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First, do harm: Scientology’s secret war on mental health

 We’re happy to say that today begins another epic dive into Scientology by historian Chris Owen. Today, part one of his three-part look at Scientology and its war on the mental health industry.

 Few things in Scientology have been more of a constant than its campaign against psychiatry and mental health organisations. L. Ron Hubbard and []

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Can someone let Tom Cruise know that his Scientology bandleader has died?

 In 2004, as part of the plan to turn Tom Cruise into the most gung-ho Scientologist on the planet, church leader David Miscavige threw a special surprise birthday party for the Top Gun actor on the church’s private cruise ship, the []

Ron Miscavige, Scientology whistleblower and father of the church leader, 1936-2021

 We just learned that Ron Miscavige has died. His co-author Dan Koon wrote this touching memorial for us, which we are publishing []

Leaked price list: What it costs to stay at Scientology’s ‘spiritual mecca’ in Florida

[The Fort Harrison Hotel]

Our former OT 8 Scientologist has sent us another trove of pristine materials documenting their trek up the Bridge to Total Freedom. Previously, we’ve shown you some things from the mid 1980s that were in amazing shape. Now, we’ve been given some things from a more contemporary []

More minor Scientology celebrities making news, and not in a good way

[Eddie Deezen and Marissa Ribisi]

Is Eddie Deezen still a Scientologist? We have to assume he is, because he’s been involved for a very long time (since John Travolta got him interested in Dianetics while they were filming Grease in 1977), and he was most recently mentioned in a Scientology magazine as completing a level, OT []

Scientology to US Supreme Court: Valerie Haney predicament is not a First Amendment case

 In May, Valerie Haney’s legal team (specifically constitutional scholar Marci Hamilton) filed a petition with the US Supreme Court, asking it to step in and prevent the Church of Scientology from forcing Valerie into its “religious arbitration.”

Scientology’s response was due yesterday, and attorneys Robert Mangels (RTC) and William Forman (CSI) got their filing submitted in []

Scientology 50 & 21 years ago today: The strange deaths of Susan Meister & Stacy Moxon

[The Apollo]

They are two of Scientology’s more notorious deaths, and both of which have been the source of speculation and controversy over the years. And both of them happen to fall on the same []

His son may rule moneyed Scientology, but Ron Miscavige needs help to pay for his own funeral

 In 2012, Ron Miscavige made a clever and daring escape with his wife Becky Bigelow from Scientology’s secretive “Int Base,” where the two of them had been living as “Sea Org” []

The celebrity Scientologists going out on a bit of a media blitz right now

[Minkoff and Kasem]

We’ve been hearing from some readers about this, so we thought we’d acknowledge it at the blog. If for no other reason, we wanted to make you aware of it so our tipsters and researchers can keep their eyes on []

Scientology miracles from its 1980s heyday: How do they compare to today?

 On Sunday we brought you the latest ‘OT Phenomena’ from a new issue of Scientology’s magazine ‘Advance!’ []