FOLLOW ME ON
Daily Notifications
Sign up for free emails to receive the feature story every morning in your inbox at tonyortega.substack.com

Categories

Scientology’s ‘Battlefield Earth’ campaign, featuring Frank Frazetta and a crashed saucer

 It’s time again for Rod Keller’s Scientology Social Media Review. He’s made a specialty of hunting down the odd and wonderful things Scientologists post to the ‘net. He’s a chronicler who piece by piece builds a highly detailed assessment of what Scientology is doing around the world, and this is what he found for us []

ADVERTISEMENT

BILLBOARD 2.0 — Phil and Willie Jones set their sights on Scientology’s mecca in Florida

 Fresh off of their media conquest in Los Angeles, former Scientologists Phil and Willie Jones have a new target for their bright idea to highlight Scientology’s toxic “disconnection” policy with a prominent billboard near a major church []

Tonight, Cathy Schenkelberg takes her Scientology cans to the Hollywood Fringe

 Former Scientologist Cathy Schenkelberg is taking a big step tonight, and so we called her yesterday to find out how she’s feeling as her one-woman show, “Squeeze My Cans” begins a run at the Hollywood Fringe []

There’s nothing quite like when Scientology cancels your superhuman powers with a ‘declare’

[Dani and Tami Lemberger]

July 2012 was one of the craziest months in our 20-year history of watching and writing about the Church of Scientology. The media was in a frenzy because, at the end of June, Katie Holmes had amputated her ties to Tom Cruise in a highly calculated surgical strike. But so much else []

More signs of the apocalypse for the Church of Scientology’s bitter-enders

 On Monday we discussed Chick Corea and how such a jazz great seems destined to be among the very last to give up his superhuman dreams under the influence of L. Ron Hubbard and the Church of Scientology.

But these days, the signs of desperation among the bitter-enders hanging on as Scientology crumbles are coming []

NAFC names David Miscavige a witness in Scientology trial scheduled for October

 We talked yesterday with David Keesling, the attorney who is representing the National Association of Forensic Counselors. In 2014 the NAFC filed a massive, complex, and highly technical lawsuit against the Church of Scientology, its leader David Miscavige, and 80 other defendants associated with Scientology’s drug rehab network, []

Chick Corea’s glib revelation to the New York Times about Scientology’s ‘Maiden Voyage’

[Chick Corea and Alfreddie Johnson, both Freedom Medal winners]

Chick Corea is turning 75 next week and to note the milestone the New York Times yesterday gave the jazz great a glowing tribute in the form of a Q&A about his ambitious plans later this fall to celebrate turning three quarters of a century old. []

Scientology’s next big opening — its totally unneeded ‘Advanced Org’ in Australia

 It’s time again for Rod Keller’s Scientology Social Media Review. He’s made a specialty of hunting down the odd and wonderful things Scientologists post to the ‘net. He’s a chronicler who piece by piece builds a highly detailed assessment of what Scientology is doing around the world, and this is what he found for us []

That time Muhammad Ali got blindsided by the Church of Scientology

 Like the rest of the world, we’re remembering Muhammad Ali today with the passing of one of the 20th century’s most intriguing personalities. Like you, we’re seeing a lot of great pieces about Ali’s career as an athlete and his memorable quotes as a human being, one of the best known human beings of all []

‘Ross & Carrie’ conclude their Scientology investigation by calling it ‘ridiculously creepy’

 Ross Blocher and Carrie Poppy wrapped up their podcast series on Scientology with a ninth and final episode, describing how ultimately they were found out as infiltrators and were shooed away from church events. But not before they had managed to take several courses, do some auditor training, and had attended both the New Year’s []