| The Underground Bunker

Tony Ortega is a journalist who was formerly the editor of The Village Voice. He's written about Scientology since 1995, and in May 2015 released a book about Scientology's harassment of Paulette Cooper titled 'The Unbreakable Miss Lovely.' He continues to monitor breaking developments in the Scientology world from an undisclosed location in an underground bunker he shares with four cats and one of them wrinkly Shar Pei dogs. Despite his super-secret security protections, you can still reach him pretty easily by sending him a message at tonyo94 AT gmail.com (Drop him a line if you'd like to get an e-mail whenever a new story is posted.) [Header image courtesy John Rickard]

Jon Atack and Chris Shelton answer the question: Are cult members stupid?

Jon Atack and Chris Shelton teamed up for a new video this week. Jon’s helper Spike Robinson describes what’s in […]

Jon Atack: Is Scientology really a ‘church’?

Perhaps no one understands the early history of Scientology like Jon Atack, author of one of the most famous books on the subject, 1990’s ‘A Piece of Blue Sky,’ which was more recently expanded and […]

Jon Atack and Mike Rinder on Scientology’s wackiest book: ‘A History of Man’

We’re very glad that Jon and Mike have taken on this awesome task, and you might also look at the fun we had when we read this most insane of Scientology textbooks with biologist PZ Myers in 2013. Now, here’s Jon’s introduction to today’s video, which is worth the price of admission all on its […]

VIDEO: Jon Atack talks to Mike Rinder about his first months aboard Scientology’s ‘Apollo’

[Mike Rinder at 18, in Madeira]

I’ve spoken with more than a thousand Scientologists over the years, but Mike Rinder’s interview is the most vivid and appalling account of daily life aboard the ship run directly by […]

Jon Atack quizzes Mike Rinder: Scientology’s former spy chief on L. Ron Hubbard’s paranoia

Hey, this is fun. Jon Atack, the legendary author of ‘A Piece of Blue Sky’ and a major presence here at the Underground Bunker, has a conversation with former Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder about the formerly secret documents that underlie Scientology’s spying and dirty tricks […]

Jon Atack: Seduction, recruitment, and Scientology’s hard sell

Our thanks to the readers who wished Jon Atack a happy birthday recently, because it inspired him to check in with us…

Thanks to all for the good wishes on my birthday! It was most gratifying to read so many kind […]

From Jon Atack’s ‘Blue Sky’: Reorganizing Scientology as L. Ron Hubbard’s life waned

One of the truly monumental books about Scientology, Jon Atack’s A Piece of Blue Sky: Scientology, Dianetics, and L. Ron Hubbard Exposed came out in 1990 and was nearly sued out of existence. We were fortunate to come across a copy in the 1990s as we were just beginning a career investigating Scientology stories. Today, […]

Jon Atack: The biggest thing L. Ron Hubbard got wrong about Buddhism

Jon Atack is the author of A Piece of Blue Sky, one of the very best books on L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. For more than three years he’s been helping us sift through the legends, myths, and contested facts about Scientology that tend to get hashed and rehashed in books, articles, and especially on […]

Janis Grady’s new book on life in Scientology: Jon Atack’s take, and an excerpt

Scientology and the Spoonbenders: Jon Atack on a previously unpublished Ingo Swann essay

[Ingo Swann, 1933-2013, when he was part of a Scientology ‘OT Summit’ in 1977]

Jon Atack graciously agreed to read and comment on a 1973 Ingo Swann essay on Scientology that was recently dug up by our intrepid researcher, R.M. Seibert. We knew he’d have some interesting things to say about this presentation, which Swann aimed […]

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