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‘Piece of Blue Sky’ author Jon Atack hits a big Scientology anniversary

 [We’ve been so honored over the years to publish pieces by Let’s Sell These People a Piece of Blue Sky author Jon Atack here at the Bunker. And once again, here he is, and this time celebrating a []

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A Scientology childhood: Jon Atack talks to ‘Bad Cadet’ author Katherine Spallino

 Last month we published an excerpt from a new book, The Bad Cadet: Growing Up in the Church of Scientology’s Sea []

Mike Rinder and Jon Atack explain why you find it so difficult to leave Scientology

 While your proprietor is recovering from this first week of testimony at the Danny Masterson retrial, we hope you enjoy the latest discussion by these two titans of entheta as they discuss “peak experiences, placebo, and the sunk cost []

A warrior’s journey in and out of Scientology

 While we take a weekend break in the Danny Masterson retrial, we’re glad to see that Jon Atack and Mark ‘Warrior’ Plummer have begun a conversation about Mark’s journey in []

PODCAST: Jon Atack has some things to say about Mike Rinder’s new book on Scientology

 The big news this week of course is that former Scientology spokesman and Leah Remini’s costar Mike Rinder has released his really terrific book about his experience in the church, A Billion Years: My Escape from a Life in the Highest Ranks of []

Scientology at a crossroads: When the ruthless upstarts pushed out the less compliant

[Alan Walter and Dean Stokes]

Our proprietor has asked me to make some comment on his splendid, corrected transcript of the Mission Holders’ Conference of 1982. I’ve long regarded this conference as the fatal turning point in Scientology, where any pretense at compassion was rejected by David Miscavige – at this time not the leader but []

Heads on pikes: L. Ron Hubbard’s lasting legacy of ruthlessness in Scientology

 In a new video, Jon Atack and Karen de la Carriere discuss one of Scientology’s most hallowed sacraments: The finding of scapegoats so founder L. Ron Hubbard or David Miscavige after him would have a “head on a pike” to answer for any []

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 []

Scientology in England faces huge tax bills on its properties, and keeps failing to evade them

[The staff at the swingin’ London Ideal Org]

In a recent blog post, Mike Rinder reports Scientology’s failure to obtain tax exemption for three of its buildings in England. On this side of the pond, an annual tax is paid on the ratable value of a building – whether domestic or []

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 []