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]
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Outtakes from the 1997 ‘Secret Lives’ doc — an eyewitness at the Jack Parsons house

We have another treat for you today as we continue to get leaked original interviews that were filmed for the excellent 1997 Channel 4 documentary, Secret Lives — L. Ron Hubbard.

Up to this point, we’ve provided you with extended interviews of a number of people who showed up in the Channel 4 film. But now, []

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GARCIA FRAUD CASE ENDED AS JUDGE GRANTS SCIENTOLOGY ARBITRATION MOTION

Judge James D. Whittemore

Federal Judge James D. Whittemore ended the Luis and Rocio Garcia fraud lawsuit against the Church of Scientology today by finding that Scientology can enforce contracts signed by the Garcias which require them to take their disputes to the church’s internal arbitration.

Whittemore made that decision while acknowledging that never, in []

L. Ron Hubbard and ‘Going Clear’ — a reading list to celebrate Scientology’s birthday boy!

Hey, it’s the Commodore’s 104th birthday! And what better way to celebrate the Great OT’s March 13, 1911 birth in Tilden, Nebraska than to welcome the theatrical release of Alex Gibney’s documentary about Scientology, Going Clear, which opens today in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York.

Speaking of the film’s release, let’s get this out []

DOX: Two early Dianetics supporters, including the E-meter inventor, turn against Hubbard

This week has been all about the excitement of Going Clear hitting theaters, and we expect a big burst of activity when the documentary by Alex Gibney and Larry Wright opens in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco for limited runs starting tomorrow. But we also want to keep up on our other subjects []

The ‘Going Clear’ screening in Austin, featuring Marty Rathbun and other familiar faces

 Our reader Vaquera admits that she felt a bit fanatical to purchase a membership to the Austin Film Society just so she could get her hands on two tickets to last night’s screening of Going Clear, but she says it was all worth it. Here’s her report, and photos that she []

Scenes from a ‘Going Clear’ screening — Alex Gibney at the True/False Festival

Back in 2003-2005, your proprietor was the managing editor of a newspaper in Kansas City known as The Pitch. They were two of our happiest years, and we still have a great love for that underrated city that has a state line snaking down the middle of it. Writing film reviews for the Pitch these []

Scientology documentary ‘Going Clear’ participants getting harassed, threatened

Former Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder (left) received a frightening threat of violence which he posted to his blog this morning. The anonymous sender of the message said Rinder was under surveillance “twenty four seven,” and told Rinder he wanted to “cut your fuckin balls []

Scientology really, really, really doesn’t want you to see this movie

We’re five days out from Alex Gibney’s film Going Clear opening in theaters in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and things are getting downright nutty. Like, Scientology is losing its mind.

But here in the Underground Bunker, we’re over our fever, the cats are napping like champs, and we’re ready to get back []

Jon Atack visits an org — ALSO: The richest Scientologist gets even richer!

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 []

Scientology posts the (nearly) full deposition of reclusive ‘Justice Chief’ Mike Ellis

Mike Ellis [Photo by Doug Owens]

Our fevered brain is still keeping us hunkered down in the Bunker. The cats are mixing up some nasty-smelling elixirs they swear will make us well. We think they just enjoy seeing us suffer.

Anyway, we only have energy for another short post today, and we apologize if it []