appeared at the Wall Street Journal’s website Sunday. But this morning the piece is on the newspaper’s front page. And it’s so rare to see Scientology taken apart at the Journal we figured it was worth pointing out twice! [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“When locating something you are using direction and a system of measurement of distance. Just as time is basically a consideration, so is distance. And there are many systems of measuring distance, both on this planet and earlier on the track. Distance can be measured in miles, kilometers, light-years, to name a few. In one whole track space opera civilization, intergalactic distances were measured in terms of how long it took a particular spaceship, called a Hylan and intergalactic distances were measured by the number of ‘days of Hylan spaceflight.’ You will probably find that the pc will tend to use the system of measurement of distance that was used at the time of the past location that he is stuck in. Just as a pc can use a sort of mental computer to convert whole track dates into ‘years ago,’ he can also mentally convert some distances into ‘miles.’ But the auditor never expects him to do so, and never asks him to.” — 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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“Now, you’ve got the Havingness Process established. And you say, ‘Where isn’t that wall’ or whatever it is, see, whatever the Havingness Process is. ‘Thank you. Where isn’t that wall? Thank you. Where isn’t the ceiling? Thank you. Where isn’t the floor? Thank you. What have you withheld from a home?’ And the guy goes figure, figure, figure, think, think, think, clank, clank, clank, figure, figure, figure, figure, figure, figure, figure, figure, figure, figure. ‘Well, in a past life I used to take all my money down to the pub and I never gave any to the wife. I withheld money from the home.’ And you say, ‘Thank you. Where isn’t the wall? Thank you. Where isn’t that ceiling? Thank you. Where isn’t that floor? Thank you.’ Got the idea?” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 16, 1961
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“More Enormous Events never before seen or held are scheduled for the GRAND WORD CLEARING FESTIVAL! The night of the 22nd, at Sea, at 8PM the Great Radio Show WAR OF THE WORLDS will be played in HCI by LRH Personal PRO. The WORDS that caused riots in the US. These words pouring out of US Radios caused whole towns to empty! Unbelievable bone chilling realism brought direct to this upstat crew. Fantastic, never since heard! Imported at VAST expense solely for this yacht with the express permission of ORSON WELLES himself. Watch this billboard for even further stellar events!” — The Commodore, September 16, 1971
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“There is a connection between race and the tone scale, some races are more likely to be 1.1 than others, then they end up gettting kicked out of many european countries and they claim people are mean racists when its like ‘um maybe you guys have some real bad culture business practices’.”
1996: Attorney Graham Berry announced that he will be opposing the name change of Berendo Street in Los Angeles to L. Ron Hubbard Way. “On Tuesday, October 1, 1996, at 10:00 A.M. in the Council Chambers, Room 340, City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, California 90012, the full City Council for the City of Los Angeles will consider members John Ferraro and Richard Alatorre’s proposal to change the name of Berendo Street to ‘L. Ron Hubbard Way.’ Berendo Street abuts the Scientology complex in Hollywood. Council sources advise me that Scientology lobbyists have been pressuring each council member to vote for the proposed name change on a daily basis and have been approaching them at public functions for the same purpose. They are also conducting a major letter-writing campaign to council members and can be expected to have a large number of Scientologists turn out at the council meeting on October 1st, 1996, at which time each person wishing to speak will be given two minutes in which to make remarks. Accordingly, as many people as possible who are opposed to the name change, should be at the City Council meeting and sign in for that purpose as early as possible. Those same persons, and those who cannot attend, should at the very least e-mail the City Council members at the e-mail address provided below. The e-mail messages should provide as many reasons, and as much information as possible, preferably in verifiable detail, as to why the City Council should NOT approve the proposed name change.”
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“Their only real motivation is to eliminate the competition. All the humanitarian shit is window dressing.”
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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:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration.
— 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 revives another tradition as it keeps pushing new buildings
[TWO years ago] VIDEO: Russell Miller on how he was targeted by Scientology for his Hubbard biography
[THREE years ago] Scientology’s arbitration contracts are ‘unconscionable,’ say trafficking victims
[FOUR years ago] New witness spills tea on Danny Masterson, ‘The Ranch,’ and attorney Andrew Brettler
[FIVE years ago] The Top 25 People Enabling Scientology, No. 14: The Los Angeles Times
[SIX years ago] Charles Barkley becomes a slam dunk photo opportunity for Scientology
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology’s surprisingly weak attempt to turn Hurricane Florence into PR gold
[EIGHT years ago] Disconnected at birth — another infuriating Scientology saga
[NINE years ago] VIDEO: City council candidate exposed as Scientology spy in live public hearing
[TEN years ago] ‘Fundamentalist’ Scientology means chasing the ideal of Neo while turning your back on family
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology says it’s received $5.7 million from Google in advertising grants
[TWELVE years ago] TOM CRUISE IN CLEARWATER: Scientology Gathering Big Names For Product Launch
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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 3,388 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,892 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,398 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,948 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,938 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,324 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,819 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,123 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 4,774 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,992 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,546 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,887 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,458 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,374 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,541 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,123 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,382 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,419 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,135 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,699 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,014 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,189 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,871 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,208 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,061 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,177 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,539 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,950 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,338 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,222 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,787 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,298 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,558 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,662 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 16, 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
