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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Drug flashbacks from one million years B.C.? It’s time for Scientology’s New OT 4!

What groovy substances was Raquel dosing herself with a million years ago?

Claire Headley and Bruce Hines are taking us on our journey to train as Scientologists. Claire spent years working with Scientology’s “tech,” and was trusted to oversee the auditing of Tom Cruise. Bruce was in Scientology for 31 years and spent about []

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More fallout in France: Scientologist who asked for damages ends up paying instead

Scientology protests its prosecution by France, February 2012

Our man in Paris, Jonny Jacobsen, has another update for us related to France’s prosecution of Scientology for fraud.

A Scientologist convicted in France’s landmark fraud case against the movement has failed in a bid to get counter-cult group UNADFI and its lawyer fined for their role []

Sunday Funnies: CCHR’s annual gala — time, place, form, and event!

We have another fun collection of Scientology fliers for you this week. As usual, we’re getting a glimpse into the church’s unrelenting fundraising gimmicks.

But there’s also some news here. One of our tipsters managed to snag for us a CCHR flier about this year’s gala. The Citizens Commission on Human Rights is one of Scientology’s []

Jon Atack: Do Scientology’s training routines turn you into a sociopath?

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 on Saturdays he’s helping us sift through the legends, myths, and contested facts about Scientology that tend to get hashed and []

Scientology wins damages from French court, but it’s not the victory they were hoping for

Jonny Jacobsen

Once again our man in Paris, Jonny Jacobsen, has another dispatch for us with late-breaking news. Take it away, Jonny…

Scientologists were celebrating this week after a French court awarded the movement damages for delays in the court case that ended in fraud convictions against the organisation last year.

The court acknowledged in part []

Eric Idle and Kirstie Alley discuss Scientology!

We’ve been discussing some awfully serious issues this week. From the suicide of a talented young woman who was memorialized at the Hollywood Celebrity Centre, to the odd disappearance of a prominent 40-year member of Scientology, to the grinding arguments of a court hearing in Texas.

Oh, how we’d love a little comedy to lighten the []

Ray Jeffrey on Scientology in the courtroom: ‘Constantly getting tripped up on the facts’

We had a chance to talk with Monique Rathbun’s attorney Ray Jeffrey about Wednesday’s court hearing in Monique’s harassment lawsuit against the Church of Scientology and its leader, David Miscavige.

The most important result of the hearing is that Scientology’s attempt to quash a deposition of Miscavige was unsuccessful. Comal County Judge Dib Waldrip said that []

Jeff Hawkins on Scientology’s brand of court martial — the ‘Comm Ev’

Jefferson Hawkins was once the top marketing executive for the Church of Scientology and helped it reach its greatest extent with the famous “volcano” TV ads in the 1980s. He’s told his tale of getting into and out of the church with his excellent books Counterfeit Dreams and Leaving Scientology, and he’s helping us understand []

Monique Rathbun seeks sanctions, Scientology tries to kill Miscavige deposition in court today

The BBC’s John Sweeney sets up today’s court clash for us

Monique Rathbun is back in court today in New Braunfels, Texas for her harassment lawsuit against the Church of Scientology and its leader, David Miscavige. Several different issues may come up for discussion today. Monique filed a notice to depose David Miscavige on []

Where is Scientology keeping Barbara Cordova Oliver?

In December, a 56-year-old woman who had long been a prominent presence at Scientology’s Hollywood Celebrity Centre, Barbara Cordova Oliver, flew home to Los Angeles from Clearwater and suffered a nervous breakdown.

Her mother, Arlene Cordova, 80, called police to her home, where Barbara was staying. (Arlene has never been involved with Scientology.) Barbara was taken []